Looking after yourself: Intentional self-care after a busy season

3 minute read

Winter can be such a strange season here in the UK – the weather seems to be telling us to rest and hibernate, but when you turn on the TV or open a magazine, you’re being encouraged to do the complete opposite! December is all about socialising, shopping and sensory excess, then in January apparently you have to become a totally different person – changing all your existing habits and reinventing your life overnight. Frankly, it all feels kind of exhausting. 

APDO member Kate Yiannacou has a few tips on ways you can look after yourself and recover after a busy season, while also leaning into that ‘fresh start’ feeling. 

Listen to your body

When we’re busy, it can be all too easy to ignore our body’s cues and not pay attention to when we’ve eaten too much, or not drunk enough water, or stayed up too late, so a great way to start looking after yourself is just to pause and tune into what your body needs. This might mean sitting for a little longer after you’ve eaten to see how you are feeling, rather than eating on the go and dashing off to start the next task on your list.

Or it might be setting downtime limits on your phone so your body can tell you when you need to sleep and not be influenced by the blue light from your phone telling you to stay awake! Or it could be carrying a bottle of water with you during your day to take regular sips to keep you hydrated. It’s surprising how easily we can miss out on these basic needs, so it’s ok just to start small with your self-care. 

Practise the art of saying no

A big part of self-care is about finding balance, and so if you’ve spent the last month agreeing to meet up with friends, or saying yes to hosting parties, or taking on extra projects at work, now is the ideal time to start saying no. It can feel uncomfortable, and many of us have been programmed into thinking refusing an offer is rude, but it is entirely possible to politely decline any offer in order to preserve your own wellbeing. And remember, you don’t need to provide any complicated excuses - “No, thank you” is a complete sentence.  

Reflect on the positives

A great way to recover after a hectic period is to take some time to reflect on all the highlights you’ve experienced. Our bodies can get stuck in stress-mode and we don’t often give ourselves the space to look back and appreciate all we have achieved. So try and take a bit of time this month to make yourself a favourite hot drink and take a seat in a comfy place, or even go for a walk in the fresh air, and think about all the positive moments you’ve had over the past 12 months. This isn’t about trying to find a silver lining for every rain cloud, but just appreciating your own efforts, and focusing on the high points in readiness to spot them again this coming year. 

Clear some space to breathe

If the past month has seen an influx of new items into your home or you’ve had lots of decorations up, which has meant that you’ve had to rearrange your furniture to accommodate it all, you might be feeling like your home isn’t the sanctuary of calm you would like it to be. So now could be the time to sort through what you have and what you actually need. Go room by room, or even cupboard by cupboard, and start taking out and bagging up the items that you feel are just cluttering up your life.

Be kind to yourself as this can be a tricky process – particularly if you’re still dealing with the overwhelm from the festive period – and remember that there will likely always be an APDO member local to you who can help you with this.