The festive mood of the holiday season can be a fun and thrilling time for many. As soon as the first wreaths go up at homes and shopping centers alike, expect Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You on repeat everywhere you go.
Some are already wrapping gifts while eating leftover turkey while others are biting their nails down to the quick and twisting at one’s hair at the thought of all there is to do. The holiday craze starts feeling like a time of overwhelming stress.
Your fairy smartphone could be your knight in shining armour so you can complete more of your Holiday To-Do list!
1. Use apps to help you organize your holiday schedule, sort holiday shopping, and improve mindfulness.
We recommend some of these tools on your phone to help you spend less time buying presents for the ones you love and more time being present with them instead.
The Christmas List App
This is an easy-to-use app specific for iOS users to help you organize Christmas lists and budget. Notable features include progress tracking for each gift, shopping lists by store, and printing lists directly from the app!
Every time you think of someone you need to buy for – open the app and put it in!
The app even allows you to keep track of which gifts you’ve wrapped! Talk about feeling accomplished!
If you’re an Android user, the Giftster app is a great alternative.
Now that you have an app for your Christmas shopping, planning for your holiday schedule and organizing your activities are next in your list. Evernote is the perfect productivity app for this!
Here’s a pro tip from Evernote consultant Katie Santos:
“Capture all your tasks in one long note, and then separate the list into items you need to do right away, things you can delegate, and items you can do later. Convert those three lists into three separate notes, and attach checkboxes and reminders to each task list. Let Evernote remind you—and the people you’ve delegated tasks to—when they’re due.”
2. Use your phone to help you stay calm during the craziness.
Open a quick guided meditation to get your blood pressure down after a visit to the mall. 10 minutes can make all the difference between snapping at your spouse and a peaceful, happy home.
Meditation apps like Headspace have so many options such as sleepcasts to drift off to sleep when you’re mind won’t turn off. And a guided meditation in the Calm app is a quick and simple way to reduce stress and anxiety.
3. Delete distracting apps from your home screen.
Focus on apps that help you, not make you more stressed.
Distraction is just one tap away when you have the offending app on your home screen.
For instance, if you delete social media apps like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on your home screen, your browsing is limited on your desktop or mobile browser. The benefits are twofold. First, it increases your barrier to entry in aimlessly scrolling through your feed. Second, using these apps on browser mode have poor user experience. This will further discourage you to spend more time mindlessly browsing.
Turn Your Smartphone into your personal assistant this Holiday Season
The holiday season can be both a challenging and memorable time of the year at once. While you may not have much control in the number of people doing last minute Christmas shopping, you can choose how to plan, react, and enjoy your time with loved ones during the holidays.
Need more help in reducing stress and anxiety this holiday season? Tell us about your holiday season struggles and challenges!