Yes, Christmas/Holiday burnout is real.
The Christmas break is supposed to be a chance to recharge our batteries, spend time with family/friends, take a short trip or holiday. Yet for many of us, perhaps most of us, the “festive Season” feels like a battle between time management, personal expectation and dealing with unresolved family issues. Juggling family, friends, work, and personal aspirations, together with perceived societal expectations, can have some of us feeling exhausted, stressed, and even depressed.
And social media (tiktok, Instagram et al) doesn’t help. Perfect families, enjoying perfect holidays, or opening perfectly packed presents under perfectly decorated trees, has us all reaching for unachievable goals.
This year let’s give ourselves a break. A real break. Not just from our work/careers, but also from the idea that we live in a post card village where blue wrens fly around us and our homes are spotless 24/7 and our bank accounts are flowing.
Strategies to Enjoy this Summer Break:
WORK/CAREER:
- Plan now for the next 4-6 weeks. Work out a realistic timeline to achieve what you would like to achieve before the year end. Break this down to weekly and even daily tasks and start crossing out each Job you complete. Seeing a finished task/job/project will assist you in achieving the next target/objective.
- Don’t start any big new projects. It’s OK to plan for a new project, and to even design a schedule of steps, however, starting something, you KNOW you cannot finish will only create psychological anxiety as it plays on your mind.
- Project/Jobs that cannot be completed before the end of the year, no matter how valuable or important, should be considered “roll-over” tasks. Add them to your 2023 planning schedule; it OK to no complete that which is not possible to be completed.
- You should know if/when your business/office will be closed for – make that your “Closed for Business” time also. You can’t help clients/customers during this time regardless so, allow yourself to turn off, even if it’s just 2-3 days.
- Make sure you take time to ENJOY this time of year. This might be joining co-workers for Friday night drinks, organising to meet with your favourite client(s) for lunch, in a comfortable and social environment. Or taking time out for yourself, going for a walk, picking up a gift, or doing some self-care with a “present to me” moment.
- Remember, you are neither Superman, nor Wonder Woman. You cannot do everything, and that’s OK.
FAMILY/HOME:
- Make several lists. List’s help you identify what is needed, what is possible, and what is probable.
- List1– What you’d like to do/achieve personally over the summer break. Catch up with old friends you haven’t seen since before Covid or start an herb garden. It could be retail therapy, or volunteer work. It doesn’t matter what it is – this is a list FOR YOU.
- List2– Things you need/want to have done for your family and friends. This could be a list of foods you want to have in the home, games you will play together, movies you want to watch as a family, events you’d like to attend over the summer break.
- List3 – Things that must be/need to be done. For example, you may have friends or family staying with you for a period, if so, you’ll need to prepare for their stay. This could be ensuring you have enough towels, spare toothbrushes, shampoo etc., in stock, or planning for specific health and dietary needs for your friend/family member, or for a pet they will be bringing with them
- List4 – Finances. Yes, this is not the most fun thing to do, however, knowing your true financial position before you begin, helps to ensure you don’t overspend, which in turn helps with reducing financial stress.
- Share the duties. You are not the only one in the family/household/relationship. Cooking, cleaning, shopping, childcare, writing and sending out cards/e-cards; it doesn’t matter what needs to be done; everyone should contribute to the workload so that everyone can appreciate the value of the results.
- Don’t over-do it. If you love to cook and you excitedly count down the days to Christmas Dinner, every year, that’s great! But if cooking for 10-people isn’t your thing, that’s OK too! The point of family get togethers is to share memories, laughter, and love, and while a delicious meal is a true joy, the preparation can be a burden for some. Don’t disparage yourself if you would prefer to go to a restaurant for a festive lunch rather than cook it yourself. And equally so, if the idea of baking, and baisting and tasting is your concept of joyousness, then do it!
And finally, it’s OK to say “NO” – yes parties are fun, weekends away are what we live for, and children getting exactly what they wanted is every parent’s idea of fulfilment; however, sometimes that’s just not possible. It’s OK to say “no, sorry I really can’t make it on Saturday” or “sorry, I’d love to come with you to Lorne for a week, but I just can’t make it this year” and even “Sorry sweetheart, I know you want a new iPhone, and a new tablet, but you can only have one of them, which one would you like this year?”
Saying no does not mean you’ve failed as a friend or parent. What it means is you’ve assessed what is a priority for you and made a decision that is best for you and your family; and that’s always more than OK 😊
This Summer, let yourself enjoy the festive season, and from your family and Team to yours Melbourne Building Works wishes you the very best of happy holidays.