Getting Rid of the Grinch

November was an awesome month. Really. Freaking. Awesome. December? Not so much. I feel like I should be caught up in all of the holiday excitement, but instead I'm a complete stress case. Kristin the Grinch.

Yes, finals and the semester will officially be over tomorrow night at 7 pm, which means for the next few weeks I can go home at a normal time and not fill up my weekends with homework. And yes, my job generously gives all it's employees the entire week off between Christmas and New Year's as holiday pay. And yes, since Mike and I work at the same place we both get that week off, which means we can spend it together.

But instead of getting giddy thinking of all of these things, all I'm thinking about is how much I have to do at work between today and December 23rd and how much I have to get done during my holiday week. From thank you cards to wedding planning to lecture writing to website building, the list keeps growing. My vacation week is really starting to look like a work week.

The thought of all of it is weighing on me and since the beginning of the month I can see that I've been over sleeping, eating poorly, and zoning out after work and on the weekends instead of getting anything done. And so the list grows and I keep trying to hide from it. It is a vicious cycle. And I'm over it.

The planner in me is always thinking, "It's okay if you messed up, there's a new week starting soon or a new month," but I don't want to wait until January to feel better. December is just a word and dates are really meaningless. I'm ready to start my new month today. This means:

• Getting the hell up! - Yeah, it's officially winter and 20 degrees in the morning, not to mention pitch black outside. Suck it up. Get up. You'll never regret you did.
• Putting down the brown food - If everything you ate today was a brownish color, it's time to put down the fork and go grocery shopping. Colorful foods mean more vitamins, more natural, more good better for your body.
• Knocking things off the list - It doesn't have to be all at once. Maybe just an hour a day, work on something that's been on your to-do list and knock it out of the park. Yes, maybe other things will replace it, but at least they won't be added on top of it.
• Relaxing - Yoga is not really my cup of tea, but I've had this secret urge to go to a Bikram class for awhile. I need to suck it up and do it. I'll feel better afterwards. Also, maybe a massage is in order.

This calls for some serious Pinterest motivation!

Source

Source

Source

Source

How do you get yourself out of a rut? Do you have any tricks?