We are officially eleven-twelfths of the way through another year and, if anything, it’s getting busier for us all. Fight that inevitable end-of-year fatigue and overwhelm with these tips to ensure the festive season is just that – festive!
It’s November. You’ve made it through almost four terms of the school year. You’ve survived another 300-odd days of juggling work, family, life, lunchboxes and washing. And you’ve only got a handful of weeks to go until we celebrate the start of 2020.
It’s around about now that fatigue will start to set in. Piled on top of a year’s worth of life, is the potential overwhelm of the end of year approaching. There’s Christmas to organise. Family to organise. And, ironically enough, holidays and downtime to organise.
At this time of the year, there are two things to prioritise: your health and your headspace.
A healthy body
1. Keep up your vitamin C intake to avoid the coughs and colds.
Beyond just oranges and citrus fruit, it’s been reported that capsicum, maitake mushrooms and vegetables
like broccoli, sweet potatoes and even tomatoes can give you a much-needed
vitamin C boost.
2. Foods that are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will do your
immune system a world of good.
Root vegetables are said to be one of the best
sources of all of these things. Carrots, potatoes, beetroot, parsnips and onions are
just a few examples of immunity-boosting root vegetables.
3. And finally, make sure you are sleeping well.
Getting the right amount of sleep
certainly makes us feel great, but it does your body – and, particularly, your immunity
– the world of good, too. Studies show that people who don’t get quality or enough
sleep are more likely to get sick if exposed to a virus, and that getting a lack of sleep
can prevent a quick recovery.
A healthy mind
Psychologist, coach, author and podcaster Cass Dunn says when you’re stuck in
overwhelm, which is often the case at this end of the year, it can help to have some
strategies to manage your stress and get back in control more quickly. Try these tips
for clearing your mind and relieving the pressure. And if you want to hear more from
Cass, check out her “Crappy to Happy” podcast.
1. Write everything down.
Sometimes the best way to clear your head is to dump all
those swirling thoughts onto paper. Feeling overwhelmed sends your body into fight
or flight mode and when that happens, it’s difficult to access rational thinking and
problem solving. When you write things down, you take that all that feeling of angst
and turn it into something quantifiable. Everything from personal appointments, bills
to be paid, work deadlines or nagging worries kicking around in the back of your
mind. Once they’re out on paper where you can see them, you have a much better
chance of making sense of them, prioritising them, delegating or even deleting some
of them.
2. Do one thing at a time.
The temptation to multitask can be all too inviting when you
have a lot going on but ultimately that is an unhelpful strategy. Switching your
attention back and forth between tasks reduces your productivity by as much as 40
per cent. Allocate a period of time to work on one thing before making a start on
something else.
3. Breathe.
It’s the oldest and most effective trick in the book when it comes to
managing anxiety. Long, slow breaths all the way into your diaphragm will help to
switch off the fight or flight response in your brain. As soon as you notice your stress
levels rising and your brain feeling foggy and crowded with too many things, come
back to your breathing and spend a few moments getting centered again. Remember
your priorities and get started again.
Edge Early Learning
