Poor old January. It has a tough act to follow on the heels of fun festivities, twinkly lights, and chilled office working where you’re as likely to encounter eggnog as you are an executive directive. Instead, January is plagued with empty bank accounts, catch-up work, and Blue Monday—the most depressing day of the year.
Rather than languish morosely in its clutches, we’re taking a more proactive approach. Here are our top tips for beating the January work blues.
1. Make friends with your inbox
New Year, new inbox—clean it out! Find a chunk of time and dedicate it to tidying up your inbox. You’ll feel so much better when you’re not staring at those brackets telling you that you’ve got 4,272 unread emails.
No time or inclination to do it yourself? This is a perfect job for a virtual assistant.
2. Take some easy wins
Motivate yourself to tackle harder tasks by zapping through some quick and easy ones. It’s a productivity hack. Trick your brain into thinking it’s powered up and motivated by tackling the smallest tasks first.
3. Ramp up the self-care
It’s normal to feel miserable in January, but it doesn’t have to be like that. You can coax yourself into feeling better by being kind to yourself and making more time for self-care. Eat nutritiously to feel better after a sluggish December diet, get out to exercise in the fresh air, and take advantage of the still-long nights by getting the best sleep of the year.
Don’t set yourself unrealistic New Year’s resolutions, though. Failure to stick to them is responsible for a ridiculous amount of the January blues.
4. Think about what you want
Are you in a rut? Have you got a nagging feeling in your mind driving the blues because you promised yourself that by this year you’d be in a different work situation? Can you apply for a promotion or undertake a new job search? Use January to power up your career change.
5. Tidy your desk
Chances are that you rarely have time to properly tidy your desk. But an organised desk can help create an organised mind and leave you feeling much better.
6. Get planning
One of the hardest things about January is not having much to look forward to. This applies to work, too. Crack on with that new project you’ve been talking about for ages, create new targets for your team, or even just plan a social event for a few weeks down the line.
7. Gain a mentor
We’re social creatures, so we can feel quite flat after the social intensity of December. One way to bring this into the workplace in a way that benefits your career is to develop a mentoring relationship with a respected colleague. You can pay it forward by being a mentor to someone else, too.
These relationships, away from the direct on-show relationships with colleagues and direct managers, can be really empowering and help you to perform at your best and feel motivated even in the lull times.
Many people decide to banish their January work blues by making a career change. If that’s you, then get in touch—we’re ready to help you secure your next job.
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