As a time management specialist, I’m often asked at this season what makes a peaceful, productive and relaxed holiday season.

Here are my top 7 keys to it, in no particular order: – Say “no”. One of the problems of the holiday season is that there are too many events and other opportunities we are asked to participate in. So practice saying “no” to everything that you don’t really want or need to do – and remember that “no” is a full sentence, no need to explain why beyond “I can’t”, or “my schedule is already full”. If saying “no” is too hard for you, say “let me check my calendar/with my spouse/etc.” Then take time to think away from any pressure whether you really want/need to do what you’re asked to.

– Be organized: The holidays are not the time to wing it. Between your normal work, your end-of-year work, the holiday preparations and all the rest, you are bound to be busier than usual. So be organized: group your errands together; have checklists to remind you of what you need to do and where you are in the process; make sure everything has a home. If you can, now might be a great time to re-organize, organize or fine-tune your organizing at home and at work.

– Plan ahead: The more and the earlier you plan, the easier your holiday season will be. Do or make ahead everything you can. To give you a couple of examples: a client of mine, who has a lot of end-of-year reports to do, prepares all those reports at the end of October, so that he just needs to updates them with the new numbers (and sometimes the narrative around them) in December. Another client who hosts Thanksgiving every year, prepares parts of her dishes ahead of time, freezes them, and then just has to assemble, heat or do the last cooking right before the holiday.

– Be ruthless with interruptions: Interruptions are one of your biggest time wasters whether you work in an office or at home taking care of small children. When the workload increases, those interruptions can make the difference between being able to do everything you want to do and not being able to do so. So be ruthless with interruptions: eliminate all those you can, and reduce the rest to the strict minimum. It’ll make for an end of year when you feel much more on top of everything.

– Pace yourself: Going at 150% every day, all day long, is not sustainable, no matter how much you try. So make sure to pace yourself by taking regular breaks throughout the day. You’ll see that it is time well invested, because you’ll be much more alert, productive and energetic at the end of the day.

– Manage your stress as it arises: No matter how organized you are, no matter how well you have planned, you will most likely experience some stress this season, would it be just because other people around you will be stressed out. So whenever you feel stress surging up, deal with it immediately: take a few deep breaths, give yourself a short break, exercise. Because stress slows you down dramatically, you can’t afford to let it take hold.

– Let go of the “dead weight”: We all have some dead weight in our schedules and to-do’s. Things that we keep doing, even though they don’t bring anything, or could be done just as well by others, but we still do out of habit. For instance, dead weight can be this meeting you keep being invited and going to, even though nothing having to do with your projects is ever discussed anymore; the household chores you still do for your children, when they’re old enough to do them themselves; the organization you’re involved in out of habit, even though you no longer want to be. Cut those from your schedule. You won’t miss them, and you’ll have more time for valuable activities.

Last but not least, a bonus key to a happy holiday season: remember to have fun! The holidays should be a time of joy, a time of fun, a time to enjoy, so block some time to do just that! It’ll make all the rest a lot more enjoyable too…

Karin Stewart, PhD, is the creator of Holiday M stery, founder of Daily Mastery and your guide to a happy, stress-free and relaxed holiday season. She has helped hundreds live the life they want in the time they have, and want to do the same for you this holiday season.