Blogmas Day 10- How To Deal w/ Holiday Stress

Hello readers!

Today's post, we're going to talk a little bit about self care during the holidays.

I know that I am definitely a person who has an extremely busy life at the end of the calendar year. That being said, I try to make sure that I am not over-loading myself with too much.

I'm going to break this post into two categories, at work and at home stresses.

At Work:

For those of you who don't know, I work at a Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe. I am here year-round, Summer is when the busy season starts for me, it tends to really spike in October/November, and then December I spend pretty much holed up in my office staring at excel sheets and listening to Christmas movies/music. 

The reason being that I am so busy is that I am an administrative assistant for at least 5 - 9 different departments and as you can imagine, we on-board a lot of employees from October until December for the season. I also work a 10 hour day every day. In the Summer, it's an easy 4/10 schedule. In the Winter it becomes a 5/11-ish schedule and if it's a decent winter, an hour commute both ways.

All of that being said, if none of you have ever considered a seasonal job, I would highly suggest working at a resort for at least part of the year. Especially in a guest facing department. The interactions you get with guests and your role in their experience is unlike any other place I've ever worked. The smallest acts of kindness, which are nothing to you to do, mean so much to each family you meet it's incredible. You also get to know some really amazing regulars and on the occasion get to meet a celebrity you never thought you would meet.

So, what I like to do to combat the stress at work is pretty simple.

First and formost, I try to get outside. 

A lot of my work is inside at a desk. I've made my office a pretty cozy little place to be but sometimes, you just need to go outside. So, depending on the Winter weather, I will usually try to find at least one day a week to spend the entire day, or at least most of the day, outside working. Usually, that means I am shoveling snow to clear it from somewhere important, but there isn't any commitment to the task and you get fresh air. If you finish, great, if you don't it's at least mostly clear. Sometimes I'll volunteer to work in a different department that I've previously been trained in. Even going up to help break out another employees lunch helps kind of reset you for whatever you need to get done.

Make lists!

I have a daily planner that I like to use to write down any meetings for the week I have mostly to re-remind myself what to expect for the week. On each day I write down what I did for the day at the end so I know what I have accomplished and so I don't feel like I'm drowning.

But most importantly, I make a list for the week and I try to indicate which items on said list have the highest priority. This allows me to keep track of anything I know I have to do that I remember, but also keep focus on the tasks that have the hardest deadline or take the most work. It also helps me juggle the balls of work life, when I push for one task to move a little bit farther forward but may need assistance from another department.

Make your office cozy!

I am fortunate to have my own office space, and it's very much a mixture of me and my workload. I have paintings I've done, my grandma's done, gifts others have given me, collections of some of my favorite things. The biggest item in my office that I suggest everyone get, is a table lamp. I have a regular lamp and a salt lamp. I turn off the overhead lights and turn on my lamps and it really makes it easier to feel comfortable and also reduce the amount of headaches I get from staring at the screen.

Keep it clean!

I'm notorious for piling shit on the floor of my office that I need to work on, or getting piles of paperwork on my desk. It can easily get out of control and unorganized. What I try to do at least once a week, is go through and clear up any physical piles of stuff to do. I tend to get wrapped up in the to-do list that is my email and get complacent with the stacks of paper around me when in reality, those stacks of paper may be super easy to deal with and I'm just putting it off because physically, it looks like a daunting task.

At Home:

For me, my biggest struggle to stay organized is at home. I'm really good at putting off scheduling a Dr. appointment for weeks because I forget to do it in the normal 9-5. 

With the added stress of the holidays as well, I tend to really try to find my groove super early in the season.

Make lists!

Yes! I make lists at home too! Usually I keep them in my planner or on my phone depending on the list, but I like to lay out my expectations for the month. What I need to get done in a timely manner, what things I need to pick up, who I need to make sure I get cards to. 

Get it done early!

I can't tell you how many times I've appreciated myself, yes my own self, for getting something done earlier than I needed to. For instance, I will get all of my Christmas shopping done as close to the beginning of December as I can so I don't have to worry about it later in the month. I also mentioned in my Bookish gift guide, I will get extra sort of basic gifts so I don't forget anyone. It doesn't have to be expensive, a cheap cute mug and a $5 starbucks card is super easy and inexpensive. 

Drink Water!

I don't care where you live, what the climate is like, or how the weather is.

Drink. Your. Damn. Water

Your skin is dry, your mouth is dry, your body is dehydrated, and if you get stuck in a snow storm... you can't eat the snow to stay hydrated. It will fuck up your organs. Carry a god damn water bottle and drink some water sweetie.

Delegate the responsibility!

This is one I keep telling my MIL to do. She has always made the entire holiday meal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and I know it stresses her out. I finally got her to break down two years ago and let us kids bring the sides and a dessert so she wasn't iron-manning the dishes by herself. What I appreciate the most is that I get to contribute to the meal, I also get to be creative by making a dish, and we get to kind of experiment with different classic dishes that maybe we wouldn't have before. 

Relax!

It's just the holiday guys. Take a bubble bath instead of finishing that book. Pay someone else to paint them nails instead of taking an hour to do it yourself to fuck it up in less than a minute. Treat yo' self. 

Tell me your favorite ways to deal with holiday stress.