The holidays are right around the corner, and for most of us corporate sisters, it means family time, food and lots of fun times…yet it also means taking care of everyone else’s needs before our own, barely keeping ourselves mentally and spiritually afloat, running around in a frenzy, and neglecting to refuel by taking care of ourselves. Meanwhile, our to-do lists (note the plural) keep growing longer and more complex by the day. The result? A more depleted, less happy, and less productive sister…

Many are the advice features, articles and guides on how to most efficiently make use of our time, from how to shop more efficiently, to how best to minimize our make-up routine. Yet, in the midst of this information overload on how to do this, what and when to plan for that, and which app can save our multi-directional, uber-busy lives, we very often neglect the essential, the first person to take care of in order to care for everyone else, our numero uno priority: ourselves…We sacrifice rest and quiet time in order to fit in as many errands as possible, answer to as many emails as feasible, and keep dear hubby, the kids, the boss and the co-workers fixed on a constant basis. We are not happy until everyone is, and since most everyone else is quite never happy as well, we’re bound to constantly run on empty…

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, the holidays and its load of to-do’s, frenzied pace and on-repeat Christmas carols, may just be the best time to remind ourselves that as we think of what to gift everyone else with, we should also give ourselves the gift of Time and Priority. So, let’s add ourselves to the top of our priority lists, and manage to find ways to carve time to regenerate our minds and bodies. Whether it’s an hour massage, 10 minutes on the toilet reading a book (yes, the throne has become my favorite reading place, as gross as it may sound), or a half-hour run in the park,  it’s crucial to put ourselves back on the list, or one of them lists for that matter…

And if that means buying the dessert and make it look homemade, or get your nieces gift cards instead of racking your brain about their new shoe sizes, whatever it takes, ’tis the season to take care of YOU! And no, there’s no app for that, at least not yet…

Happy Sunday!

The Corporate Sister.