The holiday season is officially over! While it might be just a little sad to take down the pretty lights and decorations, it’s definitely a little bit of a relief to let go of the stress. All of you introverts out there can finally take a breather because we’ve got 6 holiday recovery tips to help you recharge. Unless you’ve got some last-minute celebrations, you shouldn’t have to struggle through any more obligatory work, friend, or family gatherings. Yay!
All that time spent shopping, planning, and visiting can be fun, but it can definitely wear you down pretty quickly. Before you know it, that social battery all of us introverts have is running on empty. If you have to attend one more party or social gathering you might just explode. Even if you’ve still got a lot going on, these might just do the trick for you.
6 Holiday Recovery Tips For Introverts
1. Make time for self-care
This is probably the most important one of all. Fortunately, there is no right or wrong way to do this. We all have those specific things that help us recharge and feel good overall. Since the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, set aside time for yourself. Even if you’ve only got 5 minutes, make it a point to indulge yourself. If it helps, put it on your calendar, habit tracker, journal, etc. Do whatever you need to do to ensure that you take some time for yourself. Enjoy the breather.
2. Focus on activities that you enjoy
This kind of ties into the self-care piece, but I thought it was important to talk about it separately. You can either include this activity in your self-care time or you can make it separate. Think about what you enjoy doing. This could be something you do frequently or something that you rarely find the time to do. Maybe you love to write or haven’t found the time recently to enjoy a good book. Maybe go out to dinner (by yourself or with a friend) or enjoy a movie marathon at home. Whatever it is you enjoy doing, make the time to do it. Be intentional.
3. Start a healthy habit
Both our mental health and physical health are imperative to our wellbeing. Starting or improving upon a new healthy habit could really help you recover from the overwhelm that is the holidays. Take up a new physical activity, join a gym, start a journal, or start meditating. You’d be amazed at the difference this can make even if you already consider yourself to be pretty healthy.
4. Eat healthy
You know that feeling you get after you eat something really heavy or fried foods. You start feeling like you need a nap and just generally don’t want to do anything. Let’s be real for a second… the holidays were a time for over-indulging on sweets and less than healthy dishes. While I’m not saying never indulge in anything less than healthy (I’m a foodie myself and love a good piece of fried chicken or cheesecake every once in a while), make sure you’re eating healthy more often than not. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a great snack to keep your energy levels up. It’s a great way to refresh your whole system after your lingering food coma from November and December.
5. Take a look at and manage your finances
It’s probably safe to say that you spent more money around the holidays. If you’re super responsible, you may have set a budget or maybe had a savings account to use for your holiday spending. But, even if you are that person, you probably spent more than you typically would. So, sit down with your checking account history (and your credit cards) and figure out what you spent. Separate your bills and necessary expenses (utilities, rent/mortgage, etc.) from what you splurged on (eating out, gifts, etc.). Set some spending goals for this month (and going forward if you’d like) so that you can get back on track. It can be a little intimidating especially if you overdid it, but trust me when I say a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders and you’ll be significantly less stressed. Check out my personal budgeting worksheet by signing up for our newsletter if it helps!
6. Complete a digital detox
Even if you had a wonderful holiday season, a digital detox may be a good choice to help you recuperate. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what other people are doing. Even if you don’t realize it you might be comparing your life to theirs which can inadvertently make you feel like crap. Put your cell phone down and at least take some time away from social media. Delete the apps so that you won’t be tempted. Set a time frame for the break that you’d like to follow and stick to it. I’d personally recommend doing it for at least 3 days. That first day, out of habit, you’ll probably pick up your phone countless times. Even though you aren’t using your social media, it will still be nagging at you. Giving yourself at least 3 days gives you enough time to get over that hump and stop focusing on it so much, which will actually give you the break you need.
There are a bunch of other things you can do to recoup, but at least for me, these have been the most helpful holiday recovery tips that I’ve used.
What tips do you have to help you recover?
