It’s About Time: 3 Practices for the Holidays

Do you ever find yourself saying, I don’t have time for this! Especially when life provides you with little but costly inconveniences like your car not starting, computer crashing, or chai tea spilled in your lap? Whether you look forward to the holidays or suffer through them, they require more from us—attention, energy, and time.

We can’t change time, but we can change the relationship we have with it by changing the relationship we have with ourselves. These three simple, but not always easy CPR practices (Compassion, Presence, and Recovery) support your Self-Leadership to give you more time by opening your heart to connect, engage, and energize yourself during the holiday and beyond.

1. Slow Down

Slowing down sounds counterintuitive when we feel like we have so much to do and need to speed up to get it all done. Slowing down is the way we can engage with what we are doing, which leads to more focus, efficiency, and joy in doing it.

Slow down your talking, driving, and eating even 10% and you will have a completely different holiday experience because you will be in the present.

2. Allow More Time

Things always take longer than most of us think, especially when there are more people out shopping, socializing, and celebrating, resulting in heavier traffic, busier stores, and longer lines everywhere.

Plan to arrive early for everything by allowing more time and you will be less stressed and more grounded, allowing you to connect with yourself and others at the market, party, or lunch with a friend.

3. Take Time Now

We can’t wait until after the holiday to get more sleep, take a break, or fill ourselves up if we want to be our best. A working mother (with two children under the age of 3) recently told me she schedules 15 minutes every single day just for herself and I thought, if she can do it, so can I!

Take time to recover to re-energize yourself with a walk, hot bath or doing nothing at all every day and your family, friends, and patients will get the best of you.

I invite you to avoid getting caught up in the holiday frenzy and to not focus on how busy, tired, or overwhelmed you are with all you have to do. It is time to get clear on what has the most purpose and meaning for you right now, and going forward. Commit to doing just one of these timely practices this month. I know they work when I work them!