How to Maintain Your Routine During the Holidays
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Our day-to-day lives consist of many routines. Morning routines. Night routines. Workout routines. Reset routines. While you may resonate with not having a routine, for many, these routines implement structure to our days, enhance our organization and productivity and overall, just help us keep our lives on track. During the holidays, life is extremely hectic and busy. Between gift shopping, home decorating, parties, delicious holiday treats and family time, it’s easy to over-indulge and fall out of our typical consistent routines during this festive season.
If you feel supported by your daily rituals and are hoping to sustain this day-to-day rhythm (despite it being the busiest time of year), keep reading for tips on how you can stay on track and maintain your routine this holiday season.
Tips For Maintaining Your Routine During The Holidays
Keep Your Sleep Schedule the Same
In the midst of holiday parties, weekend getaways, and quality time shared with family and friends, it’s easy to lose track of time and veer off from a typical schedule. But a crucial step in maintaining a consistent routine during the holiday season is to keep your sleep schedule the same.
Going to bed and waking up at around the same time everyday can be essential for your mental and physical health. This consistency will keep you grounded and in control during this time of year. Your mind and body will also thank you for getting plenty of rest this season as a way to recharge and prevent your immune system from getting rundown.
Maintain Your Morning Routine
Just because the holidays are a hectic time, doesn’t mean your mornings have to be. Morning routines are probably one of the most important routines in our day to day lives. A morning full of consistent practices can set you up for a successful day of productivity. Keeping up with your morning routine will help to ensure that you don’t fall out of your everyday rhythm this season.
Make it a priority to wake up at the same time you usually do, and start your day off the right way with an activity that you love or that brings you peace. Reading a chapter or two of your favorite book, getting in a quick sweat, or journaling and practicing daily affirmations are all great ways to start the day and can bring a sense of calm during the holiday season.
Tip: Incorporating a good morning yoga or morning stretch routine is a perfect way to get your body moving, decompress, and slow down in a season where we always seem to be on the go and overbooked.
It’s also important to note: this routine should not cause you added stress! A routine like this should build you up, not tear you down. If you find that keeping this structured routine during the holidays is not supporting your mind and body, then don’t feel obligated to keep to the same rigid standards that you might outside of the holidays. In fact, creating a holiday routine—where you intentionally take time to do something in the morning that you enjoy and that brings you peace in a more leisurely sense—could be the morning routine that you need. Above all else, a routine is a way for you to bolster your best self.
Prioritize Your Mental Health
During such a fast-paced and frenzied time of year, it’s hard to take a step back and prioritize your needs and psychological well-being. While the holiday season is a festive time for most, it can undoubtedly be overwhelming and mentally draining. It’s oftentimes difficult to tell how burnt out you may be feeling in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle.
One of the biggest ways to prioritize your mental well-being during the holiday season is to set boundaries for yourself. While the holidays are a great time to catch up with family and friends, it can sometimes be anxiety-inducing, and ultimately, lead to putting your mental health on the back burner. If you have to turn down one or two parties or holiday dinners to maintain your sanity, that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do in order to recharge and rejuvenate.
Take advantage of your downtime this holiday season by practicing self care, getting plenty of rest, eating well, and taking care of yourself and your body’s physical and emotional needs.
Listen to Your Body
Going right along with all of the aforementioned tips on how to stay on track and maintain your routine this holiday season — simply listen to your body. Our brains and bodies thrive off of routine, so staying consistent with our typical daily practices will help to ease the craziness of the holiday season.
Don’t be too strict with yourself, though. Our bodies also need grace. If you’re feeling extra exhausted after a plethora of holiday parties, take the next morning to sleep in or don’t make plans until later in the afternoon so you have a full morning to yourself to recharge.
Feeling guilty for eating one too many holiday cookies? Don’t! Life is all about balance — especially during the holidays. So as long as you're being intuitive and listening to your body’s wants and needs, it’s alright to indulge and stray from the norm every now and then.
Keeping the above tips in mind will help you stay on track and maintain your routine this holiday season. So go out and enjoy!