TL;DR – It’s the holidays and there will be many social gatherings or parties at this time of year. Here are some tips on how you can prevent yourself from getting burned out when juggling work commitments and social activities.
If you are a parent, most of you might agree that the holiday season could be more stressful than other times of the year. With schools being closed for the holidays, juggling between work, planning activities for your kids and going for a family vacation can all be quite overwhelming. Here are some tips for you to keep your year-end stress at bay.
Know your limits
If you are a people pleaser, remember not to over-commit. There will be many year-end gatherings with friends and family and office parties. And you will get burned out if you plan to attend all of them.
Don’t feel obligated to say yes to every invitation. Make sure you have enough time to rest so you can stay focused at work.
Communicate with your boss and family
Managing expectations is key to a happy holiday. Communicate with your family if work takes priority because of a project deadline so they will be able to help you out on some matters at home. Sharing with your family about work can alleviate the guilt of not spending time with them when prioritizing work. Setting professional boundaries with your children can also ensure your productivity. It will also help them to respect your work and learn that there is a time and place for everything.
Applying for leave ahead of time will also allow your boss to manage the workload with available manpower. Or you could time your vacation to align the timelines at work so that work will not be disrupted by your vacation.
Dedicate some “ME” time
Self-care isn’t selfish, on the contrary, setting time for self-care enables you to give more to others. Just sparing 30 minutes a day to disconnect from work and life plans is all you need.
Spending 15 minutes exercising or going for a walk can clear your head. Use the remaining 15 minutes to set your goals for the day. Don’t look ahead to the days to come, just the tasks you have to complete within that day. Taking things, a day at a time reduces anxiety and stress and will help you stay focused.
Plan ahead
The common cause of stress is time constraints. Being swamped by deadlines at work while being distracted by your commitment to planning a family getaway is stressful. The worst is not completing work and having to bring it along with you on your vacation.
If this advice came too late, try planning ahead for next year. Take steps to book and plan your vacation in advance and make a shopping list so you can buy them during other seasonal sales.
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