Whether we like it or not, the holiday season has arrived. While this time of year is often associated with things like festivities and cheer, for many it can also mean busier than usual schedules, less sleep, and heightened emotions. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the rushing and doing, isn’t it?
I call this the holiday hustle.
While I used to love filling my calendar to the brim with plans and parties and more, this type of go go go isn’t really for me anymore. I don’t enjoy feeling anxious and frazzled. I’d rather spend my season doing less so that I can enjoy more, if that makes sense!
If you can relate, here are three strategies to help you slow down and beat the holiday hustle this year:
1. Move every day.
I’m not saying to get a killer hour-long workout in every day, but I AM saying to do something active every day. Do a quick 20 minute metabolic circuit, go for a winter walk, or take yourself through a basic yoga sequence or two at home. Simply move in a way that serves you so you can keep your stress levels at bay, keep those endorphins flowing, and maintain as much consistency as possible before the New Year.
2. Do 1-3 things for YOU.
Ask yourself what will bring joy to your holiday season. Maybe it’s spending a night at home with your husband watching Christmas movies, maybe it’s getting together with your closest girlfriends for wine and a cookie swap, maybe it’s taking a day off from work to get a pedicure and curl up with a good book at your favorite coffee shop. Don’t think about all the things that have to get done. Simply pick the 1-3 things that would truly help you savor the season, and then do them.
3. Think about how you are making things harder than they need to be.
During a yoga class I took a few months ago, the instructor paused while we were holding one of the poses for a really long time, and he asked us if we were doing anything that was making the situation harder for ourselves. I thought this was a really interesting way to get us to think about the ways we could make holding the pose a little easier: focusing more on breathing, keeping our shoulders down, opening up the chest, etc. Like so many things in the fitness world, I thought this correlated to life quite nicely, and I actually often come back to this when I feel overwhelmed. This season, I encourage you to ask yourself the same thing. How are you making things harder for yourself? What can you delegate? What can you take off your plate?
Remember, it might not feel like we have time to stop and breathe when we have a lot going on.
But here’s the thing: we have to slow down in order to hustle up.
And it’s precisely when we are able to give ourselves that time that we’ll be able to put more of ourselves in when life demands it.
If this type of self-care sounds like something you’d like to cultivate more of, then I invite you to sign up for my insider Achieve It Crew. I send my best workouts, recipes, nutrition and fitness tips, self care strategies, and more to my VIP list. You can sign up here.