The holiday period has a lot of emotional curves that can drain you. Getting back to work after the season, you may find you’re feeling listless and unable to function well. Some people can take months before they fully get back into the groove. Sadly, waiting this long is not feasible, and getting back to your best performance needs to happen quickly if you want to make the most of the new year.
To help young entrepreneurs and leaders deal with feelings of post-holiday fatigue, we asked 12 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council the following:
The winter months can be hard on the heart. What is one thing people can do to recenter and recharge after the stress of the holiday season?
1. Prioritize Yourself
The best thing you can do to unwind after the holidays is to give yourself plenty of private time, either in the early mornings or evenings, to focus on personal projects without the constant stimulation of friends, family, colleagues or neighbors. Wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual and go for a brisk morning walk or cook yourself a healthy, packable lunch.
– Tyler Gallagher, Regal Assets
2. Do a Year In Review, Then Look Ahead
I find that one of the most powerful things to do during the last few days of every year is both a “Year in Review” and a “Year in Anticipation.” I always review personal wins, lessons, business achievements and goals I may have fallen short on. For the upcoming year, I outline what I want to see this year for myself — physically, business-wise and relationship-wise.
3. Disconnect
Put the devices down, step away from the TV and get outside. It’s a must, regardless of the weather. There is something primal, soothing and recentering about getting outside and walking around, taking in the sounds, sights, etc. — especially in nature. A walk in the woods resets me, and always makes me remember what is important in life. Getting back to nature is powerful medicine for the soul!
4. Spend Time Alone
For most people, the holidays are spent around tons of people you know and don’t know. This can drain your energy and leave you feeling burnt out by the end of the festivities. When it’s over, take time for yourself. Spend time alone until you feel recharged and refreshed to go back to work and get back to your normal routines.
– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
5. Lose the Expectations
The holidays are a time that’s full of expectations. One of the best ways to recalibrate is to let go of expectations. Expectations create stress because things rarely go as planned, and people often don’t react the way we expect them to. If we let go of expectations and remain open to whatever life brings our way, we will experience much less stress.
6. Change Your Perspective
A simple change in perspective can help one get through the long winter months. Instead of viewing winter as a season that is long and hard, view it as a chance to reflect and refresh. Make it a point to reflect on the past year and plan out the coming year with intention. Don’t allow the stress of the holiday season to hinder the positive momentum of the new year.
– Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors
7. Incorporate Dramatic Changes to Your Lifestyle
Do something dramatic. For example, I’ve gone completely vegan and enrolled in Kundalini classes that required me to wake up at 3 a.m. to meditate. These experiences may sound intense to integrate simultaneously, but in retrospect, they have been transformational in terms of reducing the stress of a fast-paced speaking, travel and business career. Incorporate dramatic changes to your lifestyle.
8. Acknowledge Your Feelings
If you’re avoiding how you feel, then you’ll never overcome it. You need to look at it for what it is so that you can take realistic steps to change it. Remember that many people go through what you do and that you won’t feel this way forever.
9. Try Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is starting to gain in popularity and for many entrepreneurs, helps when other options have been exhausted. It has been shown in studies to help alleviate pain, create feelings of relaxation, and increase gratitude. With a relaxed and grateful heart, you can recenter and recharge very easily.
10. Get Massage Therapy
Taking a holiday from the holidays is a good way to recharge and destress. People often take a day off after a long vacation. Why not do the same thing once the holidays have passed? No family, no friends, no stress. You can just take a few hours to yourself to go get a massage — that can work wonders for rejuvenating the mind and body.
– Amine Rahal, Little Dragon Media
11. Hit the Gym
I have found that lifting weights and taking workout classes can serve as sources of both great stress relief and rejuvenation. There is nothing more fulfilling than turning something negative into a positive, and by channeling your stress into a productive outcome at the gym you will feel better both in the short and long term.
– Adam Mendler, The Veloz Group
12. Travel and Enjoy
Winter months are always hectic — the busiest months for businesses and perhaps the most stressful months, as well. You got the end of year tax coming up to think about and bonuses for all of your employees. So yes, winter months are the hardest on the heart. One thing I suggest to my fellow business owners and entrepreneurs is to travel. Treat yourself with some relaxation and enjoy it with your beloved.