How to make January more bearable?

[chippytea33]

Just looking for tips really to make January feel a bit easier. We've had a good Christmas but I've massively over indulged in food and booze. I've enjoyed having some downtime but also preparing to get back into the routine of work and school etc as I've lost all sense of space and time at the moment.

Planning on doing dry January which is a big deal for me as usually drink 5 nights of the week roughly. Also want to clear my diet up a bit without 'dieting' as such as I don't want to introduce too many unsustainable challenges all at once!

It's a long month, still cold and dark, we will be skint. Part of me just wants to hibernate, the other half thinks I need to keep myself occupied so I'm not tempted by wine or the contents of the fridge!

I've got a big pile of books to read and could maybe start a new series. What's everyone else going to be doing?

I took the decorations down tonight and dusted, vacuumed and mopped. It made me feel much better!
I've been getting out walking more, even if it's just an hour or so. On Monday I saw the most gorgeous sunset. A few years ago I joined borrow my doggy and we take out a lovely dog which makes walking even more interesting and without the commitment!
Whilst I'm waiting for something to cook, I sort one of the drawers or cupboards out and the house is slowly getting more organised and less cluttered.
Maybe try using a sad lamp? Just 20 minutes whilst you have your first brew in the morning can work wonders. I also highly recommend vitamin d supplements

Hogmanay and Ne'er Day soon.

Twelfth Night and Epiphany celebrations early Jan.

Wassailing at the Community Orchard in early Jan.

Helping DC learn their Scots Poems for the school competition.

If it snows properly, a day on the slopes (usually Cairngorm).

Ice skating for me and DC.

Curling for DH and DC.

Big Garden Birdwatch.

Burns' Night celebrations on the 25th.

It sounds like maybe you’ve taken too much on? A lot of people have the ‘new year, new you’ mindset but it’s often unsustainable to make big changes all at once, ie going from drinking 5 nights a week to none AND eating better AND exercising etc etc. Why don’t you also build in something new that you love and that gives you joy, not just self-improvement that requires willpower? Eg a regular meet-up with a friend?

Personally I love January. Days are getting longer, there’s new hope for all the good things the new year will bring, excitement, seeing everyone again after holidays, making plans for the summer… It’s a time to daydream about what the future holds.

I do zero self-improvement in January. I tend to do these things in September or March to not coincide with everyone else, eg Jan 1 gym goers.

Exactly my thoughts! Am just going to try quietly.

A DIY project focuses the mind. This year, daughter's bedroom.

I always do the same every January. I have a jolly old month of eating lovely food & drinking Prosecco. I booked the local
am dram panto, plan lots of walks, cheap teas at wethers/pizza express, board game nights, things we got from Christmas like face masks, bath bombs, hair band set, crafts. We fill the days with nice things, nice food & I don’t not drink. IMO, there’s a no more deserving month to do what I enjoy than January.

Feb the night are getting lighter, spring is a bit nearer & it’s a short month & I’m much more motivated to be healthier.

I've got a fun, busy January planned. Short trip to Norfolk, classical guitar concert at Cadogan Hall, posh lunch with my sister and a night away, gig at the 100 Club, Big Garden Birdwatch, tickets to The Devil Wears Prada and then my birthday is on the 25th, a Saturday, hurrah!
Inbetween I need to do my tax return and start emptying a storage unit that has lots of vinyl to look through amongst other things. February may be a bit boring though...

I have family membership to the local leisure centre, mainly used by the kids for swimming, and which I very rarely use myself, so I plan to start a regular class each week. I'm already paying for it, so need to use it!

And I plan to get more organised with the weekly food shop and meal planning. I have a supermarket delivery plan which I don't use enough as I always end up being disorganised, but I plan to get better organised and hopefully make my life a little less chaotic!

I love this. You’re absolutely right and I’m going to follow your example. That way lies sanity.

I’m not keen on January. The weather is cold and damp and it’s so dark and having been paid a week earlier in Dec it’s a long month!! I have a weeks’ annual leave so going to take the Christmas stuff down and get tidied away, I have a couple of vouchers to use, I had new books for Christmas so need to make time to read. I do like starting a new diary/calendar.
I exercise regularly anyway so it will be about keeping that going and limiting the chocolate and alcohol we seem to have accumulated over Christmas

Were meal planning this week as decided to try and eat more non processed foods and going to try and do some batch cooking. Got ourselves an excercise diary each to try and make doing some excercise a bit fun. Looking at holidays, not going to book yet but planning will be fun. Basically making a few changes to get our health back on track after being a bit lazy about it in the last two months.

I have bought a load of cheap fabric! I am going to make kitchen curtains, a skirt, an apron and pyjama bottoms. Hopefully 😬

I am also going to practice my flute and piano every day, even if I only play one song. Also read at least two pages of my book each day (currently Katherine by Anya Seton) and plan what I want to read over the next year (I want to finish a Dumas and all of Dostoyevsky’s short stories).

Getting my body ready for summer! Leg and foot care. Taking really good care of my facial skin. Going for a walk every day while listening to the Gloomsbury radio series (it stars Miriam Margoyles and is absolutely hilarious!).

It’s also a great time of year to spring clean the house. Even if you aim for just two minutes a day.

I like to read a lot, light lots of candles, declutter and fortify myself with lots of vitamins and soup.

'I love January! It’s a time of fresh starts, a whole year to look forward to, everything going back to normal after the stress and chaos of Christmas.
it’s a time of new stationery, new challenges, seed catalogues, big piles of books to enjoy, time to plan activities and trips.'

Me too, I absolutely love it. Christmas is over and I feel like I can breathe again. Absolute best time of year for cooking too - hearty and healthy stuff to look forward to

Rather than deciding to give up stuff, I make a list of what I want to stop, to start, and to continue. Important to make space to remember the healthy / useful stuff that you already do, and commit to keep at it

January is not my favourite month but I am ready for the new year. I would echo a PP, you have alot of changes planned, I would take it more slowly to reduce the chances of failure. I will be doing dry January but I don't drink much anyway now. My personal goal is to achieve a 2 minute plank I can get to 1min 11secs at the moment 😃

Off to Lanzarote for10 days of winter sun

January is theatre month for us. We book in lots of shows. Also living in the Southern Hemisphere seems to solve the problem.

Try having both of your children in January - that should help! ;-) One mid Jan, the other two weeks later. I go straight from Christmas chaos into party planning and worrying about what to buy them...

Honestly tho, I do love it. I love the fresh start and time to reflect on the year gone by. I usually do Dry January and feel loads better for it. Always have weight to lose but focus more on the healthier eating and better habits. Try and do 10k steps a day. Take Vit D every day and use a sad lamp.

Good luck, hope some tips here help!

I booked a weekend away for later in the month - I did this last year and it was brilliant to look forward to it, and a few days off.

I also do a lot of life planning in January. Cliché!

Even a few hours in a spa/something fancy could be just the ticket. You could put the booze savings towards it?

I've booked in a couple of catch ups and a theatre trip and I'll try to do some holiday planning.

I also buy lots of nice snacks etc in the run up to Christmas and put them at the back of the cupboard. We eat nice biscuits etc through January. Helps keep a little bit of jolliness going.

There are lots of deals on spa days and overnight stays, I'm planning to book a deal in mid January. There are also a number of tourist attractions that do Hal's price tickets during January.

I'm going back to basics. Minimum of 8 hours sleep a night, walk everyday, thirty fruit and veg a week thingy. I'm absolutely exhausted and need to ground myself.

I'm doing similar to others and focussing on a good diet, lots of veg and protein, sleep and exercise.
I bought a mini stepper recently and I can do that while watching tv if nothing else
Several books to be read as well.
Cleaning the house too.
I want to book a couple of day trips too.
I've realised that the more organised you are, the more free time you have and the more money you save so my main priority will be to spend an hour or so every week to organise my meals and cleaning schedule for the week.

I've signed myself up for two new classes so I will be out of the house on Monday and Wednesday nights all through January. I usually mostly stay indoors in winter because I hate driving in the dark but due to recent change in circumstances, I don't want to wallow in self-pity at already shitty time of year. So I am very much looking forward to next week when activities start up again.

Suggest you sign ip for a virtual walk / run / swim. Search online and you'll find a few to choose from

Get fresh air every day

Make soup