Help, my schedule is overflowing!: Six strategies to beat December stress

Psychologist Nadia Droz (44) specializes in occupational health. He confirms this impression: “November and December are a particularly busy period. “In addition, the motivation boost brought by the autumn holidays is slowly losing its effect.” Many are hesitant to go on holiday and prefer to “wait until Christmas.”

Our expert has six effective tips to prevent December from being too tiring. Important: If you experience fatigue, sudden or unusual symptoms, you should not hesitate to consult a doctor.

It’s the classic trap: You get an invitation for a fondue evening, see an empty spot in your diary, and say yes. Two hours later, four more appointments arrive in the same week and you don’t dare cancel anymore.

“It is always good to have buffer zones in your schedule, if your job allows it and you have some leeway in organizing your daily routine,” says Nadia Droz.

Free time periods should be sacred. Especially in December!

“Our productivity curve fluctuates throughout the day and year, you can’t give everything all the time,” says Nadia Droz.

Our reflex to fight fatigue deprives us of even more energy. Instead, Droz recommends that if you’re feeling a certain level of fatigue, don’t do anything in the evening “without pushing yourself for it.”

“Say it more often” always sounds good. But this sentence makes Nadia Droz smile: “For years I tried to teach my patients to say no. But I realized this didn’t actually work. For many people, no is a very immediate answer. “They are afraid of disappointing people.”

That’s why he advocates “yes, but”! Droz also recommends not always saying yes right away, but instead thinking about it for a short while. “This makes it possible to gain some distance, evaluate whether this additional task seems reasonable, or realize that this is causing another appointment to be postponed. This gives you some time to consider your needs and wishes before agreeing or committing to something.”

The demon of perfectionism is always catching up with us. To relieve this pressure, we must first become aware of the pressure coming from ourselves because we can influence it.

Droz says most stressful obligations are simply based on assumptions: “You think everyone expects this from you, even though you’ve never talked about it.”

Do you really want to cook ten courses for your guests? Making your own Christmas cards? To learn what is desire and what is necessity, Nadia Droz has a very simple tip: “The body’s signals are rarely misleading. If the thought of an activity makes us tired or cramps in our stomach, it means that a limit has been crossed.

If, despite these suggestions, stress threatens to overwhelm us, Nadia Droz suggests various relaxation or meditation techniques to interrupt the hectic rhythm of this time: The simplest method is heart coherence, in which you breathe in and out slowly six times a minute – and for five minutes.

And now: we hope you have a nice Christmas season!