6 CalmMoment.com
Calm
your
calendar
If you find the season overwhelming,
then a bit of careful planning could
give you the Christmas
you want...
H
ow many of us can relate to the feeling of
barely having enough time? Even if we pace
ourselves socially for the rest of the year,
there’s something about Christmas that
makes us feel like we have to meet up with
pretty much everyone in our contacts list...
“During the festive period we often feel that we simply
‘must’ see people we haven’t seen for ages,” explains health
and confidence expert Rhona Clews. “This can arise from
a healthy desire to wrap up any loose ends before the year
is out, and a reflective awareness that comes from another
year passing by. However, what you need to be sure of is
that you aren’t actually reacting by making plans from
a place of guilt. It’s wise to catch up when you have time
and feel on your usual even keel, instead of stretching
yourself too thin and not actually being fully available as
you’re so frazzled, hungover or wrung out!”
Instead of trying to squeeze everything in, go the other
way and stretch things out. After all, why should December
be one giant party and then January a barren social
wasteland? “Reinvent January as a time of catching up withnice dinners, fireside chats and winter walks rather than
going it alone with a hard-to-stick-to detox,” Rhona says.
“Quality time also encourages a depth of conversation
rather than being rushed and risking giving an inaccurate
highlighted version of your current life, which is prone to
happen in the squash of December.”
Another misconception is that we have to splash out on
socialising in the run-up to Christmas. Instead, start a
‘January fund’ and put the money saved from not going out
in December towards a nice lunch with friends in the New
Year. Make it ‘My January’ and spend it how you want.
“This opens up the liberating option of changing the season
to suit you,” Rhona suggests.
“If we look at nature, it’s about sleep and resting at this
time of year,” explains Rhona. “It’s about alternating social
time with inward and replenishing time.” With this in mind,
we’ve designed a Christmas calendar to help balance your
festive socialising with some much-needed nurturing. Apply
your own colour-coding to the categories at the bottom of
each page, then shade in the relevant days for a quick way to
check you’re getting the right mix of activities to suit you.