5 Productivity Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress and Overwhelm

The holidays don’t have to derail your productivity or leave you feeling overwhelmed.

Jessica Rosario shares five actionable strategies to stay grounded and efficient during the busiest time of the year. From planning ahead and trimming your to-do list, to setting boundaries and creating buffer time, these tips are designed to help you feel clear, calm, and capable—even amid the holiday chaos. She also reminds listeners to make self-care a priority, so they can fully enjoy time with those who matter most.

By taking small steps like decluttering your space, blocking time off, and reflecting on what truly matters, you can move through the season with intention and ease. You don’t have to sacrifice your peace to stay productive.
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Transcript

Welcome to Maximize Your Day

Speaker 1 0:47

Hello and welcome to the Maximize your Day podcast, a place for entrepreneurs for building their business, in pursuit of freedom and flexibility to do the things they love. I'm your host, jessica Rosario. I'm a New Yorker turned Floridian who knows a thing or two on how to effectively manage your time while juggling multiple priorities. I'm an ex-corporate leader who walked away from my nine to five-ish to launch and grow my business. In this podcast, I share insights on mindset, business productivity, habits and strategies to help you take control of your to do list and maximize your day, which will help you feel more confident and less overwhelmed and getting more done in less time. I'm so excited you're here. Go ahead, listen in. Welcome back.

Speaker 1 1:40

I am so excited to chat today with you guys about stress during the holiday season, so I'll be sharing five simple tips to stay productive and reduce the overwhelm during the holidays. Coincidentally, the beginning of November is usually National Stress Awareness Day or week, and this was founded in 1988 by the International Stress Management Association. So when you really think about it this week, where they're sharing more techniques on how to reduce that stress and stay focused and feeling in control, right, and then it leads into the holidays Well, I wonder why Everyone is in a giving spirit. Everyone is focused on spending time with family. There's a lot of reflections, there's a lot of new year resolutions and things like that that are happening, and planning for the end of the year, planning for the beginning of next year, to start the year fresh, but it still feels overwhelming, right, and when we feel overwhelmed we work from a place of overwhelm. We work from a place of procrastination and really not feeling focused and centered or kind of like being in the zone, right. So of course you know some of the traditional techniques on how to reduce stress are breathing right, some breathing exercises, simply by inhaling and exhaling deeply, even if it's one to two minutes, just to stay calm. And if you want to add a little bit of essential oils, I highly recommend that.

Tip #1: Planning Ahead

Speaker 1 3:32

But another way to help reduce some of that stress is meditating right, helping you meditate to reduce stress and promoting mental health, wellness and, of course, decluttering right. I don't know you guys, but a lot of families tend to start emptying out closets and getting rid of some of the old things or giving away to goodwill or to people that are in need, just to kind of prepare for the new things that are coming in, and all of those things help us work from a position of clarity and feeling organized and removing that mental clutter, in a sense, because even though sometimes it's physical clutter, the mental clutter that we carry tends to hinder us from moving forward. So I wanted to talk to you guys about the five tips that I've put together on staying productive and reducing the overwhelm during the holiday season, because this is a very stressful time and, even though we are supposed to be happy, we need to take a step back and reflect on the things that we're about to navigate through, right? I mean, I don't know you guys, but the past two years has been crazy, with the pandemic and quarantine and social distancing, and we're all craving for that social interaction. I don't know you guys, but there were days that I just needed a hug, right, a physical hug, not someone to tell me sending you virtual hugs. I needed someone to just hold me and tell me that it was gonna be okay, right, because we tend to crave that human interaction. So, with that said, I put together some tips that have helped me in the past, regardless of the holiday season, but more so, this is the time to kind of focus on these, and you don't have to implement all of them, obviously. If you do, then that's great, and if you have other tips that you can share, please do so. But it's just a couple of simple things just to keep us centered and help us reduce the overwhelm, while still feeling like we're getting things done during that busy time of the year. So here it goes things done during that busy time of the year. So here it goes.

Tips #2-3: Slim Down To-Dos

Speaker 1 5:56

Tip number one I know you're going to think this is basic, but planning, yes, I know. So basic, right? Well, it's basic because it is. You know, we tend to overcomplicate the things that we need to do during the holiday season and when we don't plan ahead, guess what? The holidays fall on similar dates every single year, so why do we always feel shocked when they're almost here? So take the time to look at the big picture. What are some dates you need to block on your calendar? When will you be taking time off? What are some of the non-negotiables that you must do? How about your own shopping? Right? We get so focused on getting things done and planning our work that we tend to wait until the last minute and not even shop for those that we love, and I'm not saying it always has to be, you know, monetary things. I mean, we always expect something, even if it's, you know, something special that we can share, you know, with others. It doesn't have to be material things, but you know, I'm all about creating memories, and what those memories look like can be different for different people, but planning ahead of time is one of the ways that helps you reduce that overwhelm during the holiday season.

Speaker 1 7:21

Number two is slimming down your to-do list. I mean, I don't know you guys, but I tend to have a ginormous to-do list, and the more I eliminate from my to-do list, the more I add. And although there are things that you have to do during the holiday season, or even before the holiday season or in preparation for the new year, this is the time to look at what you must do now, what you can delegate or what you need to postpone. And hey, listen, I'm not giving you an excuse to procrastinate, okay. I'm simply stating that we need to give ourselves some grace so that we know what needs to get done, and that we could only do what we can with what we have. So keep in mind that progress is progress, regardless of how much or how little. So I highly recommend slim down the to-do list so that you're able to enjoy the season.

Speaker 1 8:29

There's nothing better than spending time with those that you love, the people that are important in your life, even the animals that are important in your life. Our pets miss us when we're constantly in work mode. So spend your time to do the little things that matter. Number three is blocking your calendar. Oh yeah, you know that time blocking is my jam, but how about blocking the days and times that you plan on being out of the office, whether from your careers right, if you're in the corporate world or if you have a job, or even from your business? I know for many people, it's hard to take time away from their business during this time, but this is the perfect time for you to just block a few hours and just remove yourself for one moment. You know, create some boundaries that you need to focus on yourself during this period of time. Use that time to do what matters with those who matter. You're seeing the trend here. Right, it's really spending time with the people that matter in your life, your loved ones, even yourself right, blocking the time for yourself, and we'll talk about that in a few minutes also, but don't forget to block your own personal time to focus on your own holiday preparations.

Tips #4-5: Embrace Flexibility and Self-Care

Speaker 1 9:54

Just like I said, when it comes to planning, we plan so much around us. We plan for others, we plan for everyone, but we tend to we plan for others, we plan for everyone, but we tend to forget to plan for ourselves and for the things that we need to do in order to prepare for the holidays. Now, number four can be a little bit of a contradiction, right? So being prepared for the unplanned. So I know what you're thinking, jessica. Well, how can I be prepared for the unplanned if I don't know about it? Right? So being prepared for the unplanned means, you know, pausing and accepting the things that you cannot change. So, if you're like me, I cringe every single time I have to change my schedule or my maneuver my tasks or accommodate unplanned things, because you know I have to change my schedule or maneuver my tasks or accommodate on planned things, because I tend to feel like everything is a priority Listen, because it usually is right. So what do you expect is going to happen during the holiday season? Okay, you're going to deal with all kinds of unplanned craziness, for lack of a better term. So don't cram up your schedule to the point where you begin to create inner conflicts and unnecessary stress. Create some buffer blocks so that you can allow the unpredictable ebbs and flows of the holiday season, of your business, of your family dynamics, to kind of present themselves and you can deal with them with grace and you can deal with them with open arms, without feeling resistant to the things that you can't control. So be prepared for the unplanned. And lastly wow, this one is a big one and we've talked about it before Do you Self-care?

Speaker 1 12:01

You know we tend to forget about ourselves. We're always in automated mode, trying to help everyone, care for everyone, handle everything, handle our business, handle our finances, handle everything, and we tend to forget to spend the time to reflect on how far we've come. How much kinder do I need to be to myself come? How much kinder do I need to be to myself and, as a woman of faith, make the time to stay quiet and still and understand that you are made for a bigger purpose and you're not just made to be in constant work mode. You know, running around. My team always makes fun because I say you know I'm always running around like a chicken without a head right. We're not made for that.

Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

Speaker 1 12:54

So giving yourself the time to reflect, journal, meditate, to reflect journal, meditate and pray will help you also stay focused and present. So that, tell me again, you can do the things that matter with those who matter. So there you have it. These are the top five tips that came to mind as I was putting together this podcast, and I'd love to hear what resonates with you. Also, share some of the tips that work for you. I can't wait to see your posts. Just take a screenshot of the episode and post them on Instagram. Tag me at Jessica Rosario Consulting and share some of the tips that work for you and what are ways that you are focused on making sure that you're reducing the overwhelm and staying productive during the holiday season. So I hope you have an amazing week and I will chat with you guys soon. Until next time.