As cheery and warm as Hallmark likes to make the holidays, December is also packed full of stress for many people. Christmas shopping, navigating packed department stores and malls, decorating and dealing with extended family is some of the stress-makers people face. For university students, exams are also happening sending students into a whirlwind of final projects and studying.
Despite the hectic nature and stress of the holiday season, it is important to take a moment to breathe. There are many ways to manage your time to work in time for yourself and to take time to spend with family and friends. The first and best way to manage your time is time management. Planning ahead may not sound very fun but having a schedule will greatly reduce your stress. Plan when to study for what, when to work on projects, when to go Christmas shopping and plan for time to relax! It’s much easier to ease your mind if you have a set schedule to stick to. This way you know you will get everything done.
Relaxing doesn’t have to mean sitting on the couch and doing nothing. If there’s something that needs to get done but you enjoy, do that at your leisure and make it fun! For example, you can have a wrapping party with your family or friends. Make some hot chocolate and get out those rolls of wrapping paper. You are checking something off your to do list while also having fun!
It’s also really important to sleep. Especially for those in the midst of exams, sleeping is crucial. Sleep rejuvenates your body and your mind, you will be more productive if you are well-rested. It may seem like a good idea to stay up all hours of the night to study for that biology exam, but you aren’t going to retain any of the information you take in at 2am. It will be much better for your health and your grade to go to sleep at a decent time, and start studying again after you have gotten an appropriate amount of sleep.
Take time to do the fun things that comes with the holidays! Go see Christmas lights or visit the Christmas Village if your city has one. Have a decorating party or take a group trip to drive around and see Christmas lights while blaring Christmas tunes on the radio. The holidays don’t have to be all stress. Make it fun!
Most importantly, make sure you make the time to do what you love. If it’s drawing, writing, playing video games, hanging out with friends or a significant other, or even binging your favorite show on Netflix, make sure you do it. This may be the season of giving, but you have to take care of yourself first.
This is a busy season full of hustle and bustle, and that can be exciting, but it can also be exhausting. It is important to take time to slow down, spend time with yourself and do what you like. It can be a stressful time of year, but there are ways to make it less stressful so that you have holly, jolly holidays.
