The holidays have come and gone. Times Square has been cleared of all the streamers, noisemakers, and beads left behind by the thousands that gathered to watch the ball drop, residents and neighbors of Mt. Olive, North Carolina celebrated the end to 2011 by dropping a large pickle at the stroke of midnight; and in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, revelers reined in the new year by dropping a giant carp. No matter what your local tradition is, the message is the same—it’s a new year.
No matter what you watched drop from the sky on New Year's Eve, the end to holiday season may have you feeling a little down in the dumps. After all the celebrating, the only thing left to look forward to is the steady bustle of the work week. It’s like going from 60 MPH to zero.
Many people feel the post-holiday blues. And, although it’s completely normal to feel a little depressed that the holiday joy is behind us for yet another year, it’s important to keep the holiday blues from settling in for an extended-season stay. Here are a few tips to keeping those sinking feelings at bay.
- Stay active. After the hustle of the holidays, it’s easy to feel lost with a lighter schedule. However, this is the time to step back, breathe, and immerse yourself in something new. Volunteer, catch up on your reading, take a cooking class, or participate in anything that interests you and engages your mind.
- Fill in your new calendar. Starting a new year with a blank calendar can be intimidating for some. All those blank boxes just waiting to be filled in! This is your chance to fill in some of those spaces with events and duties that truly inspire you. Start by penciling in quality time for yourself and family, then add the professional development events you’re interested in, and finally, start planning your tasks, duties, and meetings for work.
- Celebrate Saturday. It doesn’t have to be a holiday to deck your halls and invite friends and family over. Celebrate a Saturday (or, a random Tuesday) for the sheer joy of surrounding yourself with people you love, tasty food, and laughter.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t live up to your new year's resolutions. Many people start off the new year promising themselves they’ll lose weight, spend more time with the family, be healthier, and save more money. (Read the Top 10 New Years Resolutions For 2012 here). It’s great if you can live up to your goals, but it’s not worth beating yourself up if you falter—or, even a gain a pound on your way to losing 20.
Depression is one of the leading reasons people miss work, take extended leaves of absence, and become sick frequently. (Stress is the number one reason.) Keeping a positive outlook and engaging in situations and events that make you happy will help to keep you on track for a great healthy year. For more information about happiness, read WebMD’s article Happy People Live Longer?.
Additional ISM articles of interest:
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 7 No. 1 10 Resolutions for a Great School Year
Private School News Vol. 10 No. 8 Overtime Billing Your Health
ISM Monthly Update for Admission Officers Vol. 7 No. 6 Cabin Fever or SAD?
