Breeze it, buzz it, easy does it

If you're a chronic night owl and a serial over-sleeper like me, the upcoming vacations seem like the perfect opportunity to clock in some extra (read: excess) z's. As for the white collars and nine-to-fivers of the world, it's time to swap your oxfords and ties for something more comfortable. Whoever you are, it's easy to forget everything you've learnt about control the past month and slip into a coma of binge-eating and mindless self-indulgence. So before it's too late and your mind and body start to fail you, try to take an active stance against your inner sloth and inner glutton.
Beat the pre-holiday slump
Once it's officially Eid holiday, there's no turning back. It's here, and even though you wish you'd bought the perfunctory greetings card for your extended family, or made a reservation at that fancy overpriced restaurant you're taking your family out to, it's probably too late. The greetings cards are going to arrive too late, and the restaurant's going to be full when you get there (they won't even let you put your foot in).  Unless you're the type that'd rather be riddled with self-hate, don't get too comfy before it's actually show-time. Offices and schools slow down right before the holidays and your hedonistic brain will fool you into thinking it's okay to abandon all worldly responsibility already. Instead, use this time as buffering period. Ease into the holiday with some simple last minute preparations, which you'll thank yourself for once the celebrations are in full swing.
If you're a scatterbrain, sit down and make a list of pre-holiday to-do's. Do you have to hand in your leave application? Are there bus tickets you need to book? Have you really finished your Eid shopping (and that includes the sweets and the groceries)? Sit down with the rest of the family and make some plans – you'd hate it to be called irresponsible the rest of the year for forgetting the dinner party at your great aunt's place. And do yourself a favor and shop for presents online. You'll save yourself a truckload of time and avoid the holiday rush in all the big shopping malls.
If there's any last minute office work you need to hand in, get to it right now. Personal experience will tell you that you end up mutating deadlines in your head in the face of imminent freedom. If you get back to office first thing after Eid, you might like to get some things done in advance. It won't seem as grueling doing it now as doing it at 3am in the morning before office resumes, or not doing it at all and getting a earful from your boss and making things a whole lot harder for yourself in general.
Don't be a misanthrope and talk yourself into avoiding holiday pleasantries – they're not pointless even if you think so, the cynic that you are. Delight your boss and colleagues with greetings cards or little presents – beats typing up endless trite text messages two days after Eid because you can't think something nice to say. You might be too lazy to do that anyway once you've had too much biriyani and firni, so do it now before you break some hearts.
You're on vacation, not off the grid
Sure you've been waiting for this forever, and really really deserve more than 5 hours of sleep, but try to stick to somewhat of a schedule in the holidays. Waking up at the same time you would during rest of the year isn't that hard if you're going to bed at midnight or earlier. Vacation doesn't mean late nights – do you really want to be more tired than when you left the office? And when you wake up at one o'clock in the afternoon the next day, you're probably going to start reconsidering your life choices. It's only natural for any sleep-deprived human being to misjudge the importance of catching up with friends and family, so don't put yourself in that position in the first place. Get enough sleep, but don't forget your old acquaintance the alarm clock so soon.
Holidays are actually the only time of year you get to work on your bad habits. So if you've got an “insomnia” problem or have really bad mornings that even coffee won't solve, you get to take as much time as you need and do something about it. Lucky you!
Also, think of all the time you're going to save if you wake up in the morning instead of the afternoon – enough time to network all throughout the Eid season. Don't skip out on the holiday parties, and check in on colleagues and business contacts. That handwritten card you thought was a bit silly could go a long way. “But I'm on break” is not good enough a reason to isolate yourself from everyone else, especially if you're spending Eid inside the city. Just think of the really great excuse you're going to have to come up with once you're back to work and everyone's asking why you didn't drop by even once in the ten days you got off.
The inevitable
Even after you've taken all the precautions you could possibly imagine and kept all the promises you made to yourself, you know something's going to wrong. That something is probably you're going to overeat or get overwhelmed by all the invitations you've received. Say “No”, to yourself and to those around you - let them down easy, but you're not obligated to make it to every single dinner party, now are you? If there's too much cooking planned, cheat. Get take out.
In the spirit of moderation and self-control, choose variety over quantity. Believe it or not, you'd rather have enough space in your stomach for five different things your mum spent forever making than one over-stacked plate of really good polau. So this holiday season, don't give into your vices – you know better. Not only will you find it easier to get back to your over-performing usual self, but you're going to be one self-satisfied smug fella at the end of it all.