The holiday season has arrived and that means family activities, holiday parties, and delicious cookies! While we all love finding that perfect gift and spending more time with loves ones, balancing these extra activities can be challenging when you have school, work, and family life.
With all the extra holiday fun during this joyful time of year, how can you get everything done without becoming overwhelmed and stressed? Check out our top tips for the best ways to balance school, work, and family during the holidays!
Tip #1 – Stay Organized
To get everything on your list completed during the holidays, the first thing you must do is stay organized. Use a calendar to organize and plan out everything you need to get done during the holiday season, as this will make you more efficient. The easiest way to do this is by using an app like Google Calendar, because it allows you to set alerts to remind you when it’s time to complete something.
To begin, add your school class schedule, assignment due dates, test dates, and other important tasks to your calendar. For example, if you have an important exam approaching and need to study, block off time on your calendar to get it done. Then, add your work shifts, family events, and holiday activities to your calendar.
Now that you’ve added school, work, and life activities to your calendar, you know exactly when you’ll get everything completed. If you find there’s not enough time to get everything done, you may need to reduce your commitments.
Tip #2 – Use Time Management
Using good time management to balance school, work, and family life during the holiday season is the second thing you need to do. As you schedule and plan activities on your calendar, ensure you’re realistic about how much time each thing will take to complete, and ensure you’ve given yourself adequate time.
Make sure you don’t overbook yourself and commit to too many activities, as this can lead to more stress and feeling overwhelmed.
For work, school, and family activities, prioritize the most important things you need to do. This way, if you are overbooked and have to remove something, you can remove a lower priority item from your schedule and still finish the important stuff.
Tip #3 – Get Ahead
As much as you can, try to get ahead on things during this busy time of year so you have extra time for holiday fun. Completing school assignments before the due date and working ahead at your job are both great ways you can get ahead.
For example, if you have a big project at work with a deadline around Christmas, get as much as possible done early, so you’re not rushing and stressed trying to complete it by the due date. Never procrastinate and wait until the last moment to finish something because the quality of your work will be lower, and you can easily become stressed while under last-minute pressure.
Tip #4 – Practice Self-Care
Now that you’ve gotten organized, are using good time management, and have worked ahead, you’re ready to take some time for yourself and practice self-care! When you start feeling overwhelmed with everything there is to do, remember the holidays are meant to be a wonderful time with loves ones.
Eating healthily and getting enough sleep are two important ways to practice self-care in the holiday season. With all the evidence showing the negative effects of not getting an adequate amount of sleep, don’t be tempted to skip sleep just to get things done. It can be a challenge for everyone to eat healthily during the holidays because we’re surrounded by good food and sweets. It may seem easier to eat whatever is available, but eating healthily will help keep your energy up.
You may have a million and one things to do, but remember to take time for yourself to relax and refresh your energy. If you’re struggling to find self-care time, schedule it on your calendar to ensure it gets done. It may not seem productive to “do nothing”, but taking time to rest will make you feel significantly better. If you’re completely overwhelmed, don’t forget you can say “no” to some activities.
Balance School, Work, and Life with East Ohio
Our career-focused college degrees are designed to work with your busy life, making it easier to balance school, work, and family life. At East Ohio College, we offer fast track career training, small class sizes, personalized attention, and hands-on learning to help you start a rewarding career.
Learn more about our fast track Nursing, LPN to RN Bridge, Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, Medical Office Administration, and Business Administration programs and request information today to start your journey to a rewarding new career!