Tis the season for joy and the overwhelm. Trust me, as my busiest season of the year from October to December, I get it. Running your demanding business (often solo), the family commitments, holiday shopping and seasonal parties… this time of year can be a bit overwhelming and stressful. Unfortunately there is no secret sauce. But here are some ways to help reduce your stress and help you end 2022 strong and with peace.

Get Organized

It’s easy to forget things, I do it constantly. Sorry if I have done it to you, I swear I wasn’t ignoring you. Stay on top of it, make lists, write things down and get systems in place to automate everything. I find that planning it all out and writing it down keeps me on track. Asana (or another task management tool) is a godsend this time of year for both myself and my assistants.

It’s Okay to Say No

Is it really worth the time, effort and loss of family time to take on something to fulfill your customers request? If so, by all means do it, but if you keep saying yes and keep neglecting family and friends, and putting yourself last, you will break down. So it’s okay to say no. Or if you haven’t mastered the hard ‘no’ say, ‘no, but here (x) is what I can do instead’.

Automated Email Message

Set other people’s expectations and if you are having a hard time with responding to emails or know that you are going to be busy on the floor or out-of-office, set up an automated email to let the people reaching out to you know what to expect.

Set Mini Goals

This time of year, we start to review what our big goals were for the year and what we did or didn’t accomplish. If you haven’t reached your goals, don’t stress about it! Set minis goals and keep striving, we can finish the year strong. At this moment, I haven’t hit my yearly goals, but I sat down last week and made a plan on how I can finish out this year strong. At the end of the day, reflect on what you accomplished, big or small, and write it down. The 5-Minute Journal is great for this. This will make you feel significantly better, because our tendency is to look at what we still need to do or accomplish. Try looking at what you are proud of at the end of each day even if it’s just a small thing.

Schedule Time Off for Yourself

This one is hard for us small business owners, am I right! But it’s important. I have days scheduled and blocked off for ‘me time’ to not just give myself a break to rejuvenate, but take care of myself physically and mentally so that I can give 100% during this time. Last year I started taking a 3-5 day local mini trip right in the middle of the busiest season for me. What it did was give me something to look forward to so I could get through the tough late nights and busiest time of the year, but also be excited about something. And guess what, with a hard deadline I completed all my work, delivered all my images, enjoyed all my time with my clients and had the best time on vacation with Aldo before the Christmas Holidays with family. And I’m doing it again this year!

Manage Your Expectations

If you’re like me, holiday season is crucial to my business and my most profitable time of year. But friends, we can’t do it all no matter how much we try. So manage your expectations and be realistic in what you can actually take on and accomplish. Maybe this is the time of year you add-on extra help from the smallest tasks to the ones you dread the most (like editing for me).

And don’t forget the time of year it is!!! Take a moment to reflect and remind yourself of your reason why and your joy!