Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season thus far! Of course, it’s not over yet, and we’re all in that limbo period where you have lots of free time, but you also don’t want to let all of the past year’s hard work slip away as you approach the new year. You want to enjoy the time with family and friends, but you also want to use this downtime to refocus and stay intentional.
STAY INTENTIONAL DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON
The holidays are a time of year when you find yourself with less work on your to-do list, more downtime, but also more social obligations and an ever-growing list of festive items to check off. This is why it’s so important to set boundaries, stay focused, and stick to your intentions throughout the season. In this post, I’ll share 5 ways that I stay the course through the holiday season so that I enter the new year feeling motivated and intentional.
QUICK OUTFIT NOTE: ADD A BIT OF TARTAN TO EVERY DAY
Every year, when I pack to head home to Richmond for Christmas, my suitcase is seriously out of control. I try to cram every piece of holiday wear that I have in my wardrobe into just 5 or 6 days because I have a serious tartan problem. But, why limit tartan just to the holidays? My plan this year is to incorporate it right on through mid-March. And, one of the easiest ways to do that? Add a tartan scarf.
Also, if you don’t yet own a pair of velvet leggings, do yourself a favor and get one today.
OUTFIT NOTES: VELVET LEGGINGS / TARTAN SCARF / STRIPED TURTLENECK / CHAMBRAY SHIRT / ROTHY’S FLATS (more on these here!) / HEADBAND / HOOP EARRINGS
MAKE AN END-OF-YEAR GOAL LIST BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS
One of my the best ways to get organized heading into the last couple weeks of the year is to not only think about your goals after January 1, but to think about what you can accomplish before January 1.
Maybe there’s a housekeeping project with your side hustle’s systems that you could knock out or you could shoot holiday content this year for next year’s blog posts. Perhaps you want to get ahead in researching the places you plan to travel to in 2019 or do a deep dive into the career paths of some women that you admire. Maybe you want to tackle that big wardrobe clean-out that you’ve been putting off.
These don’t need to be life-changing projects, but they are things that you can have on your agenda for a free afternoon when you want to be more productive than you’d otherwise be sitting around waiting for the next family event.
INDULGE, BUT STAY FOCUSED ON THE LONG-TERM
Of course, there are days when you do want to just sit around eating Christmas cookies and watching Love Actually – and that’s totally fine! Just remember to keep your long-term goals in check and don’t go totally off the rails. Too many days of over-indulging and laying around can start to drain your motivation (and add to the crash diet come January 1) and you definitely don’t want that. Eat those cookies and enjoy them with the intention of feeling festive – don’t just do it because they’re there. Really savor every minute of the season and you’ll feel less temptation to go off course.
FIND WAYS TO INCORPORATE YOUR GOALS INTO YOUR EVERYDAY
The best way to make sure that you stay focused on your goals during the holiday season? Incorporate moving towards them into your everyday. Don’t miss your morning meditation. If you use a planner to keep your days organized throughout the other 11 months of the year, stick with it. Keep up your healthy eating and workouts to the best of your abilities, even if it means fitting in a 30-minute online workout rather than getting to a class. Set aside an hour for writing and brainstorming if you’re working on a new project.
Letting yourself slide out of the good habits that you’ve spent the year working on is a recipe for creating more work for yourself once the new year starts.
Approach the holiday season with intention by using those good habits you’ve created to stay focused on being present while also staying true to the bigger picture.
STICK TO A SCHEDULE – WITHIN REASON
Back to what I mentioned about continuing to use a planner to organize your days if that’s what you do throughout the other seasons, you should also stick to a schedule throughout the holidays so that each moment is intentional. While you’ll, of course, leave wiggle room for plans that come up last minute and spending downtime with friends and family, you should still plan out your days as you would any other time of the year.
Just because the feeling is festive doesn’t mean that everything else goes on the back burner. You want to keep chugging towards your goals! So, don’t get overwhelmed by all the cookies that need to be baked and presents that need to be wrapped – schedule those in just like you would any normal activity, and then schedule in the items that will move your goals forward.
TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF
No surprise here, one of the best ways to stay intentional throughout the holiday season is to take time for yourself. It all really comes back to the fact that taking time for yourself is tied so closely with focusing on your goals. Whether it’s meditating, journaling, or reflecting on what’s working or not working in your business, taking time to turn inward and away from all the festivities is key to staying intentional, focused, and moving forward towards the new year.
