The holidays are quite the time of year. The twinkling lights decorating the landscape cue us to this season of giving, celebrating, and reflecting.

You might be finishing this year’s projects or beginning new ones to continue in the new year. While joy-inducing opportunities are abundant, balancing the holidays, work life, personal plans, and life maintenance responsibilities can be stressful.

There are many ways to bring calm and balance into your life, and I’ve written extensively about them.

Recently, I read something valuable and relevant from James Clear, which I’ll share with you. I hope you find it helpful as you navigate your balance this season.

First, The Back Story

Are you familiar with James Clear’s “3-2-1 Thursday” newsletter? Each issue includes three of his short ideas, two quotes from others, and one question to consider. One of my clients told me about it, and I signed up immediately. I enjoy receiving his weekly wisdom in its easily digestible format.

Two Simple Rules

In a recent newsletter, Clear shared this:

“Two simple rules:

1. You get better at what you practice.

2. Everything is practice.”

He encourages observing yourself and others to notice what we’re practicing. He reminds us that where you focus is a choice. For example, are you practicing…

• “Getting mad on social media?”

• “The fine art of noticing how they have been wronged?”

• Stressing over being stressed?

• Saying “yes” to the point of being overscheduled?

• Not following through on commitments?

• Engaging in negative self-talk?

• Not sleeping enough?

• Accumulating more stuff?

One Insightful Question

Bringing awareness to your practices is essential for changing where your time and energy go. Clear asks, “What are you practicing?”

Do you want to “get better” at nourishing practices? If so, focus on those while reducing harmful ones.

“What are you practicing?”

— James Clear

Here are several of my recent practices:

• Overcoming the fear of doing it wrong

• Meditating and journaling daily

• Reading in the morning

• Connecting with my loved ones

• Enlisting help for a new project

• Setting boundaries

• Writing

• Respecting my energy levels

• Working with virtual organizing clients

Which Practices Will Bring You More Balance?

You have an opportunity to create a better balance this season. What will you focus on during the last few weeks of the year? Which practices can you let go of that no longer serve you? Which ones do you want to invite in?

You have choices. I’m excited to see how this idea can shift your balance. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want support decluttering, organizing, planning, or creating more balance? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – A local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Organization, balance, and ease are possible, especially with support.

This week is Thanksgiving. We’re experiencing a collective array of emotions such as sadness and disappointment because we can’t celebrate in person with our family and friends. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, we might feel joy and resolve that we’ve figured out new ways to mark the holidays. This isn’t a normal holiday season with the pandemic still in full force. I don’t know about you, but as someone who looks forward to our family tradition of hosting a large Thanksgiving gathering, I struggled with not having it this year.

Recently, during a conversation with our oldest daughter, Allison, she said that we’re experiencing a collective cognitive dissonance. What our heart wants and what our mind knows the safe choice to be is in conflict. In that one sentence, she summed up what I was feeling. This push-pull of what I wanted versus what I knew was the right thing to do. I’m not judging. People will decide what “right” means for them. For our family, it meant not having an in-person gathering.

How do we shift from a place of sadness to one where we can enjoy this season in the midst of a pandemic? I have a five ideas to help. I’d love to know what you are experiencing and planning, so please share your stories too.

5 Ways to Enjoy Pandemic-Time Holidays

Express Gratitude

We often refer to this time of year as the season of gratitude. Let’s focus on gratitude for what is, instead of what isn’t. We can feel grateful for the people we love, even if we can’t be physically together. Those who have found ways to safely gather, and we can be grateful for our smaller pods. Gratitude is present in our connections, love, good health, breath, and humanity. There is so much to be grateful for, even during a pandemic. 

Give Permission

My friend and colleague, Yota Schneider, offered a “Home for the Holidays” retreat to create a space for people to process their thoughts and feelings about this atypical holiday season. I signed up, and it was just what I needed. I felt camaraderie with the other attendees as we shared our challenges, ideas, and possibilities. Yota is so wise. She said, “Our capacity for love and celebration cannot be diminished.” She asked us to consider, “Can I give myself permission to celebrate in a new way?”  At that moment, something released within me. I wrote down, “Permission granted.  – Linda S.” That single question helped me open my heart and thoughts, and to gift myself permission to lean into celebration without judgment, doubt, or reservation.

“Our capacity for love and celebration cannot be diminished.”

— Yota Schneider

Get Creative

Maybe you’re like me, and you’re not having a large Thanksgiving gathering this year. My husband and I have hosted this holiday for many years, and it’s one we love and look forward to. To keep everyone safe, we knew it was a no-go. With help from our daughters, we figured out another way of celebrating. We’re having a virtual Thanksgiving meal with our daughters and their partners.

We’ll cook in advance in our own homes. We’ve exchanged one recipe each and will make those basic four recipes and then anything else we want for our meals. We’ll have the same “shared” food and some different dishes too- sausage stuffing from Steve, a special salad from Allison, brown butter cardamom cookies from Cassie, and cranberry sauce from yours truly. Then on Zoom, we’ll eat, talk, toast from our homes, and be together in a safe yet connected way.

We also set up two Zoom calls for the Friday after Thanksgiving to “be together” with our kids, siblings, nieces, and nephews.

Make Favorites

Aside from being with family and friends, Thanksgiving is about the food. I’m salivating just thinking about the smells and tastes of turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and apple and pumpkin pies. Steve and I realized that we could still make our favorite dishes even if we didn’t have the entire crew over. Why not? Since it will just be the two of us, I thought that I should scale back and only make one pie. But I’m going to lean in, go for it, and make both. It’s not just about eating, but the enjoyment of baking too. We’ll have lots of yummy leftovers.

“The initial sadness for not being able to gather has morphed into positive anticipation for the ways we’ve reimagined the holiday.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

Anticipate Celebration

The unexpected outcome is that I’m now enjoying texting, emailing, and talking with the family about our virtual get-togethers and plans. Everyone is happy that we’ve found a way to share the love and connect, even from a distance. My heart feels full, like it usually does before, during, and after in-person events. I’m feeling that holiday spirit and extra warmth that comes from spending time with our family. The initial sadness for not being able to gather has morphed into positive anticipation. I’m looking forward to the way we reimagined Thanksgiving this year. 

How are you doing with your holiday planning? Will your holidays be different this year, or the same as usual? What changes have you made? What are you looking forward to? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories. I invite you to join the conversation.