How to make January less miserable
January can always be a hard month. Those long nights and the unfaltering coldness can become miserable when the prospect of Christmas isn’t there to spur you through anymore. Not to mention the less-than-happy bank balance after the expenses of Christmas and they stretched pay checks. However, there are things we can do to make January a little more bearable, and this blog aims to give you some inspiration.
Get your Vitamin D
Make sure you’re getting a good dose of sunlight; it can do absolute wonders for your mental health. Sunlight and light in general are strongly associated with the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which is linked to a positive mood. Really make the effort to get out of the house whilst it’s light, even if that means leaving your university work in the evening. This can be as simple as a quick walk, walking to the coffee shop or doing your weekly shop during the day. It’s okay to save your indoor tasks for when it’s dark! I would also recommend making the effort to get up earlier to maximise your daylight hours, you will notice a difference in your mood!
Go to the library to get your university work done Somewhat linked to the previous point, but if you go elsewhere to get your university work done, it means you can get out the house and have some fresh air, without compromising your university work. On those miserable days it is wonderful to set up camp somewhere cosy outside the house for the day to feel like you’ve ‘done something’ without having to be outside. Make sure to take a packed lunch, snacks, lots of layers and a portable hot drink mug. Again, I’d recommend the library for the endless cups of tea, reliable Wi-Fi, and the freedom to stay for hours without having to pay anything! If you’re fancying a cosy atmosphere, going to a warm pub in the evening and doing a couple of hours of reading or notes whilst nursing a pint is also very enjoyable and you’ll be able to have a little chatter with the regulars.
Keep busy
These long, cold January days will fly by if you keep yourself busy! Be it your job, university work, social life, or the gym, just make sure you’re not sitting festering and shivering in the house all day, every day. And if you are sat about the house, make sure you’re spending quality time with your housemates or allowing yourself to unwind, guilt-free.
Have things to look forward to
One of the best ways to keep morale up during long and cold months like January is having exciting plans. December wouldn’t be so bearable if we didn’t have all our Christmas and New Year’s Eve plans to look forward to, given how cold and dark it is! We might not have Christmas to look forward to anymore, and we might be swamped with university work, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have plans we’re looking forward to! Be that a bottomless brunch at the weekend, a party, a night out, a nice meal, or a trip to the cinema. Make sure you’re scheduling in plans which genuinely excite you and will get you through the week!
Get out of your university city for a weekend
University is such a bubble and sometimes getting some perspective from this bubble is a great reset and can help make things seem less bleak. Going to visit friends at other universities is a fun way to do this. It’s always exciting to catch up with friends from outside your university and give yourself the chance to see, and often go out in another city. Equally, going home for a weekend is very nice and can give you a change of scenery and a chance to rejuvenate. Often, after a weekend away from university, it can be easier to come back on Monday with a bit more enthusiasm and a fresh mindset.
As a final note, if you are genuinely struggling beyond just feeling ‘miserable’, please reach out to your university support services or any helpline. There’s a whole range of helplines listed here which are free to call and mostly available 24/7.
Besides this, hopefully this blog has given you some ideas about how to make trudging through the dreaded month of January a little more bearable.
