We’ve officially made it through the first week of 2025! Yay us.
​
But, if you are like so many people, you might be feeling a little more “meh” than “new year, new me” energy.

In fact, research from the National Alliance on Mental Illness has shown 64% of us suffer from the post-holiday blues.
​
Here’s a few of my favorite ways to navigate the post-holiday-back-to-work blues:

😌 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞. You aren’t alone in this feeling and there is no reason to beat yourself up for it. Allow the feeling to be there. Give it space and time to process and try not to attach meaning to it.

👀 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞. If you can ease back in, allow yourself. You don’t have to double-time it just because you were out for the holidays. Maintain good habits of leaning into your work and pulling back for rest and relaxation (Side note: if you work somewhere that absolutely punishes you for taking time off, we should talk).
​
🔎 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭. Not everything is urgent. Not everything is important. Trust that you know how to prioritize your work. I suggest blocking time to get a priority list pulled together. Then, respond to emails to let people know when they can expect to hear back from you on projects (even the people who need to be told their project isn’t on the top of your list). Remember, everyone thinks their project is important AND urgent. It’s up to you to manage their expectations.

🤩 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. Let’s be honest, if you have nothing exciting on your to-do list at work, you are going to feel blue (post-holiday or not). Put a couple of exciting things at the top of your to do list. Is there a project you enjoy working on? Prioritize time for that. Is there professional development you’ve wanted to do? Do it. One of my favorite things to do post-holiday is open my calendar and plan my PTO for the year. Your success in work depends a lot on having the energy to do the job. Prioritize an energy-building item and the inertia will come to an end.

💫 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. I’m not saying this in a ‘crush your resolutions and hit the gym’ way. I start my day with a slow, enjoyable mental health walk. That is enough to power me up for the day. Then, I get up and step outside (even in the cold) several times a day. This will allow you to break up any stagnant energy in your body and will make room for ideas, solutions and creativity to flow in.

Do you have more tips to beat the post-holiday-back-to-work blues? Comment below and share them with me.