Beat Holiday Stress

5 Ways to a calmer, saner end of the season

This week marks the end of this year’s hol­i­day sales stam­pede for many retail busi­nesses and ser­vices providers. Until busi­ness returns to a more nor­mal pace, here a few things to do to reduce stress and end the year with­out being trampled.

1. Make time for your­self even now. You’ve heard this before, but really, you’ll feel calmer, think clearer after being alone for even a half hour. Take a walk or get some exer­cise. Use phys­i­cal activ­ity to alle­vi­ate stress and the sun­light to lift your mood.
2. Stay con­nected. Meet­ing the demands of cus­tomers and clients can lead to feel­ings of iso­la­tion for busi­ness own­ers and employ­ees. When you feel like you are swim­ming upstream in a sea of hol­i­day shop­pers, reach out to com­mu­nity, reli­gion or ser­vice orga­ni­za­tion for some life sup­port. Take time to be with oth­ers, who may not push your but­tons in the same way your cus­tomers and employ­ees do.
3. Lower your expec­ta­tions. The eco­nomic prob­lems of 2009 aren’t going to be solved this week. Take a lit­tle time to apply a spoon­ful of real­ity to your expec­ta­tions for the close of the year, and start to set achiev­able goals for 2010. Remem­ber we don’t need to do it all right now. We have a whole, shinny new year in which to accom­plish new goals or revi­tal­ize old goals. Talk with your busi­ness asso­ciates and employ­ees about what they value. You may find that your expec­ta­tions are higher than every­one else’s. Con­sider writ­ing or revis­ing your mis­sion statement.
4. If you are start­ing to feel stressed, ask part­ners and employ­ees for fresh ideas or addi­tional help. Some­one else may wel­come the chance to try their hand at some­thing new. I know your fam­ily and friends have cel­e­brat­ing on their minds, and are tired of hear­ing you talk about your busi­ness, but ask­ing for their assis­tance or input for a change may get you some sur­pris­ing results.
5. Reflect on the holiday’s other mean­ings to you. It’s not all about your busi­ness is it? Remem­ber happy times of the past spent with loved ones? Think about those times. Think about your good moments and accom­plish­ments of 2009. Think of all the good times to come in 2010.

Best wishes from our busi­ness to yours.

Larry & Norma

Tip:

The Amer­i­can Heart Asso­ci­a­tion has advice for cop­ing with stress.