Re-adjusting to the New Year: How to Tackle January Overwhelm

It’s midweek of the first full week of January, so pull up a chair, grab a warm drink and take a minute to breath.

With many of us returning to work and school, this week the reintroduction to routine and social interaction can be enough to overwhelm even the most confident individuals. If this is how you are feeling, please know you are certainly not alone.

The return to routine is not something we can all immediately slip back into, in fact many of us need time to readjust and realign ourselves. Tasks and actions that would usually come naturally may take that little bit longer and its important to remember to give a little more tolerance in this adjustment period.

Woman in floral dress holds a "COFFEE" mug at a white desk with a laptop. Tablet and mouse nearby. Calm, working atmosphere.

Kerry Pace, Founder of Diverse Learners and a client of The Executive Solutions Agency provided an insight into ‘Returning to school or the workplace after a break’ in a blog on the Diverse Learners website.

In this blog, Kerry comments: “As a person who has dyspraxia and other learning needs, I remember the exasperation – often as an audible sigh or shake of the head or sometimes a mocking comment – of a member of staff who couldn’t understand why “all of a sudden” I couldn’t do a task that I could do before. This equally applied to returning to the workplace too.

“I began dreading asking the question “how was school today?” so sought to phrase questions to elicit the likelihood of a more positive response that gave my children a chance to re-frame the school experience (to focus on positive) to help all of us.”

How can we make small changes that might have a big impact?

This gave us food for thought on how we can assist our colleagues and our own mind frames when returning to work after a break. The return after Christmas can be particularly overwhelming with the societal pressure of a new year and the familiar cliches that come with starting the year. Thus, we wanted to provide some suggestions on how to ask questions around the day without in sighting more anxiety.

What made you smile today at work?
What was the highlight of your day?
Did anything today surprise you?
What was something you felt excited about today?
Did anything go really well today?

By fostering a culture of patience, understanding, and open dialogue, we can support ourselves and those around us in easing back into our routines. Simple, thoughtful questions like those shared above can make all the difference in reframing the day and shifting the focus toward the positive.

So, as we continue through the month, remember to give yourself—and others—the space to readjust.

Take a deep breath, be kind to yourself, and know that progress doesn’t have to be immediate; it’s all about those small, positive steps forward.