Going back to work. Whether the thought fills you with positive anticipation, dread or something in between, it is an inevitable eventuality for most of us. As the lazy days at home or the beach give way to routine, regularity and structured weeks, the motivation to plough through another year may be coming in a trickle or not at all.
Whether it be lifting you up from the doldrums or giving you the little push needed to take your life and career to that next level, these tips will help you beat the ‘back to work’ blues.
- Exercise and fitness– Planning and starting an exercise regime is often at top of people’s goals for a new year. This is all well and good but only if the goals are realistic and flexible, according to life coach and owner of Total Balance Kate James. “Aim for [getting to an exercise session] four times a week and a minimum of two,” James says. Giving yourself an achievable range and choice of different activities lowers the chance of completely giving up because you didn’t stick to a rigid schedule. Be realistic about where and how you can fit physical activity into your week and day.
To further reduce your chance of compromising your plans, develop a rewards system to celebrate your achievements. Melanie Schilling, psychologist and owner of Be Talented, says choose an exercise buddy or announce your plans publicly. Publicly committing to something will mean that we will be more likely to stay on track.
- Health checks – To pave the way for a healthy and proactive start to your working year, make sure you are in top shape by consulting with health advisory services or making an appointment with your GP. Aside from blood tests and other preventative checks, GPs can help assess your state of mind and if necessary create a Mental Health Care Plan. Schilling says a counselling service with a psychologist may be in order if you’re floundering rather than functioning.
- Self-reflection – Do you make resolutions and grand plans to achieve various new goals each year only to find that you’re straying, losing interest or heading in the complete opposite direction? This may result in a vicious cycle of not setting goals you relate with, self-contempt and an aversion to such practices in general. However, Kate James says goal-setting and working out the direction you would like to be heading is a very important self-discovery exercise. Run through with a friend or a coach, a series of questions centring on what your strengths, values and preferred role in various aspects of your life are, she advises. Working out what you would like to do at the beginning of the year can result in two things. A realisation that your job or role in life is not so loathsome and perhaps a change in perspective and slight adjustments to the content of the role that would have you feeling content. Alternatively, James says you may well realise that a particular role or relationship is not for you. Figuring this out at the beginning of the year sets a positive precedent for the entire year.
- Refresh your wardrobe – Melanie Schilling says there is a strong link between body image and self-esteem, assertiveness and career confidence. “Choosing the right wardrobe for your body is so important to make sure you are dressing in a way that boosts, rather than detracts from, your confidence,” Schilling explains. This doesn’t mean that you need to go out and buy yourself a whole new wardrobe. Kate James says the new year is as good a time as any to sort through your existing items of clothing and decide what works well for you and parting with items that might sap you of your confidence. Shopping along with a friend or enlisting the services of a personal shopper might also help by adding an outside perspective.