How to Stay Grounded and Sane During the Holidays: My Non-Negotiable Routines
Are you worried about losing your hard-earned progress on your goals with the holidays coming up? Do you want to stick to your habits during the festive season and make it a bit easier to do so? Keep reading, and I’ll share with you my non-negotiable routines that keep me on track during the holidays.
Routines and templates are a significant part of my life and something that was instilled in me very early on. They have saved me countless times, not only in my job but also in my personal life.
The power of templates in life
When I say templates, I’m referring to more than a plug-and-play document. I’m talking about structuring most of your life to be plug-and-play—predictable and manageable. I’ll share two types of templates I use and the routine that helps me fight anxiety and stay grounded during the holidays, and throughout the entire year, honestly.
packing templates
Traveling is stressful, but I love it. I’m a world traveler, having lived in four countries and visited countless others. However, I hate packing and unpacking. The anxiety of possibly forgetting something essential drives me crazy.
To tackle this anxiety, I planned my packing days or even weeks in advance, crafting lists repeatedly. After years of recreating the same list for every trip, I had an epiphany—create a packing template. Being a digital enthusiast, I used the Reminders app on my iPhone to create an all-encompassing packing list template. This allows me to focus only on the exception items specific to a trip. It’s also immensely satisfying to check things off the list, and I’m sure fellow checklist addicts can relate.
meal theme rotations
The second template I use is more of a concept: meal theme rotations. This approach works well for people who dislike eating the same thing every day and can be a precursor to meal prepping. Let me share where this idea came from in my life.
Growing up, my family had dinner themes throughout the week. Monday through Thursday were for red meat and poultry, cooked in various styles. Fridays were for cuisines like sub sandwiches, spaghetti, and pizza. Weekends were almost exclusively for seafood. The themes didn’t eliminate planning, but they made dinner less surprising and simplified my mom’s cooking process. This rotation helped her think less about planning extravagant meals and more about consistent, varied cooking.
I encourage you to try meal rotations, especially during the holidays, to recapture some mental bandwidth and save energy for special holiday meals or trying new recipes.
My Non-Negotiable Routine: Morning and Night Rituals
Lastly, my daily non-negotiable routines: my morning and night routines. And when I say I do them every day, I truly mean it. They come in different versions—luxury versions for days when I have all the time, and budget-friendly versions for days when I’m unwell or pressed for time.
These routines provide a clear beginning and end to my day. Remember in my first video where I discussed doing the important things? My morning and night routines are always on my important things list. Even if I achieve nothing else from my list, I’ve done these two important things. They replenish and re energize my mind, body, soul, and spirit.
These are the two templates I use and my non-negotiable routine that help me stay grounded and maintain my sanity throughout the year, especially during the holidays. Thanks for reading!