Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #13 – Ask for Help

There’s no shame in asking for help when you really need it. Since there always seems to be more to do than time to do it in at this time of year, you’ll probably have ample opportunity to ask for some help in getting things done. Plus, most people like to help and feel needed, but aren’t sure what to do unless you ask them.

It’s best to be specific in your request when asking for help, telling people WHAT you need and the TIME involved. When things are vague, people are more hesitant to say yes. Here’s an example:

Instead of “Can you help me with the holiday dinner?” which is vague and doesn’t tell people what you really need, try “I need help preparing the holiday dinner. Can you cut the vegetables and peel the potatoes? It should take maybe 15 minutes, but would sure save me a lot of time.”

Of course, there could be a lot of things you need help with, from decorating, to running errands, gift shopping, gift wrapping, etc. Pick something and go ask someone to help you with it.

Photo: christmas dinner. © by allison.hare