Field plans for dadsOne page per plan · Friday letter

Home / Start here / Print pack

Your print pack

1 field card, one per page: A one-page holiday stress plan.

Back to Start here

Each card prints on its own US Letter page. No printer? Choose Save as PDF in the print screen (on an iPhone, tap the Share icon there, then Save to Files) and print it later. If the button doesn't work, use your browser's Print.

Dad Field Manual · Field card 99 · Dad Mental Health

A one-page holiday stress plan

The holidays pile travel, money, family and late nights on top of a normal life. Thirty minutes now gets you one page with your limits already decided, so in December you're following a plan instead of making it up while tired.

Time
30 min to plan
Cost
$0
Ages
Any age
Where
Kitchen table

In crisis or thinking about suicide? Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If someone is in danger right now, call 911.

What you need

  • One sheet of paper and a pen
  • Your calendar for November through early January
  • Your bank app or last month's statement
  • Your phone, with one friend's number picked

Read this first

  • If you're thinking about hurting yourself or anyone else, call or text 988 now, or chat at 988lifeline.org. It's free, confidential and open 24/7. In an emergency, call 911.
  • Low for two weeks or more? NIMH says sleep trouble, losing interest, or irritability lasting that long is a reason to see your doctor or a counselor, holidays or not.
  • Kids safe before you step out. A baby goes in the crib or playpen, and another adult knows you've stepped away.
  • Don't drive after drinking, however short the trip home.

Steps

  1. Pick what matters. Write your three must-do things. Everything else is optional.
  2. Set a money limit. Write one spending number for gifts, food and travel. When it's gone, you're done.
  3. Protect your sleep. Write a lights-out time that gets you 7+ hours. Phone off 30 minutes before bed.
  4. Decide on alcohol ahead. Decide your drink limit per event and who drives, before the season starts.
  5. Move every day. Plan 30 minutes of walking a day, in short pieces if you need to.
  6. Agree on a step-out signal. Pick a word that means “I need ten minutes outside,” no questions asked.
  7. Make one connection call. Put one call with a friend on the December calendar now.

If it stalls

  • If the plan falls apart by the second week, go back to the three things that matter and drop the rest.
  • If family pushes back on a limit, say it once, kindly: “That's what works for us this year.” Then change the subject.
Days you kept your sleep time
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date