After spending the best part of December eating cheese, drinking to your heart’s content and lazing around in front of the TV, it’s no surprise that come January, we all feel a little deflated. The reintroduction of early mornings along with gloomy weather and your depleting bank balance all contribute to the infamous January blues.
For some, January is a new start and a motivating month but for others, it can be depressing and dreary. If you think you’re going to struggle going back to the office and facing your inbox then here are a few tips on how you can avoid the January blues at work!
Set yourself some goals
New Year’s resolutions aren’t for everyone but you can still set yourself some small, achievable goals to boost your confidence. The problem most individuals face is that they set their sights too high and their unrealistic resolutions have an adverse effect. So instead of making them feel more confident and positive, they could end up feeling like a failure if they don’t succeed.
Have a think about what doable, short term goals you’d like to achieve whether that’s writing a blog post every week, rewriting your all your job descriptions by the end of the month or devising your recruitment strategy for the year.
Have some time away from your desk
Going back to work can be stressful, especially when your workload has piled up over the Christmas period. To stay productive and make the most of your time in the office, make sure you use your lunch break to get away from your desk and switch off. You might feel like you’ve got so much on that you constantly have to be slaving away at your desk but it won’t help with the January blues!
Look into your career development
If January is a quiet month for you or you feel like you need a little motivation then it’s well worth taking a look at training courses which can help with your career development. Whether you’d like to brush up on your recruitment software knowledge or become a member of the CIPD, it’s all possible and doesn’t necessarily have to cost a penny!
Get back into a routine
Having a daily routine is vital to so many of us and without one, it’s easy to get stressed and not really know what is going on. Now you’re back in the office, it’s a good time to get into the swing of things again so you feel like you’ve got some control!
Recognise employees’ efforts
This point is targeted more towards the senior leaders of the company as they will have the power to recognise their employees’ efforts. It gets the year off to a great start and encourages your staff if you reward them and highlight their achievements from the previous year. It’s a great way to foster a positive working environment when some of your staff might be feeling a bit down!
The usual suspects like exercise and healthy eating can also help soften the blow of the January blues amongst the other tips in this post. And just remember, January doesn’t last forever!
