Happy January everybody… said nobody ever!

Christmas is over so it’s back to the daily grind, but as negative as that sounds, I couldn’t be more excited.

The festive period is always a blizzard of activity and whilst it’s merry, wonderful and who doesn’t love 5 Christmas parties in a row(?!)…boy does it mess with your routine! During December, who am I to say no to a cheeky Christmas drink or 3 on a Monday? I began to resemble a Maccies chicken nugget this year, thanks to a serious lack of home cooking; my essential 8 hours’ sleep a night became more like 4. And does the indulgence stop when work or uni ends for Christmas? Are you kidding?!

But now, with the pulled crackers and wrapping paper clogging up our dustbins, the never-ending hangover fuzzing up our heads and the New Year fireworks still ringing in our ears, it’s officially January. Some may feel blue, but I say turn that frown upside down  🙁   🙂  and say hello to good old routine!

There is absolutely no need to take drastic measures as we settle into the new year. I’ll admit, last year I tried dry January as part of my 2018 detox plan, and to be fair, I lasted until 27th January before I got over excited at my hockey club quiz night. But, whilst I slept a bit better and the weekends felt longer, it wasn’t an overly fulfilling experience. I avoided seeing my friends as much, I ate more and generally felt a little glum. A classic case feeling miserable when I’m told I can’t have something – very much how I feel whenever I’ve tried a diet!

So, I’ve now come to the sensible conclusion that January shouldn’t be about taking drastic measures, but about enjoying everything in moderation – just getting back to normal because December is definitely anything but normal! I think this applies to everything from your social life to work, and the point is, there’s absolutely no need to pile on the pressure with unrealistic goals that you wouldn’t consider at any other time of year. So with that in mind, my goals for January are:

1. Sleep lots
2. Eat well – I’m thinking of upping my 5 a day to 6 a day (wild I know)
3. Arrange to see my friends for some chilled nights in (not out – save those pennies!)
4. Be early for work (OK, a 50% success rate is acceptable)
5. Plan my 2019 holidays (because that’s what I live for!)
   

No extreme measures and I feel like they’re pretty achievable plans!
And that’s right, they’re just plans, it doesn’t matter if I don’t achieve them.

I just can’t wait to get back to some form of normality and settle into the New Year! Never has ‘back to the daily grind’ seemed such an appealing prospect – so everybody, bask in the glory of the January not-so-blues, let’s do this…