You’ve hoovered up pine needles for the 751st time since putting up your “non-drop” tree and all the spirit of the season has well and truly drained from your body. Soon, you will stand in your classroom adding yet another year to the date in the corner of your whiteboard, remembering how much of a slog January can be. But there are simple (and importantly, cheap) ways to beat the January blues:
1. Get a date in the diary
Arrange a time to see your friends before they get booked up for the whole month. After all those obligatory family visits, it’ll do you good to spend time with people who you have actually chosen to see.
2. Reflect
Instead of dreaming up idealistic New Year’s resolutions, spend some time reflecting on the year that has just gone - celebrate what went well, focus on your successes and decide how you will build on them. Write it all down as you go.
3. Walk to beat the January blues
January brings the worst of the British weather, but take advantage of any crisp, blue-skied weekend days by getting out for a walk − preferably one that features a pub with a roaring fire, or a cafe with cake.
4. Challenge yourself
Resolutions are for quitters. Challenges are where it’s at. Challenge yourself to achieve something by the end of 2017: read 20 books, watch 52 films, listen to an album a day. Make it something you enjoy, so that you’ll be less likely to give up.
5. Make time
I guarantee that at least once in 2016 you uttered the words “if only I had time to do that”. Well, it’s time to make time and do something you enjoy that you’ve been neglecting.
6. Have a break from social media
This is where you can find that extra time. Switch off from social media for a week and give yourself a break from those endless Twitter “debates” and sickeningly-perfect Instagram photos. You might just feel better for it.
7. Stock up on anti-winter products
If dragging yourself out of bed seems impossible, a seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lamp might help you to rise. And make sure that you’re not caught out by ice and snow: get the grit on the drive, the scraper in the glovebox and the de-icer primed. You know it’ll never be a snow day.
8. Prepare in advance
The temptation during the first weeks of the spring term is to get back into things slowly. But don’t waste your first couple of PPA sessions. Use them to make January that little bit easier by getting as much planning done for the forthcoming term as you can.
9. Plan to teach something you’re enthusiastic about
Come up with a way to use an excerpt of your favourite novel to exemplify a grammar concept or to bring your preferred sport into debating skills. It will make your lessons that little bit more invigorating for you (and for the children in turn).
10. Prioritise sleep
We’ve all noticed how that class really gets the better of us when we’ve been up late marking their books. Sleep repairs the body, refreshes the mind and helps us to be less susceptible to negative emotions. Make a promise to really prioritise sleep this month.
11. Be thankful
Focusing on good things can change the way you think. Keep a journal and record one thing to be grateful for each day.
Aidan Severs is assistant vice-principal at Dixons Manningham Primary School in Bradford.
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