Beating New Year's Sluggishness

Hey there, friends! Brendan the Intern here with some topical advice as we adjust to this new year and the very, very unpleasant weather it seems to have brought with it; today, I wanted to discuss how to defeat the fatigue that can sometimes come with a new year.

Of course, maybe bears were onto something when they decided to hibernate through this part of the year, but that's not an option for us.

Here's a few strategies you can utilize to help push through the bleh and make your January more efficient and productive:

1. Realistic Resolutions: Whatever changes you want to make in 2024, make sure the objectives you've created for those goals are realistic ones. If they aren't, it only disincentivizes you from completing them and makes success feel that much further away.

I also personally recommend writing out your goals by hand rather than typing them up or just keeping them in your mind. The process of putting your plans on paper can help you assess how feasible they are and can serve as a motivator for accomplishing them. 

2. Don't Let Stress Win: It's one of the worst roadblocks, but you shouldn't allow stress to define either your journey or the destination you're working towards. It's a motto here at Nakee that "you're doing better than you think you are," and that applies to the people who eat our spreads too!

Avoid being too hard on yourself for mistakes and remember that any progress is good progress. There are a lot of techniques to combat stress, including hobbies and expanding your social horizons. 

3. Digital Decluttering: As we move into another year, it's clearer than ever that the future is written in binary code and increasingly large smartphone screens! Take the time to delete old files, photos and whatever else you no longer need. You wouldn't let your real-world office become a disorganized mess, so don't let your digital one become that either! Removing the clutter can serve to relive significant mental burdens, as well as making the day-to-day routine of utilizing your computer easier; it can also help the machine itself run better too!

On a related note, make sure you back up anything vital on an external hard drive. As we've all seen, the world will not hesitate to throw curveballs in our general direction, so make sure that you're as prepared as you can be. You never know what might happen. 

4. Two Looks Forward, One Look Back: Whatever you have planned for 2024, don't forget what you've accomplished before it! It's not uncommon for us to diminish the value or scope of what we've accomplished, but that's a trap you shouldn't fall for. Your résumé is not just something to get others to believe in you -- it's full of things you believed in yourself, and you should continue to. Celebrate yourself this year, and keep faith in doing the best that you can. At the same time, though, be sure to appreciate the breadth of opportunity that the future offers!

5. Fuel Your Adventures: This isn't just us shilling our spreads (only a little bit). It's well known that a good diet can affect one's mental and physical health. Doing your best to avoid the processed snacks, easy as they may be to reach for on cold and snowy days, is critical to avoiding that post-NYE crash. We would recommend having a look at this list of good foods, and mentally adding our wholesome and delicious Nakee spreads to said list, and indeed many things on it.

6. Enjoy Yourself: The axiom that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" may be one of the most quotable lines in movies in part because it's true! Finding a hobby for yourself is something that came up earlier, but it bears repeating. Find something that allows your mind to breathe and remove itself from the pressures of the day. Though there's nothing wrong with television or video games in

If you find that the troubles of the day are persistent, journaling them can be an effective strategy. Similar to how listing your new year's goals can help manifest them into the world, putting what bothers you onto paper may lend you greater perspective on its scope and impact in your life. 

There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but a combination of these and other techniques alongside good old persistence are a good start. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, and know that there are many resources out there to support you if you need them.

I hope that this list helps you, and feel free to add your own ways of handling the weird vibes that new years bring in the comments below. This is Brendan the Intern, signing off!