Raise your hand if the holiday season usually turns you into a stressed-out mess trying to juggle a million things while barely keeping your head above water! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Yeah, me too.

I don’t know about you, but in the past, as much as I loved counting my blessings during the holiday season, I would also be counting the mounting tasks coming my way. This would inevitably take a toll on my holiday spirit. One blessing I'm truly thankful for is that time and I have become better partners in thing called life.

Over the years I've worked to develop a lifestyle centered around intentionality by embracing the concept of intentional imbalance. In my old mindset, Thanksgiving marked the starting shot of an exhausting sprint to the New Year filled with unrealistic expectations and impossible deadlines that left me feeling harried, joyless and just barely getting through.

When I first tried improving my relationship with time, I thought I needed more balance. I would try giving equal effort to categories like work, family, and me-time. But this left me struggling to juggle everything while watching the clock to rotate to the next demand. Despite my best efforts, I was left feeling frustrated with little to show for it.

Through learning from time management experts like Michael Lenninton, I realized equality wasn’t what I should be striving for – it’s intentional imbalance. This concept focuses on purposefully spending more time on the priorities that enable me to live my aspired lifestyle, even if it means other areas get less attention.

So I took time to define my absolute highest priorities – things like meaningful connection with family, taking care of my health, work projects with upside. I then optimized my calendar around spending significant time on these vital few priorities first before slotting in anything else. What I realized is that the quest for perfect balance is basically pointless around the holidays. Instead, it’s about intentionally choosing where to direct your limited bandwidth.

Of course, this doesn’t mean fully neglecting important responsibilities and commitments. But it does involve being strategic about where I invest the bulk of my precious time and energy. And the payoff has been huge in terms of living intentionally.

I've listed a few places you can look to tame holiday chaos. Look them over and if you see just one that makes sence to your circumstance and play with it this holiday season. Try it on as you work to make changes to lower chaos and increase the calming influence of intention:

• Prioritize Your Calendar. Sit down before the holiday craziness kicks in and mark your calendar with your biggest priorities first - family time, self-care, etc. Block these off before filling in other commitments.
• Build in Buffers. When scheduling back-to-back events or tasks, build in small time buffers to avoid rushing. Those 10-15 minutes can help you regroup, transition intentionally, and even embrace some holiday spirit.
• Focus on One Thing At A Time. When you find your mind spinning with all you have to do, bring your focus back to the current moment and task at hand. Give it your full presence rather than splitting focus.
• Disconnect to Reconnect. Carve out tech-free chunks of time to simply enjoy the company of loved ones without distraction. Disconnecting from digital noise can allow you to reconnect with what matters most.
• Embrace the Power of No. Don't be afraid to say no to additional events or tasks that don't align with your priorities. Protect your time and energy for what fuels you.
• Incorporate Reflection. Set aside 5-10 minutes daily to reflect on what went well, what didn't, and how you want to adjust. This reflection helps guide intentional living.

The key to combatting holiday chaos is being selective with your time and attention. Define your priorities, optimize your schedule strategically around them, and don't be afraid to say no to anything else that derails your purpose and excitement. The holidays can still be hectic but approached more intentionally you gain the ability to see and count your blessings with less exhaustion and a little more joy. 

If you're curious about where I started my intentional holiday journey, it was by embracing the Power of No and by prioritizing my calendar before taking other commitments. Now, I wonder where you will be intentionally starting combating your holiday season with the suggestions shared above... and can you please pass me a cookie?

DeShawn Wert teaches intelligent, motivated professionals how to get stuff done so they CAN relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor! Let's explore how you do your best work together. An Ericson-trained life coach and JTS Coaching-trained ADHD coach, DeShawn is a member of good standing in the ADHD Coaches Organization. She's contributed to several books on living with ADHD, including Dr. Dale Archer's book, The ADHD Advantage, and Laurie Dupar's series called More Ways to Succeed with ADHD.