A Little Planning Now Saves a Lot of December

The first mince pies have appeared in the shops. In some places they arrived in September, which feels rather like being handed the dessert menu while you are still taking your coat off.

This month and next, I am writing about getting through the festive season in good shape. I do not mean a dress size. I mean still sleeping, still on speaking terms with your family, still enjoying the food, and arriving in January feeling like yourself rather than someone who has been through six weeks in a tumble dryer.

Most of us treat the season the way we treat the weather. It happens to us. The invitations arrive, the office has its party, someone bakes, someone pours, and by the middle of December we are running on adrenaline and leftovers.

There is another way to come at it, and it starts now, while things are still quiet.

Decide What Matters

Take a few minutes this week and ask yourself what you actually want from the season. Not what you think you ought to want. Perhaps it is one proper afternoon with the grandchildren. Perhaps it is getting through the big family dinner without the old argument. Perhaps it is simply waking up on 2 January feeling clear-headed and well.

Write it down. One or two things, no more.

Decide What You Will Let Go

Every season carries obligations that bring nobody any joy. The third party in a week. The card list that has quietly grown to two hundred. The dish you make every year because you once made it in 1998. You are allowed to drop one, and the world will carry on.

Look After the Basics

Sleep, water, daylight, a walk. They are dull, and they are what keep everything else on its feet. When they slip, everything gets harder: patience thins, cravings sharpen, and the second glass starts to look like a very good idea.

Where Hypnosis Comes In

One of the things I do with clients before a demanding occasion is rehearsal. In a relaxed, focused state, the mind can run through the event in advance: arriving, sitting down at the table, the moment the conversation turns, and how you would like to respond. Athletes have used mental rehearsal for years, for good reason.

It does not guarantee a perfect day. What it does is mean that when the moment comes, part of you has been there before, and you have a choice ready rather than an old habit.

Over the next four weeks I will take each part of the season in turn: the food, the drink, the family, and keeping your body moving and rested through December.

If you would like to talk through any of this, you are welcome to get in touch.

The call is complimentary and there is no obligation.

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