“…work Christmas party again and it’s in Offaly this year….”
“Is the Elf arrived yet?”
“Where did you book Santa?”
“Are we going to your mother’s this year? What about my mother?”
“Which credit card will we put that on?”
That could be the sound at any lunch table this week. Or school gate. But more importantly … it could also be the voice inside your brain at 3am as you lay in bed.
Plan-Pace-Prioritise will be recognisable to many people as an evidence-based way that fatigue is managed in different chronic medical conditions. I suggest to my patients that “holiday fatigue” can be approached the same way. So, how to do it?
Prioritise: Spoiler: You can’t do it “ALL”. No one can. Make a list of what holiday traditions mean the most to you. Ask your family members what expectation is most important. Make those the priority first – whether we are talking time or money.
Pace: How much can you actually do? Set the pace so that those really important or meaningful traditions have time and space and €.
Plan: Make a plan that gives priority to the things that are most important, and sets a pace/budget (time or €) that is realistic. Use visual and/or digital planning aids such as setting reminders on your phone hours or days before something needs to be done, a white board with lists in teh house, or even using a paper calendar and circling and marking dates for events such as “santa” or “school concert”.
Healthy Holidays is a virtual advent calendar focusing evidence-based ways to look after your physical and mental health this holiday seasons. It will be available every evening on social media and, as always, also on the Blog.
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