Five steps to more serenity in Advent

Get some rest, spend time with children and friends, bake cookies – and get in the mood for the upcoming holidays with great anticipation. Unfortunately, the opposite is often the case during Advent. You have the feeling that you have to get everything done before Christmas: appointments after appointments – in the family, at work, in the club. There is no longer any trace of contemplation and relaxation. “This is reflected in communication: An annoyed undertone creeps in, we become impatient, no longer listen properly, are stressed and unrelaxed,” says Iris Zeppezauer, an expert in communication and rhetoric from Linz. Five tips should bring more calm and concentration on the essentials.

• Unmask time wasters: Often we don’t reflect enough and don’t even know where all our time is going. So it’s high time to unmask time and energy wasters. Anyone who checks e-mails every five minutes or is constantly busy with social media should try to reduce this frequency in December.
• Gratitude: Advent is the best time to become aware of what you can be thankful for in life. For the partner, the children, the recovered health, the colleagues, the new hobby. It is best to write it down or tell the people you are grateful for.
• Listen: Conscious listening gives relationships a new quality. If you pay close attention to what your counterpart is telling you, you will also recognize some (Christmas) wishes.
• Reduce appointments: Not every invitation before Christmas has to be accepted. Often less is more. Some appointments can probably be postponed very well to the new year – there’s 365 days of time!
• Lower claims: You can save yourself a lot of stress if you don’t want to do everything perfectly. Often “medium” is simply good enough, especially when it comes to decor, food, and operations.