How to unwind from the holidays

Congrats! You made it through another holiday season. While it’s the most wonderful time of the year, this season can also be a time of stress, financial burden and, if you’re not careful, burnout. Then there’s being saddled with eco-anxiety in a season where over-consumption is at the forefront. Before you know it, however, you’ll be back to work, so make the time for yourself now to de-stress from the holidays.

Set boundaries

Get ready to say no (politely) to the social engagements that you’re not hot on attending in that precious week between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s perfectly okay to shirk the sense of obligation around this time in order to stay sane. And while you’re saying “no,” start segmenting your time so that there’s plenty of room for yourself, whether that’s a yoga class or making time to dig into that book you received under the tree.

Return to your routine

During the holidays, routines tend to go out the window. Gently get back on track with your eating and exercise habits. You don’t need to go full force all at once, lest you might get discouraged. But once you realise that the holidays didn’t strip you of all of your gains from the rest of the year, you’ll be motivated to return to those healthy choices.

This is also an excellent time to press reset on your routine and make those small changes you might have been thinking about during the rest of the year. Maybe that’s organising your time better, reading more, or practicing more self-care. Whatever your goal, this is the perfect time to modify your routine and improve your day-to-day.

Put The Holidays Away

If you are one of those people who leaves their tree up year-round, we salute you. But for most of us, the time has come to literally put the holidays away. Use your mini-break to get your home ready for the new year. Put the decorations away, get your home back to its pre-holiday glory, and tuck your ugly Christmas sweater away for next year. Don’t let the holidays linger for too long or they will become that nagging item on your to-do list.

Forget the resolutions, go for intention

You’ve been gifting with intention the whole season long, now it’s time to set intentions for yourself. Think New Year’s resolutions without the option of failure, since you’re only working gently towards an idea, rather than a firm goal.

Here’s how it works:

1. Decide what your intentions you want to set for yourself. A good place to start is by asking you what’s important to you. If it’s being stress free, your intention may be around managing stress and anxiety. If being happy is most important to you, maybe you want to focus on letting go of anger.

2. Let go of expectations. Intentions are not pass/fail. If you’re working on letting go of anger in your daily life, and find yourself crying over spilt milk, acknowledge those feelings. The worst thing you can do in that moment is beat yourself up for what you’re experiencing. Make a note of your reaction—either mentally, in a notebook, or keep a note in your phone—and take the time later to explore what may have set you off. This is about self-exploration, not conquering yourself.

3. Check in with your intention at least daily, whether that’s first thing in the morning after waking, or during your regular meditation session, or during yoga. The great thing about checking in with yourself is you can do it anytime, anywhere.

But I’m a resolutions type of person…

If resolutions are more your thing, be sure to set yourself up for success.

1. Break your big goal down into small, achievable, measurable goals. For instance, if your goal is to take better care of your skin, list out specifics like “drink 8 glasses of water a day,” “wash my face every night before bed,” and “moisturize every morning.”

2. Baby steps! Don’t feel like you have to implement every change on January 2nd. Start drinking your 8 glasses of water a day for the month of January. If you can do that for 30 days, that’s a huge accomplishment! Once this has become a habit, try adding the next small goal to your list in February.

3. Make it easy for yourself. If you want moisturizing your skin every morning to become a habit, find a moisturizer you love and place it somewhere that you’ll see first thing when you wake up.

4. Tomorrow is a new day. We are often really hard on ourselves when it comes to goals. But always remember, if you have one of those days and you completely forget to wash your face before bed, you can wake up tomorrow and you get to start fresh. Be patient with yourself.

Take Some Time To Unwind

Clear your calendar and make a day, just for you. Find a sitter if the kids are off and create a guilt-free, at-home spa. Take a warm bath with some Wellness Bath Salts, rejuvenate your skin with a face mask, and treat your hair to some deep conditioning with our Ultimate Massage Oil (or pump some into your bath for extra luxury). You could even throw in a pedicure and nourish your feet with some Foot Butter. While you relax, practice gratitude and think of all the wonderful moments and people you had to be grateful for this holiday season.

Take the me-time to get ready for a joyous year ahead. And from all of us at Rocky, have a happy New Year!