3 Ways to Not Lose your Sanity While Running a Business during the Holidays

Before I get into today's topic, I should share that I like for these blog posts to be super relevant. And even give you even more of a glimpse behind the scenes of what it takes to run a full-time business when you don't want to be working all the darn time.

 

I share that because so often I think people think I am a business robot...aka I am really freaking consistent. But, that is the ONE thing that I know to be true. Consistency trumps talent because most people aren't consistent. I share that because I am writing this blog post the Monday after Thanksgiving and it will be posted in a few days. Not ideal. Especially when you are like me and like everything planned out ahead of time BUT it still gets done. Even the night before. My last-minute Linda tendencies have come out recently (aka waiting until the last minute), but honestly in some seasons that is OK!

 

This is what I want to chat about today. I am last-minute Linda right now with the blog post because I took almost five full days off over the holidays. And here's the catch and where the sanity piece comes in:

I already knew what this blog post was going to be about two months ago. It just wasn't finished.

 

So let's break this scenario down a little bit so you can apply it to your business and not lose your sanity this season.

 

First, go into this season with your intentions. I use the Be, Feel, Do, Have to approach a lot (hint this exercise is also in the planner which just came out with a brand new cover!) but think about this. Who do you want to be surrounded by? What do you want to feel? Be super specific. Happy, calm, anxiety-free (this is me)? What do you want to be doing? Shopping downtown with your husband in the middle of a Wednesday because you can? Selling out your programs without it being stressful? What do you truly want to be doing? And then what do you want to have? I have always shared openly that one of our goals as a family is to go on vacation once a quarter, but I don't want it to be any vacation. I want it to be 4x/year dream vacations.

 

This is the exercise where I want all your desires and feelings to come out but think about it for this holiday season. What do you want to be? What do you want to feel? Do? Have? Mix it up. It is probably only 10% business.

 

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Then, let's map it out. I heard Chris Harder, one of my favorite mentees, say the other day that math is facts. This can apply to business, your schedule, your diet, or life in general.

 

So going back to not losing your sanity this season, let's recap. Break down your intentions. That is step #1. And then step #2 is to map it out. This is my ennanegram 3, manifesting generator mind coming to work. How do you make it happen? Are you setting aside one hour a day to work on that course? Are you running 30 minutes 5x/week? What are the actions that are going to add up to the intention?

 

The last step in this little survival formula is to be grateful. I share this with two perspectives. First is that the holidays can cause a lot of added stress and anxiety. According to physiology today, gratitude is scientifically proven to boost your health. Not surprisingly, grateful people are also more likely to take care of their health. Gratitude improves psychological health. Gratitude reduces a multitude of toxic emotions, from envy and resentment to frustration and regret. Robert Emmons, a leading gratitude researcher, has conducted multiple studies on the link between gratitude and well-being. His research confirms that gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression.

 

So my last step is, simply put, to make it a priority to write down what you are grateful for. Repeat it to yourself when you wake up in the morning, write it in a journal (hint it's in our planner every day) and make it a priority.

 

The other piece of this is you never know what someone's else story is. It is the merriest time of year but for some, it can be the hardest. What can you do to be grateful but also give back? In my mind, helping one person a day will always make you stronger. It also feels freaking good.

 

So how do you not lose your sanity this season and run a full-time business? Keep it simple. Map out your intentions. Create the plan (with actual facts to execute it) and then create some perspective. Be grateful. Appreciate what you have and where you are at. Work on helping as many people as possible. There is never a wrong step there.

 

I hope this helps you this season!! I'd love to know what your intentions are between now and the end of the year. And better yet, when are you going to sit down and map it out? DM me and let me know! Let's flip the model and actually take the time to enjoy where we are at.