Written by: Bronwen Sciortino, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Here we are again, hurtling relentlessly towards the end of another year. The pressure is building to get everything done and make it so that your efforts have meant something.
It seems like you’re suddenly being bombarded with questions around whether you achieved your ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and your ‘goals’ for the year … and it makes you start to question whether you’ve really achieved anything since the beginning of the year.
Often, when you answer this question, you’re left feeling like you’ve failed, because you most likely haven’t given your goals any thought for quite some time.
From feeling lousy about the whole thing, you then move into overwhelm because there isn’t very much of the year left, and now there’s almost no time for you to achieve anything before you have to ‘wash, rinse and repeat’ the goal setting process for next year.
You’ve been busy … and ‘busy’ is about to get out of control.
For a long time, there have been excessive demands on your time. You’ve been juggling far too many balls in the air for way too long, and it’s felt like you need two or three copies of yourself to get everything done.
Being busy is now a default setting – it’s situation normal for almost everyone. And it’s about to get busier with the demands of the holiday season.
For many of us, this time of the year arrives and you just step in and ride the wave, holding tightly to your delicately balanced energy levels. You’re basically getting yourself to the end of the year on sheer will alone.
But there is another way. You can do things differently if you want to.
With the holiday season comes that chaotic time of year when every gathering, catch-up, coffee, lunch, dinner, and beverage seems to emerge from nowhere and clamour for your attention.
You’re already exhausted from the demands of the year, and you can feel the pressure of all these added events coming, before they even happen.
Then, with a virtual snap of your fingers, your calendar is bursting at the seams with extra ‘stuff’, and it feels like there’s no room to breathe.
Five Simple Things to Help You Experience This Differently
Different doesn’t have to mean difficult.
Here are five simple suggestions to help you stay sane during this extremely stressful time of the year – even if you’re not battling a surplus of extra activities and feel like you need a little break from life, but especially if you are:
1. Know what’s important to you:
Say ‘Yes’ to the events that allow you to spend time with the people and activities that are consistent with what’s important to you. Decline the others. By doing this, you can be sure that the activities you include in your day will contribute to, rather than deplete, your energy.
2. Balance the load:
No rule has been established that mandates that every catch-up take place in December each year. Consider delaying some of those "catch-ups" until the New Year, so that you can unwind and appreciate them more.
3. Practice saying ‘No’:
If you're unable to squeeze in a function or a catch-up, that's totally fine. Saying "no" is sometimes the best course of action, since it gives you the time you need to go about your daily activities without overtaxing your body and mind.
4. Be kind to yourself:
By all means go along if there is somewhere you feel the need to go. But don't hesitate to leave early. Making yourself work overtime will simply make it more difficult to complete the other tasks you have to complete.
5. Planning is key:
With all the extra ‘busy-ness’ that comes with extra events, there comes the extra load of eating and drinking out a lot more. It's crucial that you sustain yourself throughout this period with high-quality, nutritional food and beverages. Spend a little time now so that you are prepared for the times when you are worn out and don't feel like taking care of yourself. If you organise yourself today, you'll appreciate it later.
The best place to start is to choose one or two of these things and give them a go. It’s always the simple, easy and practical steps that will make things easier for you.
Choose to support yourself in a different way this holiday season and you’ll likely experience getting to the end of the year in a different way.
If want some more ways to start thinking about moving forwards differently, then dive into my free email series which you can get by clicking here. It’s full of seven of my favourite steps to overcome overwhelm, reduce stress, take back control and keep things super simple.
Bronwen Sciortino is a Simplicity Expert, an internationally renowned author, and a professional speaker, and you can follow her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Read more from Bronwen!
Bronwen Sciortino, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Bronwen Sciortino is an International Author and Simplicity Expert who spent almost two decades as an award-winning executive before experiencing a life changing event that forced her to stop and ask the question ‘What if there’s a better way to live?’
Embarking on a journey to answer this question, Bronwen developed a whole new way of living – one that teaches you to challenge the status quo and include the power of questions in everyday life.
Gaining international critical acclaim and 5-star awards for her books and online programs, Bronwen spends every day teaching people that there is an easy, practical and simple pathway to creating a healthy, happy AND highly successful life.
Sourced globally for media comment as an expert and working with corporate programs, conference platforms, retreats, professional mentoring and in the online environment, Bronwen teaches people how easy it is to live life very differently.
