Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #16 – Plan Ahead

There’s a saying that goes…”those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” While that may be a bit harsh and simplistic, there is some truth to it. From those holiday meals, to gift giving, to all those social events, there’s not a lack of opportunity to plan ahead. And planning can help take some stress off your plate. Here’s some ideas for how to best plan ahead this holiday season:

• Group your errands by location so that you only have to go to the other side of town (or the mall) once.
• Write out your grocery list by aisle, so you don’t have to skim a list of haphazardly written down items and miss something.
• Tell friends and family that in order to attend all the events you want to this season, you can only stay for a set amount of time at their event.