Christmas is over – now what?! 

Now we have Christmas done, dusted and out of the way for another year there is often a great temptation to start scurrying around trying to make elaborate plans for the new year. For chucking out everything you don’t need, and trying to embrace healthy eating diets and new rigorous exercise plans.

Now whilst I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea to start doing new things at this time of year, I would like to encourage you to take a deep breath, rest for a while and regather your strength first.

December is often a very busy month, with a stream of parties, social events, carol services, catch ups with friends and a frenzy of shopping. This can easily leave you frazzled in a heap if you’re not careful. So probably not the best time of year to start making big, big changes in your life.

Give yourself some headspace and time to deeply rest

Christmas can also be an emotional time for many people, and it can be really intense spending time with friends and relatives you may not be used to spending a lot of time with. You may have had to make compromises on how you spend your time or who you’ve gone to visit. Or maybe you would have liked to have spent time with someone you’ve not got to spend time with, and this also takes its toll. So just for a few days give yourself permission to take some time out to deeply recharge your own batteries. 

This could include going for walks on your own, stopping off for a hot chocolate to warm up afterwards. Or taking yourself to the beach or for a swim or just to have some time out in nature. Or maybe you’d prefer to curl up under a blanket or duvet on the sofa and just sink into the warmth and cosiness that that brings. Or you might like to have a long afternoon nap or put on a good movie in front of the fire.

Maybe make some homemade soup, bake some cakes, drink a few pots of tea, read a book or magazine. Or simply do nothing. Just for 20 mins or just for an hour! You don’t have to be constantly ‘doing something’ sometimes its ok to do absolutely nothing for a while.

Play a few board games with the family. Do some journaling. Do some art. Luxuriate in having time to do things slowly. Maybe pour yourself a mid-afternoon bath, or give yourself a facial. There are loads of low-energy things you could do as you allow yourself to recharge. 

Once you’ve managed to come up for air reflect back on what went well this year, what could have gone better and only then start making plans for what you’d like next year to look like! 

Related post

https://www.sarahcooper.co.uk/how-to-have-a-happy-and-healthy-new-year/