The End-of-Year Crunch is Always Nuts! Part I – Especially for Individuals

by | Oct 30, 2025 | Self-awareness, Self-care, Self-reflection, Stress & Anxiety, work-life balance | 0 comments

The End-of-Year Crunch is Always Nuts! - Individuals
WRITTEN BY ALICIA KOCH, FOUNDER OF THE LEGAL BELLETRIST 

 

Click here for Part II: The End-of-Year Crunch is Always Nuts – Especially for teams …

 

It can’t be that time of the year already, can it?

Wow, this year has flown by. It literally felt like Januuuuaaaaarrryyyyyyyy, Febrrrrrrruuuuuuuaaaaaaaarrrryyyyyyy and Maaaaaaaaarch took up most of the year, then AprMayJuneJulyAugustSept and October were sort of compacted into a few short weeks. Or so it seemed. And now we are left with the last two months of the year.

I’m not sure about you, but usually when the end of year starts approaching, I become a real Grinch. Not because I dislike Christmas. Actually, I LOVE this time of the year. The lights, the Christmas décor, the mulled wine and hot cocoa. The joy that’s in the air. No matter your age, the end of the year brings with it a kind of magic. However, when you’re the one responsible for closing up shop, purchasing gifts, cooking, visiting family and friends and generally all of the organising, it can feel a little unnerving and suddenly two months doesn’t feel like enough time.

It’s like we become burdened with endless responsibilities with trying to fit everything in. With trying to make sure everyone is happy and everything is done “just right.” The problem with that is that it often comes at the cost of our own enjoyment and happiness. You end up turning into the Grinch on a mission to “tick all the boxes.”

And, frankly, who does that serve? Not a single soul.

We get so caught up in the madness of the end of the year and before we know it, we are stressed to the max, overwhelmed and feeling frustrated at just how little time we have left to get everything done. Most importantly we can completely lose the joy, fun and excitement of this time of the year. And that just doesn’t feel right.

There has got to be a different way?!

A way that means that you can enjoy this time, while still getting all the important things done. A way that doesn’t put your mental and emotional wellbeing at stake because the point here is to thrive through the end of year craziness! Not suffer through it.

Preparing for year-end pressures

Sprinter Getting Ready to Start by Dean Drobot

How individuals can prepare for the end of year silliness

I was reading an article by Kim Baird regarding her prep for the end of the year and really liked her 6 guidelines. They set out as follows –

Get clear on your priorities – with more than enough to do at this time of the year, it’s important that you know what is most important to you, so that you can focus on those things and not allow them to slip through the cracks. Take some time, sit down and write down the most important things at this time of the year. You can do this by asking yourself some pertinent questions like: What is most important for you to get done before the end of the year? What goals do you want to achieve? (remember to be realistic here and not overburden yourself) and how do you want to feel come the end of the year? Once you have answered these questions, it’s time to set up a schedule so that you can fit these priorities into your life. That includes family time … because otherwise we find that there’s no time left for the things that are most important to us.
Get good at saying “No” – if you are a “yes man” this is your time to change your ways. You don’t need to be superhuman. No one has time for that. Instead learn to embrace the “no.” You cannot do everything and cannot be everywhere. It is perfectly acceptable to say “no thank you” as well. Because you are worth it. Your goals, your business and your wellbeing are worth it. They don’t need to always be getting pushed to the bottom of the priorities list! That’s why getting clear on your priorities is so important. Once you know what those are, saying no to everything else becomes a lot easier.
Schedule in downtime for self-care – being busy is good, getting things done is even better, but having a schedule that leaves little room for you and your own wellbeing practices will not help you thrive as you get through the silly season. You are as important as year end and planning for the New Year. If you are only getting caught up in the busyness of the season you risk burnout or getting sick because you are not taking care of yourself. Make yourself a priority. Schedule in your own downtime and self-care.
Top view of a lightbox with motivational words for self-care, mental health, emotional well-being by Wirestock from Getty Images
Delete the unnecessary – striving for excellence and reaching epic goals is impressive but, at this time of the year, it isn’t necessary. Not really. Being ambitious is one thing. Being realistic is far better. Especially now. Deleting the unnecessary is in line with saying no, it’s just going a little deeper. Delete things from your list that are just not that important and don’t weigh yourself down with massive responsibility to get everything done. Recognise what is truly important to you and what really needs to be done and delete the rest of your list.
Delegate what you can – you aren’t an island and there’s no “I” in team. Get the picture? You don’t need to do everything yourself and you don’t need to control everything. You are still worthy, deserving and valuable even when you get other people to help with the things that need to be done. It’s ok to ask for help and it’s ok to delegate tasks to others. It may even be beneficial in the long run. So, ask for help if you need it.
Take focused action – sitting at your computer or laptop trying to work and taking focused action are two vastly different things. Make sure that when you’re working, you remove all the distractions around you that will take your focus away and truly focus on the matter at hand. It’s also a good idea to plan ahead for your day (the day before). Understand that you have 3 or so important tasks that need to get done the next day and plan how you’re going to go about doing them. When you are taking focused action, you are more productive, and you can get huge amounts done in a small amount of time. And this frees up more time and space for downtime, fun and looking after you. Ultimately helping you to thrive through the end of year craziness!

It’s clear from the above that closing off the end of the year and planning for the New Year while also shopping for Christmas presents and everything else the end of year brings can be done in a way that makes you thrive! In a way that helps you enjoy this time of year. In a way that allows you to feel less guilty and less crazy with all the end of the year holds. It just takes some planning, some prioritising and it definitely takes some saying no.

And lastly if you need support as you go through the end of year craziness, get in touch with Frieda Levycky at Braving Boundaries. Don’t waste a moment more! Again, asking for help is not only brave but the best thing you can do for you. No matter what time of the year you do it in.

(Sources used and to whom we owe thanks – Gould Training; LinkedIn here and here and Amazing Business).   

End of blog post CTA image (5)
About the Author, Alicia Koch, Founder of The Legal Belletrist. Alicia, an admitted attorney with over 10 years PQE, and now a legal writer and researcher, has established The Legal Belletrist to assist companies (in different sectors) to write well-researched articles that speak to each company’s core business, enabling growth and commercialism.

Click here to visit The Legal Belletrist website. Email: [email protected]  

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *