I have such a love-hate relationship with January. I love the New Year, new me stuff and it’s my birthday next week. However, there’s a lot of pressure to start the year off strongly and make big changes. Personally, I prefer to ease my way into the year and make small changes. To keep yourself feeling good, here are 9 ways to beat the January blues.
Accept it
January is hard for everyone. Christmas is all fun and then it’s back to reality in January. People have often overeaten and overspent at Christmas too so there’s always a big push on healthy living and budgeting in January. There’s always a lot of pressure for resolutions too but it’s okay to have a slow January and ease yourself into the year.
Get out of the house
This especially applies if you’re like me and work from home. It can be hard when it’s dark in the morning and dark in the evening but try to get over dinnertime if you can. Obviously, it can be hard if you’re on shift work but even just 5 minutes of fresh air can make the world of difference!
Try to focus on your health
I know everyone joins a gym in January but you don’t have to do so to focus on your health. Start with more walking, adding more vegetables to your home-cooked meals, drinking more water and prioritising sleep. Focusing on your healthy habits as opposed to overhauling your life into a health freak is so much easier! Plus you can start habit stacking when you get into the swing of things.
Learn a new skill or get a new hobby
Life can often be so serious and all work, no play. January is the perfect month to try your hand at something new, whether it’s rediscovering an old hobby or finding something new. It could be colouring, journalling, yoga, or learning a language. You could even try multiple things if you have the time.
Adapt your routines for winter
I’m big on routines, especially morning and evening ones, but the changing of the weather and seasons sometimes has a need for editing your routines. You could make your spaces more cosy, read more instead of scrolling, and have your hot drink in bed before starting your day.
Plan out your year (loosely)
If there’s anything that I know, it’s planning. It’s practically my specialist subject, I could go on Mastermind. Whether you like a diary or calendar or do your planning digitally, try to add in any important dates or events. For me, it’s always birthdays, theatre shows, trips I’ve already booked and sporting events. I also then look at my business capacity for every month so I know how much freelance work I can take on. Don’t forget to consult any family members and consider their plans too (especially a partner and/or kids). For me, it’s an excuse to buy lots of new stationery too!
Schedule some self-care
This ties in with the previous point but actually scheduling in your self-care time means you might actually stick to it. Whether it’s an afternoon a month or some time every week, it depends on how much free time you actually have! It could be booking in your appointments ahead of time, giving yourself a morning to declutter a room in the house, or booking a day off to sit on the sofa and do nothing.
Set up a budget
As I said earlier, January can be hard on your finances. You’re probably still recovering from Christmas and it’s good to start the year feeling good about money. Set up some saving pots for the year, sell some old stuff on eBay or Vinted, and try to save money by eating out less or having less takeaway coffee. You could cook more meals at home and take your own packed lunches to work too. Your food shop budget might increase but it’s much cheaper than eating out! See if you can shop around for deals on everything from utilities to technology!
Practice some gratitude
At the end of the day, we’ve made it from one year to the next so we should be grateful. My favourite way to practice gratitude is through journaling. I don’t have the time or patience for morning pages though. All I do is jot down three things I’m grateful for on that day and that’s it!
And those are my top 9 ways to beat the January blues. It’s okay to just slowly get into the new year and set yourself up all month long. On the other hand, if you want to hit the ground running and make big changes, you do you!
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