Overcoming the Year-End Madness Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Health)

In the spirit of the season, I offer you this gift: Twelve tips for overcoming the year-end madness!

 

In the run-up to the end of the year, we often find ourselves with very full plates. In addition to frantically trying to wrap up work commitments, many of us are also juggling parties, shopping, and travel for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and other winter holidays. When the parties take over too much of our free time, the shopping hits our wallets a bit too hard, and the travel brings too much drama (airport delays or cranky relatives, anyone?), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I’m committing to the following tips for overcoming the year-end madness and keeping my stress level manageable!

 

Hydrate.

Don’t underestimate how much water you need: the average adult is about 60% water! Dehydration has been linked to many health issues (including heart failure) and can also have a negative impact on your cognitive skills. Be sure to keep yourself well hydrated so you’re at your peak both physically and mentally!

 

Exercise.

This has been my #1 secret weapon for overcoming the year-end madness! Inertia is a powerful force: if you’re like me, once you sit at your desk in the morning it can be really hard to get up and move later. But being more aware of the link between movement and health has motivated me to make improvements here. I’m not about to turn into a gym rat (I mean, let’s be real here!), but I have developed a routine of engaging in some light exercise (like walking around my block or, if the weather is uncooperative, along the hallways in my building) three times a day. Find some exercise you can commit to every day and block out that time in your calendar to ensure you follow through with it. (Bonus: when you stretch your legs, you also energize your brain, too!)

Moderate your alcohol intake.

I’m certainly no teetotaler, so this is one piece of advice I have a hard time following myself. (Living in the party- and celebration-oriented city of New Orleans doesn’t help, either!) When people imbibe too much, they often don’t sleep well, they overeat, and they don’t maintain good hydration (and of course they also take too much Advil to deal with the hangovers that can result from drinking to excess!). Figure out a personal “drink budget” that keeps you in the healthy zone during this holiday season. For myself, I’ve set a max of three-days-a-week cocktail limit for this month (and I’m limiting the amount I drink one those days). Wanting to be in fighting form for the Mardi Gras season (which kicks off right after the New Year) is a huge motivator for me, so I’m okay with making sacrifices now to achieve that future goal. 

Eat well.

While you’re thinking about the water and alcohol you put into your body, don’t forget to think about the food you eat, too. For many the holidays are a time of excess, with lots of sweet and indulgent fare readily available at parties, in office break rooms, and in the seasonal displays in your local grocery store. Sure, have a few treats. But remember that too many carbohydrates (especially sugar) can have an adverse effect on your energy levels (and your waistline!), leaving you feeling exhausted, irritated, and stressed. NOT a good combination when overcoming the year-end madness is a goal! If you make each meal or snack a deliberate choice—rather than engage in absentminded eating—you’ll enjoy it more and feel less stressed about it.

 

Yoga Your Way to Overcoming the Year-End Madness.

If you’re already saying, “I don’t know how to do yoga” or “I will feel silly doing yoga,” let me tell you this: there are great instructors out there who can give you the knowledge (and the encouragement and support!) to do this—and they’ve all worked with rank beginners before. The first time I ever attempted the warrior 1 pose, I keeled right over. I was pretty embarrassed—until I realized that no one in the class thought anything of it (well, except for the instructor, who helped me up and pretty much stayed by my side for the rest of the session ?). Since then, I’ve settled into a weekly routine that includes restorative yoga, which is designed to calm my mind (rather than push my body). If I can succeed at yoga, anyone can—including you. Check out local classes and online tutorials to find a yoga option that meets your own needs. 

 

Stop the clock.

There has always been too much to do. Over the past year in particular, my to-do list grew by leaps and bounds, and I’m falling even farther behind. For many people (including me), the recent move to widespread remote work has blurred the line between personal and professional. I’ve always worked from home since I started my business several years ago, but now that everyone else is doing that too, the work never ends. E-mails, texts, questions, etc., arrive at all hours—and you will drown in them unless you actively set boundaries. Make sure to set aside time when you are truly, totally, 100% “off the clock.”

Get rest.

In addition to getting enough sleep (the CDC recommends at least 7 hours a night for people 18 and older), be sure to engage in restful activities that can help you get the most out of your slumber. Spend an hour or so before bedtime doing something you love so you can clear your mind of work. Reading is one of my favorite pre-bedtime activities, as is glittering (see below). Rewatching a movie I love can also help me wind down. (Scrolling through social media, though, is not relaxing, because it always leaves me with a bad case of FOMO!) Disassociate your mind from your daily grind to set yourself up for a success before you hit the hay.

 

Do something you love every day.

Gordon B. Hinkley hit the nail on the head when he said, “Life is meant to be lived, not endured.” Yes, you have to pay the bills, but you also need to find time to do things that hold personal meaning for you. Figure out what brings you joy—and do it. Think of it as a daily imperative (like making your bed!) that helps you move through your days with purpose and happiness. One of my joys is making hand-glittered items to throw to the crowds from the floats I ride with one of my Mardi Gras krewes during the 50+ parades that roll during the Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. Even spending just 15 minutes glittering something puts me in a good mood!

 

Spend time with someone you love every day.

It can take the form of dinner together, a Zoom call, a lengthy e-mail, a quick text—anything that connects you to someone you care about (and who cares about you). Humans are social animals, and we thrive when we support and care for each other. Don’t take those interactions for granted.

 

Practice gratitude.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the negatives: you’re struggling with a work project, for example, or you don’t really feel like traveling to the big family holiday get-together at Aunt Sally’s, etc. When things don’t go the way you want, try to look for the positives: you have great teammates who support you, and even though travel can be a hassle you and your family will be thrilled to see each other. Keeping a gratitude journal is one great way to help you swing your focus from the negative to the positive every day.

 

Get out of your rut.

Sometimes routines provide patterns that help us achieve certain tasks more efficiently. At some point, though, many routines can start to feel like cages that prevent us from exploring, innovating, and creating. When you feel stuck, you feel stressed—and too much of that stress can lead to burnout. If you find yourself just going through motions, find a way to shake up your routines!

Prioritize.

Life is full of “have to do” things and “want to do” things. Sometimes the two categories overlap, but most of the time they don’t. Don’t assume that work is always in the first category and that family and friends are always in the second category. Make sure the things on your “have to do” list are truly necessary (and vice versa). Your most valuable commodity is your time: you can’t make more of it, and you can’t get back what you’ve spent. So use it wisely, particularly when overcoming the year-end madness. 

 

 

Although it has twelve parts, my seasonal gift to you has no lords a-leaping and no ladies dancing. But I think the advice here is definitely as valuable as three golden rings! (Plus you don’t have to clean up after the partridge, the French hens, or the swans a-swimming!) 

{HOPEFULLY MY LITTLE PUNS MADE YOU SMILE!}

 

 

If you have any especially effective stress-management strategies for overcoming the year-end madness, share them in the comments below! Let’s help one another out!