Holidays are supposed to be joyful, filled with family, festivities, and relaxation. Yet, for many adults—especially those dealing with executive functioning challenges—the holiday season can feel more like an overwhelming to-do list than a time for celebration. Whether you struggle with ADHD, or anxiety, or just feel swamped by the demands of the season, holiday planning can quickly become daunting.
But why are the holidays so particularly taxing on executive functioning? Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive skills that help with managing time, staying organized, paying attention, and handling multiple tasks simultaneously. These skills are crucial for planning, prioritizing, and executing tasks—exactly the kind of activities that skyrocket during the holiday season.
The holidays often bring an influx of tasks that require significant mental juggling: preparing large meals, buying gifts for loved ones, coordinating family schedules, managing finances, and even organizing travel. For those who already struggle with executive function skills, the added pressure of deadlines, heightened social expectations, and multiple competing priorities can lead to burnout, procrastination, and heightened anxiety.
Common executive functioning challenges, like difficulty with time management, disorganization, forgetfulness, and trouble with prioritization, tend to intensify during the holiday season. What’s more, the pressure to make everything “perfect” for family and friends can amplify feelings of being overwhelmed.
For example:
- Time Management: From cooking and baking to attending social gatherings, managing the limited time during the holidays can be incredibly difficult. Each task seems to require more time than you have, and fitting it all in often feels impossible.
- Organization: Keeping track of gifts, grocery lists, travel itineraries, and social commitments all at once can create mental clutter, making it challenging to stay organized. Misplacing items or forgetting important deadlines is common.
- Prioritization: With so many demands on your attention—what to buy, when to travel, which event to attend—it can be hard to prioritize tasks. This leads to procrastination or focusing on less important tasks, while critical ones get delayed.
Thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) can be a game-changer. By automating and streamlining many of the planning and organizing tasks that take up so much mental energy, AI can alleviate a lot of the burden. AI tools can help you manage everything from meal prep and gift shopping to travel logistics and family activity coordination. With just a few smart apps and resources, you can reduce stress and make sure your holiday runs smoothly.
In this post, we’ll explore how AI can be used to simplify holiday tasks like planning meals, buying gifts, organizing travel, and creating timelines for family activities. These tools can provide not only inspiration but also actionable strategies to help you manage the season with greater ease and enjoyment.
1. AI for Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping
One of the most stressful aspects of the holiday season is meal planning. Whether it’s Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas breakfast, or New Year’s Eve appetizers, it can be hard to keep track of recipes, ingredients, and dietary needs. AI-powered meal planners and grocery delivery apps can be a game changer.
Tools like Paprika or Plan to Eat use AI to suggest recipes based on dietary preferences and the number of guests you’re expecting. You can input your favorite dishes, and the AI will generate shopping lists, suggest alternatives, and even schedule your cooking timeline to ensure everything is ready at the right time.
For those who struggle with grocery shopping, apps like Instacart or Walmart+ use AI to help you build and organize a grocery list. They can recommend items based on your shopping habits and even notify you if you forget something you usually buy. Combined with delivery services, you can have everything you need for holiday meals sent directly to your door—no last-minute dashes to the grocery store required!
2. AI for Gift Buying and Budgeting
Gift-giving can be a logistical nightmare if you have executive function challenges. Trying to remember everyone on your list, staying within a budget, and choosing thoughtful gifts can feel overwhelming. This is where AI shines.
Platforms like Giftster or GiftPlanner use AI to help you track gift ideas, and budgets, and even manage wishlists from family members. AI tools like Shopify’s product recommendations use machine learning to suggest trending items based on what you’ve already browsed. Not only does this take the guesswork out of finding the perfect present, but it also helps you stick to a budget by tracking spending in real time.
If shopping in stores stresses you out, many AI-driven e-commerce platforms provide personalized recommendations right on your screen. For instance, Amazon uses AI to show you gift ideas based on your past purchases or wishlists, while tools like Rakuten can help you find deals and cashback rewards.
3. AI for Travel and Packing
Traveling during the holidays can be chaotic, especially if you’re trying to juggle multiple tasks, like packing, booking tickets, and managing itineraries. AI can help with every step of the process, from packing checklists to booking accommodations and tracking flight schedules.
For packing, tools like PackPoint use AI to create customized packing lists based on your travel destination, the weather forecast, and planned activities. It considers how long you’ll be gone and the type of trip you’re taking, so you never forget an essential item again.
When it comes to travel bookings, AI platforms like Google Flights or Kayak monitor flight prices and suggest the best times to book, ensuring you get the best deals. For accommodations, AI tools like Booking.com or Airbnb use algorithms to recommend stays that match your preferences and budget, saving you time and hassle.
During travel, apps like TripIt use AI to organize all your travel details in one place, from flight schedules to hotel bookings, making it easier to stay on top of your itinerary without feeling overwhelmed.
4. AI for Family Activities and Timelines
Planning family activities during the holidays can be one of the most complex parts of holiday prep, especially when you’re managing kids, relatives, and different schedules. AI can help you stay organized and on track with family activities, ensuring no one misses out on the fun.
Apps like Cozi or Google Calendar use AI to integrate multiple schedules and send you reminders, helping you manage events like family dinners, school plays, or community gatherings. These tools can sync with other family members, making it easier to see everyone’s availability at a glance. Plus, AI-based apps can remind you of important deadlines, such as booking tickets for a holiday show or RSVPing to a party.
For families with children, AI-powered activity generators like Bored Panda or Pogo suggest holiday crafts, games, and events based on your family’s interests, location, and age groups. You can quickly find ideas to keep the kids entertained, all while ensuring you don’t miss any of your planned holiday traditions.
5. AI for Reducing Stress and Staying Organized
One of the hidden benefits of using AI for holiday planning is its ability to reduce stress. Managing executive functioning challenges means that you may struggle with working memory, organization, and time management. By relying on AI to take over repetitive, time-consuming tasks, you can focus more on enjoying the holidays instead of worrying about the logistics.
AI assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri can act as your personal holiday concierge. You can ask them to set reminders, add items to your shopping list, or even play holiday music to set the mood. These virtual assistants can also help you stay on top of deadlines, whether it’s ordering a last-minute gift or reminding you to prepare for an upcoming event.
For deeper stress relief, AI-powered meditation and mindfulness apps like Calm or Headspace can offer guided sessions specifically designed to reduce holiday anxiety. With AI taking care of the practical details, you’ll have more mental space to relax and enjoy your time with loved ones.
6. AI for Post-Holiday Wrap-Up and Reflection
Once the holiday season is over, AI tools can help you wrap up loose ends, manage returns, and even start planning for the next year. For example, apps like Evernote or Notion allow you to keep track of what worked well this holiday season and what didn’t, providing a space to jot down notes, ideas, and suggestions for the following year.
Some AI apps also allow you to automate follow-ups, such as sending thank-you notes or scheduling New Year’s resolutions. By taking a few minutes to set reminders or jot down thoughts while they’re fresh, you can ensure that your next holiday season is even smoother.
7. Planning and Designating Time to Explore AI Tools Without Feeling Overwhelmed
As helpful as AI can be, diving into new technologies can sometimes feel daunting, especially when you’re already feeling the pressure of holiday planning. The key to getting the most out of AI tools without feeling overwhelmed is to approach the process with a plan and pace yourself. Here’s how to designate time to explore these resources in a way that feels manageable and stress-free:
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Break It Down: One Task at a Time
It can be tempting to try and explore all the AI tools at once—meal planners, gift trackers, travel organizers—but this can quickly lead to feeling overwhelmed. Instead, break your holiday planning into smaller, manageable tasks. For example, start with meal planning for Thanksgiving before moving on to gift-buying for Christmas. This focused approach allows you to get comfortable with each AI tool without feeling like you have to master everything at once.
Use an AI-powered task management tool, like Todoist or Trello, to create a list of holiday planning tasks. Break them down by week or day, giving yourself realistic deadlines. These apps can even send you reminders, ensuring you stay on track without needing to rely on your memory.
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Designate Short, Focused Sessions
Set aside small, focused chunks of time to explore and set up each AI tool. For instance, you might spend 30 minutes exploring meal-planning apps like Paprika or Plan to Eat on a Saturday afternoon. Once you’ve spent some time with it, you can gradually integrate it into your daily routine. The key is to give yourself enough time to explore the app but not so much that it feels like another chore.
Use a timer or AI-powered virtual assistant like Google Assistant or Alexa to schedule short sessions. These tools can even remind you when it’s time to stop, helping you avoid burnout.
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Start with Tools You’re Already Familiar With
You don’t need to start from scratch when it comes to using AI. If you already use tools like Google Calendar, Siri, or Alexa, start by exploring the holiday planning features of those apps. For example, you can ask Google Calendar to set reminders for gift buying, cooking, and travel dates. The more comfortable you are with the tool, the easier it will be to add additional features like meal planning or family activity management.
By starting with familiar tools, you can gradually ease into more advanced AI features without feeling like you’re diving into the deep end.
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Focus on Your Biggest Pain Points
Another way to avoid feeling overwhelmed is by focusing on the area of holiday planning that stresses you out the most. Do you dread the chaos of travel? Start by using AI to manage your travel itinerary and packing list. Is gift shopping a headache? Prioritize AI tools that help with gift-buying and budgeting.
By addressing your biggest challenges first, you’ll feel immediate relief from holiday stress, making it easier to gradually adopt other AI tools.
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Automate Where You Can
One of the greatest advantages of AI is automation. You don’t have to remember every little task—AI can take care of it for you! For example, you can use Instacart or Walmart+ to automate grocery deliveries, saving you time and energy. You can also set up auto-reminders for gifts, meal prep, and events using Google Calendar or Alexa.
By automating tasks, you take the pressure off yourself to remember everything, leaving you more mental energy to enjoy the holidays.
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Be Kind to Yourself: It’s Okay to Start Small
Finally, remember that you don’t have to use every AI tool right away. The goal is to reduce stress, not add more! Start with one or two tools that seem most helpful to you. Once you’re comfortable, you can gradually incorporate more into your holiday planning routine. The holiday season is already busy, so it’s perfectly okay to experiment with AI in small steps.
If a tool isn’t working for you, it’s fine to let it go and try something else. The important thing is to find what simplifies your life, not what adds to your to-do list.
Conclusion
For adults with executive functioning challenges, the holidays can often feel more overwhelming than joyful. Fortunately, AI tools have made it easier than ever to plan, organize, and manage holiday tasks without the usual stress. Whether it’s meal planning, gift shopping, travel arrangements, or coordinating family activities, AI can be your secret to a smoother, more enjoyable holiday season.
Exploring AI doesn’t have to feel intimidating when approached with a clear plan and realistic expectations. By breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps, setting aside focused time to explore new tools, and starting with apps you’re already comfortable with, you can gradually introduce AI into your holiday preparations without feeling overwhelmed.
Remember, AI is designed to make your life easier, not more complicated. Start small, automate where you can, and focus on the areas that bring the most relief. With some exploration and patience, these AI tools can streamline your holiday tasks and bring a sense of calm to your planning process.
By embracing AI, you’ll not only simplify your holiday logistics but also create more time and mental space to enjoy the moments that truly matter. This holiday season, give yourself the gift of peace by letting AI ease the burden of planning, so you can focus on what’s most important—celebrating with loved ones.
Learn more about Energy Management with Online Coaching for Executive Functioning / ADHD
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