The Importance of Self Care During the Holiday Season:Be Your Own Gift!
No matter what holidays you celebrate, December tends to be a crazy month full of a scheduled “to do’s” that would make the rest of the year jealous by far. Between planning holiday dinners and New Years, gift shopping, wrapping up year-end business, and getting holiday cards out…there just never seems to be enough time in the day to take time for you.
Self-care is important all year long, but it can be hard to find the time then implement which only gets harder during the holidays. Even the most dedicated individuals struggle to take the time their mind and body deserve. Here are some tips to help you achieve your own self-care:
Realize that Self Care is about you remembering you have needs too:
It’s easy to focus on others and think everyone’s happiness will be dependent upon your attention/gift/attendance/appreciation. You can try to give all that away but without remembering to take time for yourself, you’ll find yourself exhausted both mentally and physically, and burnt out during what many believe is the happiest time of the year.
Focus some attention on you! The same way you’re focusing on everyone else, and every other situation, include yourself in that list. What makes you happy? Is it taking a class at the gym? Turning your phone and/or TV off for 30 minutes? Sitting in a chair reading a few chapters of a book? Perhaps catching up with a friend about what’s been going on in your life. Whatever it is, make it something that you enjoy and would normally do throughout the rest of the year, but may have been denying yourself in anticipation of creating perfection for everyone else.
Remember that no one is perfect, and your family and friends don’t expect you to be perfect either:
By chasing perfection, you put yourself into a mindset that if the gift isn’t the right one for someone, or a card isn’t sent to every person you know or creating the perfect royal icing to flood your cookies with, you only place unrealistic expectations on yourself and create undo stress.
Focus on allowing yourself some slack. It’s OK for you to say, “I will get to it when I can get to it”. And that’s OK! Allow yourself to say “just because I’ve done it every year in the past doesn’t mean I need to do it this year as well”.
Ask for help when needed! Need someone to help with gift wrapping? Ask your family or friends. Need help with the meal prep work for hosting? Dole out some responsibilities to even the youngest family members to help out with. Worried that the decorations won’t look exactly, right? Who cares! Remember that they’re supposed to be festive and fun!
Remind yourself daily, this is not a competition.
Use your devices to remind you to take time for yourself:
We all have smart devices whether they’re phones, watches, tablets, or even Alexa!. Set an alarm that reminds you to take 5 minutes to stop what you’re doing, take a deep breath in, hold it for a 3 - 5 second count, then breathe out slowly and repeat this about 3 - 4 times. While you’re doing this, try and clear your mind of the stress of the day (work, kids, shopping, traffic… all of it).
Be present and in the moment during these times. Set an alarm 3 times a day for the first few days, then try going up to 6 times a day. We can all find thirty minutes across a 24-hour day to make time for small self-care breaks. Don’t worry about others or to-do lists during this time. Simply… be in the moment.
A change of location can do you wonders:
If you’re working from home, get up and change rooms for a few minutes each day. If you’re working at an office or a store, on your breaks go outside and take a walk for 10 minutes. A change of scenery not only can make you feel good about yourself but gives your brain new sensory inputs to allow your viewpoint to change. Perhaps it’s the outside fresh air, or the afternoon sunlight or just a stroll through the corridors of work seeing faces you haven’t seen in a bit. The new input of information allows your brain to be stimulated and a stimulated brain is a happy brain.
Make it the season for yourself:
Place yourself first for a bit. Allow yourself to remember that you can be your own reason for happiness, for joy, for contentment. Your presence in the here and now. All of those can be your own present to yourself. Allow yourself to reward yourself for a long year, a lot of hustle and bustle, and all that you do for everyone.
QUICK TIPS:
Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water.
Get sleep! Plan for 7 -8 hours of sleep each night with a schedule.
Talk to friends! Reach out each day via text, email, or a call to connect with someone you’ve been meaning to get in touch with.
Find quiet time! 5 minutes a day to yourself will do wonders to re-set your day.
Be your own gift! No need for wrapping this one, just remember you can’t be everything to everyone else if you’re not everything to yourself.