How to deal with the dreaded month of January

Ahhh January, why do you exist?

January is the month a lot of us dread, before it arrives, we’re ‘ready for it’ with our vision of ourselves at the end of January being this ‘bodywatch-esque’ CEO of a multi-million pound company located on a beach in Malibu. In reality when it actually arrives, we realise we just can’t be bothered to do anything but sit on the sofa and keep eating the leftover cheese we’re not sure we even like and the chocolates at the bottom of the celebrations tub that we discarded in the staff room just before the school term ended in December.

*Apologies while we gather ourselves together/wipe the dribble from our faces*

Worry not, we are here to help! We have a few tips to help you get through your January and your first few weeks of term, realistically. No motivational quotes that don’t make any sense, just plain and simple ideas that you can follow if you fancy it.

1.     Coffee is key

Reduced amount of sleep is often associated with January as many of us won’t have been setting alarms over the Christmas holidays and sleeping in for longer than usual… that’s if waking up for school hasn’t scarred your body clock and you can’t help but wake up at 5:30am anyway. Either way, you’re going to be waking up before the crack of dawn when school re-opens and caffeine is going to be your best friend. Here at the Staffroom office, we have been loading up on the caffeine intake to make sure we’re right as rain when the phones start ringing.  Top tip: Try and have at least 10 coffee’s before you get to school because we all know how much of a task it is to finish a coffee as a teacher.

2.     Chill time

Relaxing probably isn’t something you thought you’d be doing during the first few weeks of term, but we are fully promoting it. Your body is going to be confused, make sure when you get home at night to try and chill. Hopefully there won’t be too much marking to get on with, take your time. Have a cuppa and a sit down and breathe at any chance you get!

3.     “New Year, New Me”

Social Media will be jam-packed full of motivational quotes that frankly, aren’t realistic. Why does January have to come with so much pressure? Why should we let 2020 change us? Who is this ‘New Me’ we are supposed to transform into? In reality, there is nothing wrong with who you are now. You’re doing your best and that’s all that matters, that’s all the motivation you need! If you want to change an aspect of your life, do it for you, not because 2020 says so. Remember, you’re making a difference every day by working in education!

4.     Do whatever the hell you want with your month!

Whatever you think you should be doing, whatever the media’s encouraging you to do, don’t let them pressurise you! And if that’s sitting on the sofa eating that left-over cheese, go for it!

We hope our realistic words of wisdom help, January will forever be a pain but hey it will all be over in February!

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Staffroom Education are a supply teaching agency in Cardiff that offer teaching assistants and cover supervisors supply opportunities in Cardiff, Newport and The Vale. So, if you’re interested in working in education and have experience working with children get in touch by calling 02920 496 646 or email info@staffroomeducation.co.uk