The Mid-December Check-In: Pausing Before You Hit the Wall

Hey there, I see you….

You’re utterly exhausted. Your inbox is overflowing at work. Year-end deadlines. Performance reviews. Random “quick asks” that are never quick.

At home, the holiday picture isn’t much better.
The decorations are half up (or fully up but already starting to feel like visual clutter). You’re hosting Christmas Eve, but you’re not even sure who’s actually coming because you haven’t texted anyone to confirm.

You haven’t done the gingerbread house you swore you’d do this year.

You’ve barely driven around to see Christmas lights, and your own house? Definitely not one of the festive ones on the street.

You’re tired. Bone-deep tired.
But you’re also tempted to keep telling yourself: “It’s fine. It’s just a busy season. I’ll rest between Christmas and New Year’s.”

Here’s the hard truth I’ve learned (the hard way):
If you don’t check in with yourself now, if you don’t pause, get honest about what you're managing, and make a few adjustments, you won’t glide into that rest. You’ll collapse into it.

You’ll be flat-out on the couch, resentful, sick, or just completely numb… and calling that “rest.”

This post is your mid-December pause button. A quick reset so you can course-correct before you hit the wall.

The Mid-December Check-In (Do This Right Now)

Grab a notebook, your Notes app, or even answer these in your head while you drink your morning coffee.

1. Energy Inventory

First, get honest about your energy.

• On a scale of 1–10, where’s your energy right now?
  Don’t answer with where you think you “should” be. Be honest. Is it a 3? 6? 9?
  
  
• What’s draining you most?
  Be specific. Is it a person? A project? A decision you keep avoiding? A group text?
  
  
• What’s giving you energy, even in small ways?
  Think about tiny moments: your morning coffee, a certain coworker, walks, music, your kid’s excitement, a quiet car ride alone.
  
  

Your body already knows where the leaks are. This is just you actually listening.

2. Expectation Reality Check

Next, look at the invisible mental load you’re carrying.

• What are you still trying to make happen that isn’t really working?
  (The perfectly coordinated holiday cards? A full-house party when you really want something smaller?)
  
  
• What’s feeling forced vs. what’s flowing?
  Forced usually feels heavy, tight, and irritating. Flow feels lighter, doable, and maybe even a little fun.
  
  
• Where are you over-functioning?
  Where are you doing more than your share, at work, at home, in your extended family, in your friend group?
  
  

This is where you’ll notice the mismatch between your actual life and the imaginary version you thought you “should” be living in December.

3. Joy Assessment

Now we tune into joy, the part that’s supposed to be the point of this season.

• What have you actually enjoyed so far this season?
  Be honest. Maybe it was one cozy movie night. Or your kid’s concert. Or yelling at Alexa to play Mariah Carey.
  
  
• What are you dreading?
  A particular event? The logistical chaos of travel? Last-minute shopping?
  
  
• What can you still look forward to?
  What’s one thing you haven’t done yet that would feel genuinely good? (Small is fine: hot chocolate after dinner, a quiet morning, saying no to something.)
  
  

This is about redirecting your energy toward what lights you up, not just what you feel obligated to do.

4. Capacity Check

Finally, we get practical.

• What’s realistically possible in the next 2–3 weeks?
  Not in your fantasy life. In your real one, with your real schedule and real energy.
  
  
• What needs to be released, delegated, or simplified?
  Maybe it’s buying cookies instead of baking them. Doing e-gift cards instead of personalized gifts. Saying “we’re keeping it low-key this year.”
  
  
• Where do you need to ask for help?
  At work (renegotiating a deadline)?
  At home (splitting tasks with your partner, asking grandparents to help with one thing)?
  With friends (asking someone else to host, or co-hosting instead of doing it all yourself)?
  
  

This is you being the leader of your life, not the event planner for everyone else’s comfort.

Quick Self-Care Resets You Can Use Today

This is not another “take a bubble bath and drink water” self-care speech.

These are tiny, practical resets you can build into the day you’re already living.

The 5-Minute Boundary

Pick one small pocket of time in your day and protect it like it’s a meeting with your boss.

• Five minutes in your car before you walk into the house.
  
  
• Five minutes at your desk before you open email.
  
  
• Five minutes in the morning before everyone else wakes up.
  
  

During those five minutes:

• No email
  
  
• No social media
  
  
• No “let me just send this one thing”
  
  

Just breathe. Notice how you feel. Check in before the world starts pulling at you.

The Energy-Back Ritual

Choose one tiny thing that reliably gives you a sliver of energy back, and make it non-negotiable for the next week.

Examples:

• A 10-minute walk outside.
  
  
• Putting your phone in another room for 20 minutes at night.
  
  
• One song you love, played loud in the car.
  
  
• Going to bed 20–30 minutes earlier.
  
  

This isn’t about becoming a “new you” overnight. It’s about signaling to your system: “I matter too.”

The Calendar Audit

Look at your calendar between now and the end of December.

Highlight:

• What can be cancelled?
  
  
• What can be shortened?
  
  
• What can be turned into “optional” instead of “must attend”?
  
  

Ask yourself:

“If I were protecting my energy like it were limited (because it is), what would I change here?”

Give yourself permission to actually make those changes.

The Ask

Identify one specific piece of support you need.

Not “I need more help.” That’s too big and vague.

Think:

• “Can you handle dinner on Thursdays for the rest of the month?”
  
  
• “Can we cap this meeting at 30 minutes instead of an hour?”
  
  
• “Can you pick up stocking stuffers if I send you a list?”
  
  
• “Can we switch our big family gathering to a potluck?”
  
  

Support often doesn’t show up because no one actually knows what you need.

Permission to Change Course

You are allowed to:

• Cancel.
  
  
• Simplify.
  
  
• Say no.
  
  
• Do it differently than last year.
  
  
• Let something be “good enough” instead of perfect.
  
  

Changing course might look like:

• Deciding not to host this year, or turning a full holiday meal into appetizers and dessert only.
  
  
• Skipping holiday cards altogether. (You will survive. So will everyone else.)
  
  
• Letting your kids pick one tradition they care about and letting the rest go.
  
  
• Telling your manager, “Given my current workload, here’s what I can realistically deliver by year-end.”
  
  

The relief of doing this now, in mid-December, is enormous compared to the crash of waiting until you’re already at your breaking point.

You don’t need permission from your boss, your family, or Instagram.
You can give it to yourself.

The Leadership Move You Might Be Missing

This mid-December pause is not indulgent. It’s self-leadership.

You lead at work. You lead at home. This is you leading yourself.

You don’t have to white-knuckle your way to January. You’re allowed to say:

• “This is too much.”
  
  
• “Something has to give.”
  
  
• “I’m choosing a different way this year.”
  
  

Your life doesn’t need another perfectly executed holiday.
It needs a you who still recognizes herself at the end of it.

Your Invitation

Before you click away, choose one thing:

• Answer the check-in questions (even just one from each section).
  
  
• Protect one 5-minute pocket of time.
  
  
• Cancel or simplify one thing that feels heavy.
  
  
• Ask for one piece of help.
  
  

That is enough to start.

Mid-December doesn’t have to be the moment you lose yourself.
It can be the moment you chose to honor your capacity, protect your energy, and finish this year on your terms.

With love,

Erin