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How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating Lists

How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating Lists

How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating List

Writing things down has long been a way of clearing our minds and reducing stress. Creating lists during the holidays is the perfect way to reduce holiday stress for busy mom.  Moms understand lists, we get them from school each year for supplies and are usually pretty good about writing grocery lists and common tasks list on for our homes and family.

But when the holidays hit, SHAZAM! Our once busy lives take on hundreds of little details to make the holidays bright and cheery. We immediately become teams Santa, and lots of time it is a solo act. Honestly, when you look back to your parents, who took on making Christmas awesome? I would be many of you would say my mom or another mom-figure in your lives. However, in the past couple of decades, the landscape of Christmas has changed.  Our children are busier than ever with activities to give them a leg-up to enter good colleges in the future. Our regular to-do list looks like a corporate planner compared to the simple list my moms.

Note: My mom always prioritized with a firm no, the family came first at Christmas period. Family dinners and visits were the highlights of Christmas as was attended Midnight Church services with family and friends. Most moms in my time were stayed at home to raise the kids and have dinner on the table at six, it sounds cliche but it is the gospel truth.

Busy Moms Are Overwhelmed With Stuff To Do

The To Do list of today’s mom more often than not contains a work and at least one activity per child but usually at least two.  It is a battle of wills to get the kids where they need to go, fed, homework finished, and bills paid. Moms, are constantly seeking shortcuts for housework or end up hiring services so they can spend more time with their families.  The once master household list for moms, neatly written and taped next to the paper calendar on fridge has turned into Home Management Binders, Pages of spreadsheets and Apps on our smartphones.

Moms have become CEOs of mini-family-corporations and you will often see this on their Facebook profile listed as a job. It is overwhelming and exhausting, and then the holidays hits and bam we are in TO DO hell. But this can be managed by creating lists!

How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating Lists

Lists Give You A Birdseye View Of All The Stuff To Do

Creating lists during the holiday season give busy moms a birds-eye view of all the stuff we need to do.  Writing things down helps us discover what is truly important during the busy holiday season.   It also allows moms to organize and choose family commitments and tasks during the stress of the holidays as well as providing the peace of knowing exactly what needs to be done.

Put Self- Care Items First On Your List

Another benefit of creating lists is adding items of self-care first.  Exhausted moms often are running on the leftovers off their toddler’s plates, Starbucks lattes, and granola bars.  Writing down self-care items first makes them a priority (or at least gives them a fighting chance).  Mom who get adequate sleep, exercise, good nutrition, and some time to rejuvenate get more done with a much happier attitude.

Example of Not Putting Self-Care First

Example: How do you feel when you have not slept in three days and your husband tells you his family is coming over for dinner that night. He then says,  he would love to serve your famous Beef Brisket and Hashbrown Casserole.  Most moms would not be very thrilled to hear this news.  I personally might possibly fall into a puddle of tears. I would be unhappy at the short notice of a family dinner and we probably will have a couple squabble.

Now if I have had good sleep and self-care for those three days I will still be miffed with the short notice but I will be able to manage the family dinner because I am not exhausted! 

So it is important to put self-care items on your lists.

How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating Lists

Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating These Lists

Listed below are five different lists to get help busy moms get started on reducing holiday stress by creating and maintaining a list.

Write A Got To Do List
Write a list of things that simply must be done over the holidays season. This lists will probably be quite long. It may be beneficial to divide it into Events, Gifts Shopping, Grocery, Party Needs, Errands, Concerts etc.  Add any items on the list that have a solid deadline or is an event that you and/or your family are attending.

Write A Want To Do List

Create a list of items that you would like to do this holiday season but are not mandatory. For example, every year we visit the local Presidential Library to view the decorated trees and have a visit with Santa.  This event is not a Got To Do but is something we want to do every year.  This is also similar to a Christmas Bucket List which is a wonderful way to allow your children to add things to the list that they would like to do over the holidays.

Create a To-Don’t List

Putting together a To Don’t list is a way of protecting something that is very precious to you and your family during the holidays. TIME! Time is one thing that you can’t buy more of or save for later. Any time we say yes to something, even when it is free, it is still costing us time. Write a list of things you simply cannot do to keep you sane during and reduce holiday stress.

Morning and Evening Routine Lists

Finally, create morning and evening routines to stay on track during busy times. This will create peace and create a foundation of wellness so that busy moms can take of their families and themselves. Make sure to add those items most needed, sleep, good nutrition, movement, and fun!  This will ensure balance during busy times and reduce holidays stress.

Find Out More Ways To Reduce Holiday Stress

  1. REDUCING HOUSE CLUTTER TO CLEAR YOUR MIND – find out five way to reduce clutter to clear your mind!

  2. BUSY MOMS NEED TO LEARN TO SAY NO – Learn how to say now and save your sanity!

  3. BUSY MOMS NEED TO SCHEDULE SLEEP – Learn the importance of scheduling sleep.

 

How To Reduce Holiday Stress By Creating Lists #holidaystress #Christmas #mom

 

 

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. Pam you made a very great point with the To Don’t List. I think that is the best time management advice I have heard about Christmas planning.

    For example I start planning and doing for Christmas in September with the plan of being done by Dec 1st. It is so easy to just keep going and doing more and more until the very last day, ruining the point of starting early.

    Great advice lady.

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