How To Survive January

‘New year, new me?’

I have a confession to make… I don’t like January.

I know it’s the month when you’re supposed to start a fresh and make all of these big changes in your life so that you can become a new, better version of yourself but… I just never seem to be able to muster up the energy to do anything in January.

It’s too much pressure! There’s too much expectation that your life will change at the stroke of midnight on January 1st, so last year I decided to rebel.

Going into 2016 I made a conscious effort to go into hibernation, save some money, get some rest and quietly make some plans for the rest of the year.

Keeping things low key, going under the radar and keeping myself to myself for 4 weeks worked wonders for me, and I found that often tough first month of the year to be quite enjoyable.

Here’s how I survived January…

GET UP
January’s in the UK are notoriously miserable weather-wise, so it’s hard to feel motivated or excited about getting out of bed in a morning… BUT MAKE YOURSELF!

There’s nothing I hate more than feeling like I wasted a day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to chill and take it easy once in a while, but in January I think it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and feel like everything is rubbish, so it’s important to keep busy and active.

Get out of the house, go for a walk, visit your Grandparents, redesign your bedroom, put your DVD’s into alphabetical order, change the photos in your picture frames, read… do anything, just make sure you do SOMETHING!!

MAKE WEEKEND PLANS
For most of us, the first week of January means it’s back to reality. Whether it’s back to school, work, college, university or your regular daily routines which cease to exist over the Christmas period, it’s easy to feel like the mundane is EXTRA mundane after the excitement of festivities in December.

So I think it’s really important to make plans for that first weekend of the month. It doesn’t have to be anything major or expensive…

Organise to meet some friends for lunch, get together with your siblings and have a DVD night, go shopping in the January sales… just do something for YOU and something you will enjoy to banish away those January blues.

BINGE ON A BOXSET
I don’t know about you, but I find television in January to be really boring! All of the major shows seem to reach their climax in the run up to Christmas, leaving us with nothing really good to watch come January 1st.

So what better time to start watching a new show or your favourite show from the very beginning?

January is definitely ‘boxset month’ in my world. There’s nothing better than drawing the curtains at night, snuggling under the duvet and watching a story unfold from the very beginning.

I’m not good with change and with all of the pressure to ’start a new’ in the first month of the year, I quite like the familiarity revisiting some of my favourite fictional characters by watching shows such as Friends, Sex And The City, Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty and Brothers And Sisters. But if you are looking for something new I hear Powerless (NBC), the new Star Trek TV series (Netflix), One Day At A Time (Netflix UK) and The Mick (FOX) are the must see shows in 2017.

netflix-titles

GIVE THANKS
I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I love shopping for presents, I love asking for presents, I love giving presents and I LOVE receiving presents.

It’s easy to get caught up in all of the gift exchanging madness to properly thank your family, friends and loved ones for whatever gifts they may bestow on you at Christmas so I think it’s really good to take some time in January to write thank you notes to all of the people who have shown you kindness over the Christmas period.

Whether it’s your Aunt and Uncle who you only see once a year, your neighbour down the road who gave you a selection box or the family member of cooked you your Christmas dinner, let them know you’re grateful for their efforts and that you appreciate what they’ve done for you… it’ll make their day, I promise.

FEBRUARY
December can be an expensive month can’t it? So you often find that January tends (or needs) to be the time when we tighten the purse strings a little.

But come February, when things have calmed down a little and you’ve settled into the New Year, your bank balance is looking a bit more healthy, treat yourself.

Maybe plan a little city break or a weekend away in the countryside. Maybe you fancy a spa day or taking a trip to a theme park or museum… just make plans to do something fun, as it’s good to have things to look forward to.

So there we have it, my mini guide and a few tips on how I survive January. Let us know your thoughts over on Twitter @Fuzzable

Written by philip_logan

Contact: logan_philip@hotmail.com Twitter & IG: @philip_logan

Men’s Street Style 2017

Our Chemical Hearts: A Book Review