The holidays are a stressful time for everyone, but working in healthcare can make it even more difficult. Whether you’re working on a major holiday or dealing with family coming to town, here are some ways to navigate your work-life balance through the holidays. 

Be Honest with Yourself 

You know when you’ve taken on too much—and don’t be afraid to admit it. When that happens, be sure to make changes to release pressure on yourself. 

For example, say “no” to picking up that extra shift or bringing that extra dish over for the holiday party. And when you’re sure that you’re too overwhelmed, be willing to ask for help. Whether that’s asking your partner to take the kids to their after school activities or beginning sessions with a mental health professional to work through the stresses of your life, this honesty and self-accountability can help you make sure you’re living your best life. 

Keep Your Routines 

Keeping your routines is one of the best ways to keep yourself focused, especially during the holidays. In a time where each day often looks different, these routines are incredibly beneficial to your wellbeing. If you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is have a cup of coffee, try to keep that routine over the holiday season. If you come home from a shift and make notes about the best and worst things that happened, make sure to keep that routine, too. Or, if you speak to a counselor every Wednesday evening through telehealth, make sure to keep that up. 

While sometimes keeping these routines can feel difficult, it’s likely to help you feel more centered and connected with yourself and those around you. 

Make Small Goals 

Creating large goals can be daunting and turn us away from them altogether; this is why small goals often work better. And the best news is that small goals can be our steps to reaching large goals! 

Whether your goal is to start saying “no” more to things you know are creating excessive stress or to setting aside time for yourself, these are great 

Writing down these goals is even better. When we see them on paper, we’re much more likely to work our way toward them. Whether it’s writing them and an action plan down, or keeping track of our actions through a habit tracker, it’s incredibly helpful to see the progress we’re making—and where there’s room for improvement. 

Try this! Write down your goal (make sure it’s small and tangible—something you can manage and measure), and then three action steps to getting there. Maybe your goal is to walk/run/jog 1 mile at least one day this week. Great! Manageable and measurable. 

Then how are you going to get there? Some action steps could include: Waking up 30 minutes earlier; or, carving out one hour in the evening; or, getting my friend to come on the walk with me. 

All of these will help get you to your goal! 

Make Time for Yourself

Especially during the holidays, we can feel obligated to spend all of our time with other people. While this is great and can even be healthy for some people, it can be hazardous if we’re feeling drained from spending too much time with others. If we feel that we need to take time alone, we should absolutely do that. Whether it’s taking time to journal, take a bath, get an extra hour (or two) of sleep, go for a run, talking to a counselor, or work on your favorite hobby, take the time for yourself. This can help you relax, reset, and be ready for the next day. 

Set Priorities

Earlier this year, Author Jennifer Lynn Barnes Tweeted about having a conversation with Nora Roberts. Barnes wrote, “One time, I was at a Q&A with Nora Roberts, and someone asked her how to balance writing and kids, and she said that the key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic & some are made of glass.” We are all jugglers in this situation, juggling a million things. Take a look at everything you are juggling. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a look at the plastic balls, and see what can stand to be dropped—it’s OK to let some things wait until tomorrow.