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Top 5 Ways to Beat the Back to Work Blues

Top 5 Ways to Beat the Back to Work Blues

Crushing reality dawns, as your mind adjusts to the noise coming from your alarm - painfully reminding you that it’s time for the first get-up after Christmas.

We spend weeks, if not months anticipating all of the splendours of Christmas – lots of calorific food, quality time with friends and family, parties and much deserved time off.

When it’s all over, the tinsel is down and the mince pies are a distant memory, how do we bounce back to our usual perky selves?

A touch of the blues may affect us all at some point, but it’s definitely more common in January – hence the term ‘January Blues’.

The weather is cold, bleak and often wet, most of us enter the workplace in the dark and leave the same way, and money may be tighter than your jeans after the excess of festive spending.

It’s not hard to see why we may struggle to feel positive and bubbly.

The trick is to take January for what it is – an amazing chance to recover, regroup and focus on

Crushing reality dawns, as your mind adjusts to the noise coming from your alarm - painfully reminding you that it’s time for the first get-up after Christmas.

We spend weeks, if not months anticipating all of the splendours of Christmas – lots of calorific food, quality time with friends and family, parties and much deserved time off.

When it’s all over, the tinsel is down and the mince pies are a distant memory, how do we bounce back to our usual perky selves?

A touch of the blues may affect us all at some point, but it’s definitely more common in January – hence the term ‘January Blues’.

The weather is cold, bleak and often wet, most of us enter the workplace in the dark and leave the same way, and money may be tighter than your jeans after the excess of festive spending.

It’s not hard to see why we may struggle to feel positive and bubbly.

The trick is to take January for what it is – an amazing chance to recover, regroup and focus on everything fabulous that’s coming our way in the New Year.

#1 Give yourself something to look forward to

Get something booked for later in the year. It doesn’t have to be a fortnight abroad if your budget won’t allow it. Even a night in a B&B in June could be enough to give you that stir of anticipation and excitement.

#2 Take time to focus on you

After all of the rushing around that December usually brings, enjoy a slightly slower pace of life in January. Take time out when at home to read, watch a favourite movie or simply recharge your batteries with a cheeky nap!

Someone once said life is like an elastic band – if you pull on both sides too hard it will snap.

Having a good work-life balance is not only essential for us to function properly but also to be super productive and happy in both areas, so make sure yours is balanced before you burn out.

#3 Start a Journal

Keeping a Diary is the perfect way to help you reflect at the end of each day. Make a conscious effort to write down the positive aspects of your day and be thankful for even the smallest bit of good; a decent night’s sleep, no rain or finishing that report!

#4 Bring bedtime forward

Getting more sleep has been proven to boost your mood, it’s pretty obvious that when we get a good sleep we are more able to cope with the day ahead of us - in direct contrast to the overly emotional wreck / horned ogre that may appear when we are deprived of ZZZ’s.

When you snooze your body repairs, tops up energy levels and gives you overall better mental and physical health.

If you want to track your sleep better it may be worth investing in a Fitness Tracker some of which can track how much you have slept at night as well as how much you move during the day.

#5 Get back what you give

Maintaining close relationships with loved ones and friends makes us feel good.

The more you put in the more you will get back. Taking the time to make someone feel special, loved or happier just enriches our own lives.

Simple things like making the effort to take the children to the park, your significant other out for a meal or writing a letter to someone you haven’t seen for ages.

January is also the perfect time to get involved in your local community, giving back may give you an enhanced sense of wellbeing and a really deep feeling of life satisfaction (trying not to sound too corny here!)

If time is a constraint in your life why not start supporting a charity or organisation through donations or taking part in a fun run. If you are also wanting to get fitter this year – that’s two birds, one stone!

And if all that doesn’t help to lift that January fog, take comfort in the fact that it will soon be February…