Think you're stressed out during the holidays? Try being Jennifer Gilbert, who runs corporate party-planning business Save the Date in New York.

Her firm, which helps companies find party locations and entertainment, gets about a quarter of its revenue in December alone. Save the Date helped plan about 280 events this month, compared with as many as 35 in other months of the year. As a result, Ms. Gilbert works until 10 p.m. or midnight about five nights a week, and often on the weekend as well. "It becomes insane," she says.

At some point, she'll have to find time to buy gifts for friends and family. And if that weren't enough, she's also seven months pregnant. "I haven't bought baby furniture, I have not registered, it all has to happen in January."

Many people feel overwhelmed at work this time of year because their personal lives become more hectic. But for people like Ms. Gilbert, work is at its most demanding now as well. Companies in the retail industry, event planning, hospitality and travel, for instance, count on the holidays to generate a big chunk of their business. As a result, workers must figure out how to focus on work amid all the holiday distractions.

Their strategies provide tips for how to manage when work and life both become hectic at any time of year. Planning is key. These people must get organized and finish many tasks before the holiday onslaught. They also realize they can't do everything themselves, and seek extra help from family and staff.

Kimberly Schlegel, owner of R.S.V.P. Soiree, a party rentals and planning company in Dallas that does 75% of its business in the last three months of the year, finishes as many holiday-related tasks as possible by August. "We spend our entire summer preparing for our fall," she says. This summer, she ordered her firm's holiday cards and client gifts. She had the mailing list updated and files organized. She bought new china, glassware and silver to add to the firm's rental inventory. She created the holiday advertising plan.

Outside of work, she tries to finish most of her personal holiday shopping by August. "You just have to be organized because the minute you leave something unorganized it becomes a bigger problem," she says.

Once the holidays hit, she is swamped. Her firm does about 20 to 30 events a week in November and December, compared with about 20 to 30 events in a month the rest of the year. This year, she is also planning a major event of her own -- her wedding, in April. And she is promoting her new book, a coffee-table entertaining book called "The Pleasure of Your Company," published in October.

To get errands done, she not only makes a to-do list but also assigns a time for each task. She reserves some time for her family, even if she can't join them on big holiday vacations. She recently volunteered to drive on her 15-year-old sister's field trip, and went out for lunch with her fiancé. She manages her family's expectations by reminding them in August that work is about to get crazy.

These people know when to ask for help. Arlene Remsik is part-owner of a seasonal home- and office-decorating business called Simply Seasonal in Milwaukee that does most of its business during the holidays, and also owns an event-planning firm called Exceptional Events. She asks her kids to help around the house -- and with work. She brings home projects at night, and asks her three teenage children to help. They have glued centerpieces and cut pieces of paper to make decorations.

"It's assembly-line kind of work," she says. "They do a lot of hauling for me and loading up the car and unloading." Another bonus of bringing work home: She's around to answer homework questions and chat with her kids, even if she is up until one in the morning gluing centerpieces herself, "which is not uncommon," she adds. She asks her kids to pitch in with the laundry and dishwashing.

Other people rely more heavily on hired services. Ms. Gilbert, the party planner, hired a chef to make and deliver nutritious meals to her door. Joann Ryan, director of stores for Gymboree Corp.'s Janeville women's clothing chain and a single mom to a 13-year-old daughter, sees her travel schedule surge to as much as six or seven days a week during the holidays. To save time on errands, she orders groceries online and has them delivered.

Some make an effort not to cut back on exercise, which they say helps them work longer and reduce stress. But they modify their exercise plans to fit better into their hectic work days.

Ms. Gilbert has a trainer come to her home during the holidays, saving travel time to the gym. Ms. Remsik doesn't have time to get to the gym now either, but still takes a walk around her neighborhood for 30 or 40 minutes. "That really helps me to work a longer day," she says.