&
Mind
Wellbeing
Organise Yourself Today for a Stress-Free December
F
or what’s supposed to be the happiest
time of the year, we sure whizz through
all the tinsel with a faint air of stress.
When December arrives, we’re rarely ready for
the family hosting, present exchanging, and
party attending. We end up resenting activities
that are actually the greatest gifts of the season.
Here’s an idea: let’s not be overwhelmed this
year! Let’s get organised and actually enjoy the
process of getting ready for Christmas.
Write it all down. Stress often comes from a
cluttered mind; emptying those thoughts onto
paper can be freeing and focusing. Grab a new
notebook or create an online spreadsheet that
you can access from home, work, or mid-shop-
ping trip — this thing is your new best friend.
Make Page 1 your brain dump of what’s
weighing on you most: gifts, visitors, social
events, traditions, anything that requires some
forethought. Add to this list as needed, to be
expanded upon in subsequent pages.
Gift Planning. This is Page 2 and you can
organise it many ways, but here’s what we
suggest. Column 1: who you’re shopping for.
Column 2: brainstormed ideas, such as specific
items or notes (like ‘Steven is into hiking’).
Column 3: actual purchases you’ve made.
Column 4: where you’ll eventually write
D-O-N-E on each line.
Visitor Planning. Allot a page to what you can
do in advance — washing guest bedding and
towels, thinking about fun activities, making
restaurant reservations. Plan a menu of easy
meals that feed large groups (bonus points for
crock pot recipes and dishes you can freeze
beforehand). Importantly, remember that your
visitors are here to see you; keep things simple
so you have time for mulled wine and chats.
Pages for Everything. Hosting a cocktail party?
Leaving town? Those need their own pages in
the aforementioned spreadsheet. You can also
devote a page to a simple ongoing to-do list:
pull out house decorations, buy party dress,
send Christmas cards, bake festive treats for the
neighbours. Write it all down!
Remember all the gift exchanging last
December? All those guests who showed up?
That week with three consecutive parties? It’s
going to happen again this year. We promise.
No need to wait to confirm this information.
Begin planning now.
ISSUE #09 | 2018 | SkinHealthMagazine.com 8