5 Ways to De-Stress Your Holidays

Plan to de-stress...

The winter holiday season can mean you're super busy not only at work but at home. Did you know we women are more prone to depression than men are? And the winter season with shorter periods of daylight can bring on depression.

Research studies have shown death rates peak in December and January across the US, regardless of what part of the country you live in. Stress is a key part of those numbers.

There are dozens of ways to make holidays less stressful, but here are 5 easy favorites.

1.  Dump the expectations!

It's super easy to take on more than even Wonder Woman could accomplish. Think about the things that are your favorite parts of the holidays and focus on those.  Delete those things that create more angst for you.  

If that means cutting out long-distance travel, do it.  If it means buying cookies for an event instead of baking them...do it.  

If work gets stressful and overwhelming with clients asking for extra hours...set boundaries and stick to them.  

If it means limiting your social engagements to a "doable" level, that's a good thing.

      

     2. Make it a family team effort.

Get the kids and spouse involved. Delegate so everyone gets a part of the workload and more engaged in the fun. Delegate set priorities and simplify.

Make NEW traditions that focus on involvement, relaxing and having fun.  

If that means less decorating or less than perfect decorating or gift-wrapping...go for it.  

Maybe it means getting a grip on the spending and setting limits on the quantity and price of purchases.  

Maybe it means teaching kids the benefits of helping others.  One less gift for themselves and the opportunity to pick out something for someone less fortunate.

     3. Get active...

When we get busy and stressed, often the first thing to go is the exercise routine. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise makes a huge difference. Take the kids and the dogs and get out in the fresh air for a walk.

Weather too lousy for outdoors? Walk at the mall. Or move exercise into your living or family room. Kids love games and videos - dig out the PlayStation, Xbox, Wii or Nintendo. There are great exercise games available for all of them. Let everyone join in and it becomes playtime.

Studies have shown video exercise games are just as effective as a gym workout or a 30-minute walk.

     4. Start early 

If you wait until the last minute, it will always be more stressful. Starting early can make all the difference. Shop early, bake early (and freeze), and decorate in stages. If you mail out cards or write a holiday letter... get them ready to go now.

My personal favorite part of this is shopping. When we go on vacation...regardless of what time of year that is, I look for gifts that the recipient will love and allow them to share something from our experience. Be sure to put them where you'll be able to find them months later and label them with the recipient's name.

     5. Entertaining? Get guests involved.

Instead of trying to do it all, make it a potluck and let each guest contribute. Guide them with choices so you get a nice diversity not six of the same thing. To minimize party stress, keep it relaxed and casual.

Tips to Grow Your Profits

 P= S-E

 PP = S-E

This formula is all about your business success. Work the formula and you'll have amazing profits. Ignore it and your business can go under quicker than you ever imagined.

It's a simple formula - one I can't take credit for. But I've seen it in action over and over and it's never wrong.

P= S-E stands for profits equals sales minus expenses. Sound simple enough? It is, but there are tons of business out there who are failing because they ignore the equation. Others struggle along unsure why they are having so much trouble. Let's look at it.

P for Profits isn't the amount of money you bring in. It's the amount you have left over after you've paid out all your expenses.

S = Sales or revenues. It's all the ways you bring money into your business. Product sales, services, training - whatever you offer. You can make more money by generating more sales.

E = Expenses. This is the magic area that makes or breaks you. If you can control or reduce expenses you increase your profit margin. Many businesses do things in an expensive way - or a non-profitable way. You want to maximize sales and minimize expenses. If your expenses are greater than your sales - you may have lots of money coming in, but you're not making any money. You may actually be bleeding it out.

So how do you control expenses? Starting at the beginning is the easiest. When you build your business right with a profitable strategy plan, it will flourish.  

If you already have a business but see a low-profit margin it will be harder... but it's not impossible to fix.

Here are some considerations:

• Location - Is your rent/lease going to eat all your profits? Is there a way to control or reduce it?

• Pricing - Price products and services based on your location and the kind of client you want to appeal to. If you're looking at a high-end location but a budget or modest client base that's a giant red flag. Either raise your prices or change your location.

• Labor - staff is your most expensive overhead. Don't add more staff members until the existing staff cannot keep up with the demand. Book farther out instead of adding more staff. Make sure your pay scale is within your budget. You may need to nudge prices up to make labor costs fit into your cost-of-goods-sold formula.

• Consider virtual assistants or freelancers for bookkeeping, web related work, or legal services. They have their own office space, supplies and equipment. And you only pay them for services rendered.

• Be very aware of marketing costs. Marketers are always happy to help you. You need to know where/how clients find you and focus on those. People get duped into adding every paid form of web support out there: Yelp, Google, Facebook, etc... It gets expensive fast.

• Focus on evergreen content. This is marketing information you can use, cross-post and re-use.

• Consider investing in a Key Message Copy Platform. This document provides you with a diversity of customized messages. It may include articles, emails, etc that you can implement into your marketing. You buy it once and can use and re-use.

• What will it do for me? Ask yourself this for any upgrade or purchase. How will it enhance your profit margin? A fancy new home office isn't going to do a thing to bring more clients in your door.

Focus

Focus on building the sales and controlling the expenses. The enhanced profits will surprise and delight you.