The Holidays Are Coming: How to Keep It All Together

Keep the holidays low stress with these tips.

The holidays are a time of year when many are dealing with multiple stressors, whether it be inclement weather, various family obligations, coming down with the flu, planning for the holidays or employees being away from work. It's easy to see—despite it being the most wonderful time of the year—how it can all build up! For some helpful tips that can be used in keeping it all together during the holiday season, keep reading.

Create a realistic to-do list for home and business. If you don't already, consider using a platform such as Basecamp to divide up business tasks and assign to-dos with details and a completion deadline. The same can be said for at-home tasks! Of course, there's nothing like a good handwritten list to keep things organized. Color coding is your friend!

Schedule your marketing initiatives. If you have a social media presence, write your posts or blogs in advance so all you have to do is post them during the busiest days of the holiday season. Better yet, use a tool like Buffer or Sprout to schedule those messages ahead of time. That way, they can post while you're off enjoying the holiday or working on something else that's a better use of your time.

Reach out to clients early. Don't wait until it's too late to reach out to clients for something you may need. It's safe to assume you won't be able to get in immediate contact with folks throughout much of December, so anticipate your needs now and kindly request any client materials ahead of time. Future you is thankful.

If you purchase holiday gifts for your clients, try one-stop online shopping and shipping. Save money and time by purchasing in bulk and letting the vendor take care of delivery. Even better if you can make it local in some way to support small businesses in your area.

Take care of yourself! Make it a priority to get enough sleep, drink enough water and eat something besides holiday cookies! The holidays are a time of joy, but that still means you need to replenish your energy. Though it can be tempting to say "yes" to everything, remember that it's OK to say "no" to avoid stretching yourself too thin.

Happy Holidays from the Groups Today team!

Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor for Groups Today.