10 Tips to Help You Thrive – not Just Survive – During the Holiday Season and Into the New Year   

The pressure is on with planning for the holidays, plus everyday family, work, and personal life concerns. It can be overwhelming! So often we get swallowed whole by the holiday season, and it becomes high-stress and burdensome. Yet with shifts in expectations and re-evaluating the way we get things done, we can thrive instead of just survive this holiday season.

Here’s 10 tips to help make this a hassle-free holiday season and easy-to-plan-for new year:

Hints for a Happier, More Tranquil Holiday Season 

1. Own the Holiday Season
Set an intention to embody a spirit of calm and peace during the season. This is a time for you to shine as a leader by setting the tone among your business team and in your personal relationships. 

2. Create a Clear Vision of What you Want and Need to Accomplish
Shift your productivity expectations. Mentally prepare yourself to allow for more ease during this busy, festive time. Hone in on key priorities. At work, decide what MUST get done, set deadlines, re-evaluate, delegate, and personally execute on goals.

From a personal perspective, consider hiring some help to ease your to-do list.  Think about bringing in window washers and gutter cleaners to spruce up weather-beaten exteriors; high school helpers to either wrap gifts, address holiday cards, or run errands; and a catering company to supply dishes, linens, and glassware for holiday gatherings (the benefit of this that you don’t have to clean dishes afterwards, just place them back into the container in which they were delivered and voila! no after-celebration dish cleanup!). Bottom line: use the support system around you and in the community.

3. Don’t Run the Holidays Like You Run a Campaign
It’s not about perfection and performance. We put a ton of pressure on ourselves to maintain traditions, get it all done, and be supermoms and superwomen during this season. We mistakenly believe that failure to pull off a perfect holiday equates to personal failure. It doesn’t. Find the essence of what you want you and your loved ones to experience during the holiday season, and – here’s the important point — make experiencing those feelings your priority.

4. Consider Gifting an Experience, not Just One-Time Gifts
Your time and presence are often the most valuable and cherished gifts you can give. For example, instead of just buying gifts this year, consider gift cards for friends and family who love to shop, and include a special shopping trip together after the holidays. If gift cards aren’t allowed for work gifts, consider a lunch outing, or something personal – an after-work stop at an art gallery – that you know the individual would like.

5. Be Thankful
Cultivate gratitude in your life and with your family. Make it fun. Have everyone in your family write down one thing a day for which they are grateful, and during the holidays, have everyone read through and discuss the abundance and blessings in their lives. Take this “attitude of gratitude” to work with you and share positive feedback with your team members every day. Find something that you appreciate in them and let them know.

Another idea: this holiday season we adopted a family, one who suffered a great tragedy. We fulfilled their holiday gift wish list, wrapped each gift individually, and will deliver everything next week. This experience was a good lesson with my children (and reminder to my husband and me) to be thankful for each other and for all we have.

6. Don’t Forget Self-Care
Self-care includes delegating holiday to-dos that someone other than you can do – i.e. have items wrapped, catered and delivered (see above for ideas on that). Also, shop online (I love Amazon Prime!).

And don’t forget to take care of yourself spiritually – read, listen to music, workout, rest and restore.  I try to take one hour a day to exercise, via either yoga, Pilates or jogging on the trail with the kids.  I’ve found that doing so allows me to release energy from the day, breathe and, ultimately, be a better mom, wife and contributor/leader at work.

7. “Make” the Time to Spend with Family and Friends
One thing is sure: work and family responsibilities will always be there, but the ability to spend time with the special people in your life may not. Now is the time to remember that unless you invest time in your relationships, they will fade away. So take time out from all you “must” get done, and spend time with your loved ones.

For example, I have a group of friends who have moved in all directions out of San Francisco, but even  though it’s easy to feel we don’t have time to get together, and that we all have tons to do during the holiday season, we make a point of prioritizing a “girls’ night out” at a great San Francisco restaurant.  These are women I care a lot about, and I know that if I don’t “make” time to see them, it won’t happen. I don’t allow myself to feel guilty for prioritizing these fabulous ladies over all else for the evening during this busy season.  Instead, I remind myself that it’s important to make the time and celebrate one another, along with everything else we celebrate this time of year!

8. Block out Extra Time for 2016 Planning and Consider New Models to Achieve Goals.
At the office, spend time looking back and acknowledging all that went right and was accomplished this year. Planning for a new year can often be very much budget/goal-oriented, but take time to reflect and celebrate wins.  Use insights to inform what you want to do differently as a leader, and how you can help grow the team. Be a good listener by being open to feedback, and use nuggets of what you hear to craft expectations for your team.

Don’t be afraid to try new models – Think through what can you outsource, offshore, or keep in house? I use research from CMO.com, Gartner for Marketing Leaders, and conversations with industry peers to open my eyes to what’s possible to support and drive the business.

9. Use Cloud-based Tools to Manage and Organize
The more mobile you can be, the easier things can get done, and the more flexibility you’ll have for tending to family, community and work expectations. Google docs, SharePoint and other cloud applications can allow you to make and share lists with your team, keep track of project progress, and manage on the go. Make personal and work to-do lists, assign task owners, and resist the urge to keep adding to the list.  It’s been a communication lifesaver for my family, and one that neither my husband or I can live without.

10. Prioritize and Communicate
Once you have your 2016 plan in place, make sure to communicate goals, get comfortable saying “no,” “later,” or offering alternatives and asking for help. The more decisive you can be, the less stress you will feel.  If you need help personally, reach out to your inner circle for tips (I do this all of the time with my girlfriends; they fuel me since I can’t do it alone).

From a work perspective, talk with your manager, peers and HR for tips. Communication and prioritization are key.

The holidays are always a high-pressure time, but with mindfulness, planning and clear vision, you can both experience the joy and beauty of this festive time period, and ensure that your new year gets off to a great start.