The Monday Motivator | Staying Positive During the Holidays

* The Monday Motivator is a series meant to motivate, encourage, inspire and provide advice on real life stuff.*

Happy Monday! Another weekend has come and gone, and if you're feeling the same way I am, you  may not have gotten as much checked off your to-do list that you were hoping for. Today is officially ONE week until Christmas Eve, so your holiday stress might be starting to consume you. 

To help you avoid going under, for today's Monday Motivator I wrote about five different ways to stay positive during the holiday season. It's so difficult to avoid stress this time of year. Between shopping for gifts, planning for gatherings and preparing for those oh-so awkward family encounters, it's common to feel like you are reaching your breaking point. But you want to enjoy the holidays, after all! So these ideas are meant to soothe your stress and help you get a little more excited for what's to come.

AVOID THE STORES

This coming weekend is the last shopping weekend before Christmas, which means one thing: the stores will be PACKED. If possible, I recommend avoiding any stores, malls or shopping centers from Friday night through Sunday. If you still have to go to a few places for gifts, do it after work this week to avoid the chaos. It will be worth it in the end- trust me. Or you could just shop online from the comfort of your own home!

DO SOMETHING FESTIVE

When we're rushing around trying to complete a very long to-do list, it's SO easy to lose sight of the joys of the season. I actually REALLY enjoy Christmastime, but the older I get, the more it seems to slip right on by. If we can stop for a moment and do something festive to remind us of that fun holiday magic, it will help us to recenter and destress a bit. This past weekend, I took some time away and went to the movies to see "The Grinch." I got popcorn and hot chocolate and enjoyed watching a Christmas movie. It helped me stop and enjoy the coziness that I LOVE this time of year.

TRY NOT TO CRAM

It's only Monday, which means we have a WHOLE WEEK to get things done. Your to-do list doesn't have to get done in a day. Take that list and assign different tasks to each day of the week. It's an easy way to stay on track and not get overwhelmed by looking at it as a whole. By the end of the week, everything will come together and you will feel SO much better. Don't cram all the tasks into one day and exhaust yourself- NOT. WORTH. IT.

FIND YOUR COZY

There's no better feeling than the feeling of complete coziness; at least I think so! What makes you feel coziest right before the holidays? Is it wrapping up all of the presents you've bought? Maybe it's sipping on hot cocoa and driving around to see Christmas lights, or snuggling up next to your tree with a good book. Whatever your cozy is, FIND IT. And then, DO IT. Suspend the busyness for some coziness; even if it's just for an hour or two. 

GO WITH THE FLOW

Most importantly, take each day as it comes and just go with it. Food will be cooked. Presents will get wrapped. Things will get done. You will notice the more you go with the flow, the less stressed you will feel. Instead of getting caught up on schedules and lists and all the planning pieces that can lead to our anxieties, find a flow that makes you feel like, "oh yeah, I got this." 

Get out there and take on this final holiday prep week! YOU CAN DO IT!

Game time,