The silly season is upon us! And we’re not just talking about the Christmas break. We’re talking about the time of year where peak wedding season merges into Christmas, Christmas to peak engagement season, and then peak engagement season to another popular time for weddings!
With so much happening in the wedding industry from October through to March it can be hard to take care of yourself. Particular when you own or run a business and have a family (and, you know, life) to take care of as well.
Rather than allowing yourself to burn out, we’ve made a list of a few things you can do to slow yourself down a bit and take some time out to care for yourself this season.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re doing every single one of them every day or you just get one in. See what you can do to help reduce your stress levels and keep yourself positive during this time of year.
Meditation
The benefits of meditation are far and wide. Meditation can help reduce stress, calm anxiety, improve sleep, decrease blood pressure and even help control pain. The list goes on!
There are plenty of apps that can talk you through guided meditation if you’re not sure what you’re doing (one of our favourites is Headspace). Or take 10 minutes out to yourself every day to focus on your senses; breathing, sound, touch, smell etc.
See how you can incorporate some meditation into your weekly routine to help yourself reset from work mode into family mode, or even calm down after seeing the extended family at Christmas!
Breathing exercises
If you don’t have time to meditate then a mini-meditation, or doing some breathing exercises, could help you out. We’re all human and sometimes the littlest things can push us over the edge if we’re stressed. It could be calming yourself down at the traffic lights or giving yourself a micro-break after one of the kids (or an adult kid!) frustrates you.
A simple one is to take deep breaths and count them. Three seconds in, three seconds out. Three seconds in, three seconds out…
Another technique as taught by Chelsea Pottenger at EVOLVE 2019 is to cover one nostril and breath in, and then breath out through the other. Relax and repeat.
Controlled and equal breathing is a good way to help reset your body and get you into a more calm state of mind.
Walking
We’ve recently completed Steptember as an office so we are all for getting out and walking during your day. 30 minutes of exercise a day is proven to be good for your mental health. We know it can be a struggle to add that 30 minutes in every day, but if you do find yourself getting stressed see if you can add it to your routine even just a few times a week.
It doesn’t just have the mental benefits but the physical benefits as well. If you are walking remember to make it mindful for yourself. A stressful walk with the kids or even some overly excitable dogs might not have the effect you want it to!
Sleep
Chelsea Pottenger spoke about the benefits of proper sleep at EVOLVE 2019 and we are big fans of hers! Getting proper, deep sleep is crucial to both your mental and your physical health. It can make you more alert when running your business and also help you be more creative.
Sleep can be disrupted by alcohol, mobile alerts, screens in the bedroom, pets and even partners. If you don’t feel properly rested see what could be the cause and remove it from the bedroom. You might need to buy an old-school alarm clock and keep your phone in the kitchen, but the benefit will be worth it!
Drinking water
The silly season is a time for celebrations and overindulgence. Make sure you’re keeping yourself hydrated while you’re running around at weddings or having fun at a Christmas party.
Staying hydrated keeps our brains from struggling against dehydration and that will, in turn, allow you to think more clearly. That little bit less pressure on your mind might not seem like much. But it will help you stay calmer in the long run and could stop you from being pushed over the edge of frustration.
Gratitude
Gratitude is another meditation practice that can be used to help change your outlook. But it’s also something that you can write down through journaling if you don’t think you have the time to meditate.
Practising gratitude means to think back on what you are grateful for. If you’re doing this in a journal-style, think about three things you’re grateful for for the day, or even one for every day if you’re doing it weekly.
When you re-live or re-experience what you’re grateful for your body releases the same positive endorphins that happened when you experienced it the first time around. This is a great way to help boost your mood and get you thinking about things more positively in the long run.
Taking time to yourself
Finally, make sure that you take some time to yourself during the silly season! Christmas is a time for family and friends and we love those celebrations as much as anyone else. But when every weekend is booked up with working weddings or celebrating Christmas it can become a bit too much.
Take a night off to read a book. Book a babysitter and take yourself to the movies. Pamper yourself with a massage.
Whatever it is, take care of yourself this season. Because you are your most important asset.
