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December 5, 2022

‘Tis the Season to Say No: 3 Tips for a Less Stressful Holiday

Working during the holidays can be exhilarating, but more often than not, it’s also stressful, tiring and overwhelming. If you find yourself constantly overbooked or doing more than you should to make sure the holidays are perfect, it’s time to get some perspective and say no to some things so you can enjoy the holidays and your family more fully. Here are three tips on how to balance work and the holidays so you can create a less stressful holiday season and still achieve all your holiday goals.

1) Prioritize

Create two lists: one list of things you have to get done such as work tasks and a list of things you want to do such as creating crafts with your kiddos. Prioritize these based on your schedule. Now, we aren’t saying you have to give up one to do the other, but it does help to write it all down on a calendar so you can figure out what to do. For example, if you need to make cookies or wrap gifts this week then plan accordingly. If time permits and you are looking forward to making those items, that’s awesome! Give yourself permission to go back and forth between the different lists; if there is time left over at the end of the day then feel free to jump into wants from have-to without guilt. This method helps cut down on holiday stress which means more quality time with family during December!

2) Set Boundaries

We are all guilty of overbooking ourselves and over committing to work projects and holiday parties. If you find yourself in this position, it’s okay to say no to some things so you can focus on being with family and friends during the holidays. Be proactive and communicate your boundaries to others. There is nothing wrong with turning down projects or events when they conflict with important time off during the holidays.

What if I have already agreed to do something? As difficult as it might be, if there are conflicts between obligations that have already been agreed upon, then talk them out openly. If a project is too much work without having time for family or if a party will be too much without also having time for self-care, then there is not enough room in your schedule and you need to let go or renegotiate expectations. You’re not obligated; you’re choosing what matters most to you.

3) Simplify

Work and family should be able to co-exist, but this is easier said than done. The holidays are a time of celebration and togetherness, but it can be difficult to balance work obligations with spending quality time with your loved ones. Sometimes it helps to just simplify your schedule and what you want to do. Do you want to spend the time solely with family? Take off work. Do you want to get a couple of extra work projects done before the end of the year? Block off time where you will only be doing that and nothing else. Just remember, keep things simple and whatever you do not need to do, don’t do it! Save it until next year! And remember, don’t stress yourself out because you do not want to fall ill. Take time for yourself to rest and relax too. 

How do you stay stress free with work and family during the holiday season? Let us know!

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November 21, 2022

Thanksgiving: Why Being Grateful is Good for You, Your Family and Your Career

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? It’s a time to get together with family, eat plenty of good food, and reflect on what we’re thankful for in our lives. But why exactly are we encouraged to have this attitude of gratitude? Most people would answer that it’s just something nice to do — to feel grateful and express it somehow — but few people can explain why gratitude can actually benefit your career, mental state, and overall happiness. That’s where this blog post comes in; it will explain the importance of gratitude and how showing gratitude can make you feel better both professionally and personally.

How Gratitude Affects Health

Do you ever feel stressed or down on life? A lot of us do, especially during the holidays. But there are ways to combat these feelings with gratitude. It’s been shown that gratitude can boost your mood, make you healthier, and improve your relationships with others. In fact, studies have found that people who practice daily gratitude exercises are more likely to report being happier than those who don’t. There are many ways to get into this habit – here are a few suggestions: first, start by writing down three things you’re thankful for at the end of each day. Then go one step further and write a thank-you note to someone in your life (family member, coworker). And finally, try having conversations about what people are thankful for rather than what they’re not.

How Gratitude Affects Positive Thinking

When you’re feeling thankful, it’s easier to see the good in your life. This means that when things go wrong, you’ll have a better perspective on how to handle the situation. Plus, when you take note of all the things you’re grateful for, you’ll stop focusing on what’s missing from your life or what isn’t going well. This will then lead to a more positive mindset overall. It can also help you decrease your stress and anxiety, or at least help you feel better equipped to manage those anxious emotions moving forward through the curve balls life throws.

How Gratitude Affects Relationships

A study done by Dr. Suzanne Segerstrom at the University of Kentucky found that people who were more grateful in their relationships tended to be less depressed, less anxious, and had lower levels of stress. This is because when we focus on what we have instead of what we don’t have, our moods tend to improve. When you are more grateful in your relationships, you are more likely to show gratitude in other aspects of your life as well — like being thankful for your job, your family or for the food on your table. This leads to a better mood overall which can help you with some aspects of productivity.

How Gratitude At Work Can Lead To Greater Success

Research has shown that gratitude can have a positive effect on how we perform in the workplace: people who are grateful are more likely to be more productive, focus better, and even sleep better. Grateful employees also tend to be happier than those who aren’t. Being thankful at work can lead to greater success because it helps us feel happy, which makes us more productive in our day-to-day tasks. Gratitude can also help lower stress levels, which not only makes you happier but it also lowers your blood pressure. All of these things mean that you’ll be able to work for longer periods of time without feeling tired or stressed out about anything.

The Importance Of Gratitude

Gratitude is overall good for your health, no matter which area of your life you apply it to: work, home, and fun! It’s the season of thankfulness, so we wanted to share with you how that can help your life, and we wanted to let you know just how thankful we are for Y-O-U! We appreciate all the support our HireMyMom community offers, and we are so grateful to have you as part of our family.

What are some ways you remind yourself to be thankful? Share them with us!

 

 

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November 14, 2022

8 Fun Activities to Keep Your Kids Entertained During the Holidays

The holidays are a wonderful time when friends and family come together…and your kids are out of school while you are trying to work! We’ve all been there: baking special dishes, keeping the kids entertained, and juggling work. It’s not easy, and over the years we’ve learned a few fun activities that you can give to the kids to keep them busy while you try to work from home. And, if you ever feel overwhelmed, remember there is an entire community of moms around you to offer support! There is lots of great inspiration online, but below are eight of our favorite things to do!

1) Coloring

A tried and true method of keeping your kiddo busy, offer them something to color! You can choose holiday related items, color by numbers, and even coloring puzzle games. Besides scoping out some free printouts online, if you have more than one child, you can also ask your children to draw something, and then they swap drawings to color them in!

2) Reading

If you know you have an important meeting that you cannot miss, make that reading time for your children! They can enjoy their favorite book quietly while you are able to participate in your meeting. If your child is not an avid reader, you can also find audio books for them to listen to, or you can also search for story times on YouTube where someone can read them a book with visuals included.

3) Baking

Creating delicious treats in the kitchen? Bring the kids! They can help with fun tasks like mixing and measuring. You can even create some plain sugar cookies that they can work on decorating while you put together other things — or you can turn it into a family event, and everyone can come together and decorate.

4) Crafting

Stick with the classics and ask your kids to draw you “hand turkeys” where they trace their hands and turn those into turkeys! Give them paper Christmas trees and let them decorate them with fun things like little pom poms, strings, etc. Or, if they are old enough, they can cut out their very own snowflakes by folding paper into small squares, and then making small cuts into the paper. When they unfold it, the paper will have neat designs that make them look like snowflakes!

5) Movie Marathon

Line up some holiday favorites and let your kiddos enjoy a movie marathon! If you have a long day of work ahead of you, a movie marathon can be just the thing to keep your kids entertained so you can work and attend meetings.

If you aren’t a fan of sitting your kids in front of the TV, let them make their own holiday movies! They can spend the day writing scripts and maybe filming the movies if you have a camera they can borrow. At the end of the day you can all watch the movies together, or the kids can perform the skits they created for you.

6) Scavenger Hunt

If you don’t mind putting in a little extra time, creating a scavenger hunt for your kids can be a great way to get them up and moving whether it is indoors or out. You can hide objects for them to find using clues, or you can ask them to find specific things such as a pine cone — whoever collects all the objects first wins! OR, let your kiddos create a scavenger hunt that you have to follow at the end of the day after work.

7) Clean Your Room Show

Even as adults, we’ve all done this: you go to clean out your living space, and you end up spending time messing around with the things you find! Ask your kids to clean their room and put together all the fun things they find. This can be anything from crazy outfits they’ve styled from their closet to toys they forgot existed that have now been rediscovered after cleaning!

8) Play Board Games

Take a break from work, and get your kiddos off their phones and have them play board games or even card games! If you only have one kiddo, don’t worry! There are lots of card games you can teach them to play by themselves, and you can encourage them to play against themselves on board games for fun. If you’re into apps, you can download some board game apps on your phone where players can choose to play against one another or the computer. By extension, you can also encourage your kids to play video games. If it is a single player game, tell them they have to switch every five minutes with the controller — it can be hilarious and fun to watch what each kiddo does with their time (and it can help foster sharing too!).

If you want more ideas, check out this article. How do you keep your kiddos entertained over the holidays while you work? Tell us about it so we can share it with our audience!

 

 

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