The holiday season can be magical, but it can also be one of the most stressful times of the year. Along with wrapping up year-end tasks at work, professionals are usually juggling a surprising number of personal obligations. Keeping up with it all can be shockingly challenging.
Thankfully, it is possible to achieve work-life balance, including during the holidays. If you want to make sure everything is in order, here are some tips that can help.
Understand (and Sidestep) Your Stressors
Not all holiday activities are equally fun for everyone. For example, while your colleague may love baking holiday treats, you might find the idea of doing that yourself abhorrent. So, what do you do if your employer decides that everyone should bring in some sweet snacks to share? Do you have to bite the bullet, break out the flour, and start baking? Not necessarily.
If the idea of taking on a holiday tradition leaves you exhausted just by thinking about it, don’t do it. Instead, find an alternative approach. For instance, using the example above, why not get some lovely treats from a local bakery?
Permit yourself to let go of other people’s expectations. If tackling something isn’t a genuine necessity and it makes you miserable, embrace an alternative. It’ll make your holiday season much happier.
Embrace Lists (and Check Them Twice)
Sometimes, the sheer size of your personal and professional workloads can become overwhelming. Keeping track of it all may seem impossible, let alone handling every obligation.
If you want to make this holiday season easier to navigate:
- Embrace lists.
- Start by creating three lists for your professional responsibilities, one for your “must-dos,” one for your “want-to-dos,” and one for your “feel-like-I-have-tos.”
- Do the same for your personal obligations.
After that, focus on your must-dos, but sprinkle in a want-to-do now and then to keep you energized. Additionally, review your have-to’s and see if that obligation is real or if it’s something else, like peer pressure to keep up with the Joneses. If it isn’t something you genuinely have to tackle, permit yourself to cross it off. If you really do need to do it, but it on one of the other two lists.
This approach makes it easier to stay organized. Plus, you can see your progress, and get a little hit of satisfaction every time you cross something off.
Pump the Brakes If You’re Feeling Ill
If you feel the telltale signs of an oncoming cold, flu, or worse, slow down immediately. Pushing through an illness can make it last longer. Plus, if meeting your obligations means visiting people, you’ll be exposing them to whatever you caught. Considering that COVID-19 is still on the radar, that’s something that’s best avoided.
When you’re ill, getting enough rest matters. While you may have to call in sick to work or skip a party, that’s the better choice. That way, you can focus on healing, potentially shortening the life of your illness and increasing the odds that you’ll fully recover.
Find Work-Life Balance With Contract Positions
Ultimately, the tips above can make work-life balance easier during the holidays and all year-round. If you’d like add more flexibility to your career, while growing your skills, the staff at Alpha Consulting can help. Contact us today or browse our online job portal.
