Five Good Ways for Beating Those January Blues

Now that the end-of-the year holidays are behind us, there is the tendency to take a dismal look at the coming weeks in the month of January. Winter will soon be in full swing, and overcast days are liable to be quite commonplace. The cold weather tends to keep us indoors. For most of us, more vacation time is several months away, and there are not a lot of time-off holidays between now and the Spring months. Paying the bills from our holiday spending spree may keep our noses to the grindstone, and we will be lucky if we are able to escape this year's variety of the flu. It's easy to see why the January blues can be a problem.

Our mood can be improved, however, by making the conscious decision to control our own attitudes, and practice a few tips that will make January seem like a great month, where resolutions for the new year get off to a positive start, and where we can see actual progress against the goals that we set.

1. Chase away the blues by stair-stepping your resolution goals. So many new year's resolutions get canned after only a few weeks because we tend to believe the results are going to be seen overnight. When that doesn't happen, we get frustrated, and forget the entire thing. Let's go with the most obvious...weight control. You know that you will be dieting and exercising more, and you have set a goal of losing 20 pounds before summer. But...have you set a goal for January 31? Break off a piece of that 20-pound goal, say 4 pounds, and make sure that you have progressed that far by the end of the month. That accomplishment will allow you to stay on task and finish the entire amount before the swimsuit season has arrived.

2. Go outside in the cold. It still gets dark fairly early in the day in January, and our tendencies are to get home from work, turn up the heat, fix a quick meal, and then crash on the couch and bore ourselves with the television. With that kind of humdrum routine, no wonder we have the January blues. Try this instead. Before fixing the meal, bundle up, go outside, and walk for 15 or 20 minutes, even if it is dark. The cool air can actually be quite invigorating. If you don't want to walk, find a way to tidy up the yard a little bit, without making it a full-blown project. Just a few minutes outside each day will give you the confidence that winter doesn't have complete control over your actions.

3. Take a weekend and organize a storage area. Set aside one or two full days just for the purpose of organizing that storage room or garage. Buy some new shelving and some new storage containers, throw away things you don't ever use, and put things back so that you can find them when you really need them. By doing this task in January, you may be shortening your spring cleaning process. Busy hands give you less time to think about your January blues and how miserable you ought to feel.

4. Let your music chase away the blues. Most of us spend hours listening to music during our week, but usually it is by the convenient method of just turning on the car radio or the home stereo receiver. How often do those radio stations actually play one of your favorite tunes? It's probably only once in awhile. Not very inspiring. In this day of IPods and recording devices, there is no reason why we aren't building our own collection of favorite musical selections, and listening to tunes that really inspire us. Build up your own collection, and crank up the volume! All those inside-the-house January hours can be filled with your own kind of music.

5. Let a good book get rid of your January blues. Start reading that long novel you've been intending to tackle, and make sure you finish it completely before January is over. Giving yourself a goal of getting something done will spur your sense of accomplishment, and make you feel like you are in control! Goodbye January Blues!