So how can we avoid back-to-work blues and the upcoming Blue Monday – considered to be the gloomiest day of the year?

Here, Nicola Hemmings, Head of Workplace Psychology, Koa Health, discusses how to beat back to work blues

While the motivation sparked by setting New Year’s resolutions may be beneficial for some, it’s equally important not to put too much pressure on new goals or to make comparisons to others. Focus on what works for you and how you can best support your mental health during this time and for the rest of the year. 

If you are a planner, January is a good time to look to the year ahead and plan activities to look forward to. It can be something small, like meeting a friend, or something bigger like a holiday. 

Also, take the new year as an opportunity to check in and notice unhelpful habits or routines you might have adopted. Work on where you want to be and start implementing helpful habits. Understanding your values and strengths to provide an additional motivational boost can help get you started. 

Here are some tips on how to put this into practice: 

1. When implementing habits, it’s important to start with defining your end goal. Spend some time to make this as detailed as possible, instead of saying “I would like to have better mental health" imagine a specific achievable goal such as “on March 1st I would like to go to my brother's birthday party, even if I feel anxious about attending and being around that many people.” This will help your end goal be something you care about and see yourself achieving. 

2. Once you have your detailed goal, break it down into very small tasks and behaviour changes you can (relatively) easily complete. Ask yourself, “what can I do every day that would help with that goal?” It might be a daily walk, building up in length, distance or location each time, or increasing the number of activities that involve being around people, such as going to a quiet coffee shop or a trusted friend's house. 

3. Define the time and place that you will work on these small changes. You need to identify when realistically would be best to complete those behaviour changes and make time for them. Scheduling them in or linking them to a habit you already do such as taking out the bins or commuting to work can make taking them up each day easier and help with consistency.

4. It is vital to reflect on your progress, to identify if your new habits are helping you work towards the goals you set out. I’d recommend booking in monthly check-in points, so you can take time to reflect and consider if the habits have been working, what has gone well, what might need to be modified to make sure you can sustainably continue with them and they’re moving you closer to your goals.

5. Finally, support is invaluable. Go out and seek support from friends and family to help you stay on track and motivated.

Building helpful wellbeing habits can seem like a lot when you’re first switching back to work mode but taking small, consistent steps can help. After all, as we prepare for another year facing the effects of the cost of living crisis and pending recession, managing our mental health is more important than ever.”