We are rapidly approaching a very busy season. Two major holidays in quick succession add immense stress to the entrepreneurial visionary. Demands on our time and resources increase. Deadlines shorten. Patience wears thin and we burn our candle at both ends. Managing holiday stress is becoming more and more difficult. As entrepreneurs we want to be in service to everyone! Our deepest desire is to serve and facilitate amazing lifestyles, both for ourselves and our clients.
Finding our own way of managing stress over the holidays is essential to be able to show up for ourselves and our clients.
Kelly McGonigal has a very unique view on stress:
When we redefine what stress means to us, we are better able to not only manage our stress levels, but make them work for us rather than against us.
Here are 4 Essential steps to managing Holiday Stress:
1. Change your mindset:
Creating a new definition of stress as an entrepreneur is the first step to a healthier holiday. Reframe the story you tell yourself about the stress in your work. Can you change how that stress shows up? Are you able to redefine the messages your stress sends your mind and body? When the stress begins to rise, change the story that goes along with it and see how it can fuel your dreams and desires.
2. Create Boundaries:
Set clear boundaries in your business over the holiday season. Communicate those boundaries early to your clients and your family. Make yourself a promise to stick to your boundaries and honor them in your business. While working way past quitting time may sound like a great idea at the time, having to break promises to your family about holiday activities because you need to finish “one more thing” can be a recipe for disaster. The holiday season is meant for celebration, not for living on the edge. Choose your boundaries with time and work load and stick to them. You will be glad you did.
3. Take time off:
While we want to be all things to all people, we need time to recharge our own batteries and celebrate with our family. Reduce your hours over the holiday and give yourself the gift of down time. Clearly define to your clients what an emergency is over the holiday season and have support in place to help you when those little requests pop up. Set up auto responses in your email so that clients know you are unavailable and enlist the help of assistants to answer low level concerns. Unplug from your electronics and put them away, even for a few hours. Taking time off during the holidays is an amazing way to give a gift to yourself and your family.
4. Express Gratitude:
It is the season of giving thanks. Be thankful for all that you have and be thankful for the things that are coming your way in the new year. Choose small actions every day to show your gratitude. Pay it forward in the coffee line up. Plug someone’s parking meter as you walk by. Send out personalized messages to your client base thanking them for their business and continued support moving forward. Enlist the help of services such as Send Out Cards or Amazon Wishlists to give your clients a boost during the holiday. Hire a college student to personalize a holiday card mail out to your client base. Small, gracious giving can boost your business and make you the obvious choice as they seek support and services in the new year.
This holiday season, put yourself at the top of your gift giving list and actively participate in the celebration. Give your family the gift of time. Give your clients the gift of gratitude. Give yourself the gift of being present.
Natalie Blais
www.APassionateParent.com
