Have you encountered a post-Christmas slump sometimes referrred to as the dreaded January Blues? It has become something of the norm for January to be a month simply trudged through and merely survived as we await the light at the end of the tunnel.
Christmas and New Years is about the only thing which makes winter half bearable, so it’s unsurprising that after weeks of planning and hype that we feel a bit underwhelmed and down. And this is only bolstered by our resolutions being broken in record time and berating ourselves for it.
In summary: there’s no denying that January is a grim month - which is why we’ve put together a few tips for surviving it. Who knows, you might even find that January isn’t so bad after all…
1. Set realistic resolutions
Most people have their new year resolutions decided by the time 2017 rolls around. However, setting them in the future mean that we tend to be a bit more ambitious with them than we perhaps should be. We’re setting them in the future, so we’ll deal with them later. Essentially it’s a form of procrastination, really.
So, if one of the factors bringing you down this month is the fact that you haven’t yet started learning Spanish or you haven’t gone to the gym every evening, there’s no harm stopping to reassess your resolutions and make them more realistic. Take small steps rather than a huge leap.
Expecting big change overnight is, quite frankly, ridiculous and will only make you feel worse. So instead of saying you’ll spend 2 hours every night trying to learn Spanish, why not ease yourself in with an hour a week until you feel comfortable with more? Your resolutions will feel more manageable and realistic!
2. Hygge
It’s almost certain you have heard of the hype surrounding the “Danish art of living well” otherwise known as “Hygge” (pronounced “Hue-gah”). The Scandinavian life philosophy has taken off in a big way - but just what is it all about?
Hygge is, simply, a feeling of contentedness and cosiness. A simple, home-spun retreat from the stresses of our daily lives. It involves enjoying the simplee things from curling up with a mug of hot chocolate to taking the time to prepare and enjoy a tasty meal.
The seemingly constant darkness of January makes it the perfect month to put Hygge into practice. Ditch the constant scrolling on Facebook, light a few candles and take the time to slow down, live in the moment and fully enjoy yourself whether that’s through sitting down to eat a meal or having some friends over for the evening.
3. Plan a trip away
With Christmas done and dusted for another year and summer feeling like an age away, we can start to feel pretty down with nothing to look forward to.
Sometimes the only thing for it is to just give yourself something to look forward to. Start doing some research into your next trip away - will it be a city break or staycation? A week or weekend? Simply sitting down and putting together a plan will give you something to get excited about and help lift your mood!
4. Exercise
In the dark winter mornings and evenings of January it can feel difficult to fit in the time for exercise. The darkness tends to make us want to retreat indoors and stay there, however, this lack of exercise can start to bring us down.
Heading out to the gym or going for a cycle might be just what you need to lift yourself out of your slump!