January survival

Because a lot of us struggle at this time of year

Hello!

I’m back, I’m refreshed, and I’m going to carry on singing the praises of going off-grid for a week in January, whatever that might look like for you.

For me it looked like a small converted chapel in the mountains of North Wales, a ten-minute hike from the closest parking space, and with mobile signal sufficiently scant that you quickly gave up looking for it. I did what I had hoped to do: hiked during daylight hours, and then spent the rest of the time curled up in an armchair reading. I got through Alice Winn’s In Memoriam, Laura Kay’s Wild Things, Jan Morris’s Wales, and a chunk of Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy.

This chapel, available through the Landmark Trust

I haven’t been completely offline though, so I’ve been immersed in the general excitement about the Grand Départ announcement,¹ and am still engaged in an ongoing discussion with various Instagram followers about how to keep your spirits up when January seems determined to drag them down.

I sat down this morning and thought I’d just make a couple of notes on this, so that I can publish a proper post about it in time for January 2027. But within half an hour I’d written 1,000 words, so I thought I might as well carry on. We still have February to get through, after all.

Here are my current suggestions, many of them inspired by conversations with other people, so thank you if that was you. Obviously not everything will resonate with everyone, but hopefully, if you’re struggling, there will be one or two things here that help.

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Set up a Sad January whatsapp group (or similar) where you check in with friends or family every day. You could use it to comfort and reassure each other – or if you think that might get a bit too moany, you could instead cheer each other up with a daily photo, or song recommendation, or reports of what you’re currently grateful for.

Alternatively, what about a daily phone call? To the same person, to a few people on rotation, or to a different friend every single day of the month (if you have that many). Phone calls are great, and you can also combine them with a nice brisk walk, if that’s your thing.

It turns out a lot of people find this time of year difficult, and sometimes even just saying ‘yeah, me too’ can help a lot.

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Make a New Year’s Resolution. But not necessarily something virtuous, like going to the gym every day, or decluttering your house, or giving up alcohol. (Though if this sort of thing works for you, then great.) But if the last thing you want to do is make life less comfortable for yourself, then perhaps you could find some sort of alternative project.

• Watch a film every day. You could just pick the ones you want to see, or you could (e.g.) work your way through all 27 James Bond films, or revisit the Disney movies of your childhood, or see some of the Top 100 Films of All Time, or catch up on the classics of LGBTQ+ cinema – or whatever else floats your boat.

• Inspired by a friend of mine who did a stint on an Antarctic base: celebrate whatever festivals and public holidays you can lay your hands on, regardless of whether they hold any significance for you personally. There are some obscure ideas from British folk history here, many of which involve cake, bread and cider, and dressing up as animals.² You could also find ways of celebrating World Introvert Day, National Braille Day, Houseplant Appreciation Day, National Chopsticks Day, Yorkshire Pudding Day, and National Peanut Butter Day (among many others). Burns Night is a great opportunity to drink whisky. And don’t forget Eastern Orthodox Christmas falls on the 7^th January (you’ve missed this year’s but it’ll be on the same date in 2027).

• Get as much sleep as possible. Go to bed as early as you can get away with. Simplify your morning routine so that you can get up later. Track how many hours you get, and feel proud of yourself. So many of us feel like we want to hibernate at this time of year, so I say just go with it. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to stay up late and get up early in the summer months.

• Pick a fun resolution, like eating as many pasta shapes as possible, or making a different cocktail each evening, or paying someone a compliment every day. Ideally something you will look forward to, rather than it feeling like yet another chore. I think my February challenge might be to see if I can consume 28 different hot drinks, so let me know if you have any good ones I can add to my list.³

• Get yourself an extra advent calendar in December, and save it for January. Or if it’s too late for that, make your own.

Hint: all of these things are even more fun if shared with others. And if you’re in the market for enjoyable resolutions and mini-projects, there are loads more ideas in this thread.

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Always have a back-up. Plans are more likely to be cancelled at this time of year, usually because of weather or illness. After many past disappointments, I’ve learned to accept that this is inevitable. It’s just going to happen, every winter.

It’s always gutting to have to cancel something you were looking forward to (particularly if you’d been relying on it to prop up your mood), but now I try to have other options in my back pocket. Earlier this month a two-day ride I had planned with a friend couldn’t go ahead because of icy roads, but I took the opportunity to do a very long run instead, then spent the following day sitting around in cafes glowing with tiredness and achievement. It was a pretty good silver lining.

And although I HATE being ill, and try as hard as I can to avoid it, it’s probably going to happen at least once per winter. And when it happens the only sensible thing is to make the most of the enforced time indoors, and catch up on reading, knitting, movies, podcasts, and whatever else I can manage.

If, like me, you really need to exercise every day, then try to cultivate a few indoor alternatives, for those days when you really can’t (or can’t bear to) go outside. I’m swimming at least one a week at the moment, and have recently discovered bouldering. (I have no perceptible talent, but I’m really enjoying learning a completely new discipline, with zero expectation from anyone that I will be good at it.) You could also consider martial arts, Crossfit, squash or badminton, yoga, Zwift or dance classes. I’m sure there are loads of others.

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Get outdoors twice a day. Even if one of those outings is just taking the bins out, or running an errand, or drinking your coffee in the garden. I realised recently that I need to take this approach, having spent the whole day looking forward to a run I had planned for the evening – and by ‘looking forward’, I mean ‘desperately longing for, whilst sitting hunched at my desk feeling dreadful’. If I had just nipped out for ten minutes at lunchtime, or after breakfast, I would have felt so much better. A few people I know try to be outdoors for both sunrise and sunset (which is eminently possible at this time of year), and that seems like a nice thing to aim for.

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When you do get outside, create a welcoming environment to return to. Pyjamas on radiator. Dinner in slow cooker. Baked potato in the oven. Kettle filled. Wood burner ready to be lit. Heating set to come on 30 minutes before you get home. A treat to snack on while you clean your bike.

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Daily tasks. If it gets really bad, you could try something I’ve done a couple of times during periods of depression: give yourself a really basic checklist to get through each day. And by basic I mean: stuff that you’re definitely going to manage, even if you’re in a bad way. Mine was usually 3-5 items long, and included things like:

• Make my bed

• Have a shower

• Outdoor exercise, or at least fresh air

• Yoga, or at least some stretches

• One social engagement (even if the person I see doesn’t know what’s going on)

• Eat my five-a-day

No matter how hard life was during these periods, I knew that if I managed to do these small essential things, I was still just about on track, and looking after myself.

Thank you to everyone who’s shared their own winter strategies. I hope you’re all doing well, and that January has been kind to you.

Emily

1. The Tour de France is coming here next year! I’ll have a lot more to say about this over the coming months, starting next week.

2. Examples include:

• Twelfth Night – go wassailing

• Straw Bear Day – cover yourself in straw and do a dance in front of someone’s house

• Fire Festival – make a longship and then set it on fire

3. As well as tea, coffee and herbal teas, I’ve already got hot chocolate, matcha latte, Ovaltine, miso, hot Ribena, honey and lemon, Cup-a-Soups, and Bovril. My sister swears by hot orange juice, which I think sounds gross, but this will be my incentive to try it.