The Conscientious Girl’s Guide To Treating Yourself This New Year
For those of us not in a position to indulge in ski holidays or luxury pilgrimages to the Caribbean sun, let us instead take a holiday from being so tough on ourselves this New Years and pursue a more forgiving mantra of new year, kinder me.
Indeed, all of us could benefit from being kinder to ourselves. This is particularly important following the cold and hectic holiday season where Christmas parties, overindulgence and guilt-laden consuming can put the body under an extra level of duress.
This disruption of routine can take a toll on our physical and mental health. Not to mention our wallets… But how does the conscientious woman, reluctant to engage yet again in consumerism, fast fashion, pollution and needless expenditure treat herself?
Below, is the conscientious girl’s guide to treating yourself this New Year.
1. Go to that engagement party with greasy hair. No one enjoys stripping and showering in this cold season, not to mention wet hair dripping down your back, followed by a blow-dry and heat-styling treatment of your choice. Skip the hair wash, spend that extra time watching TV in your dressing gown. And importantly, don’t apologise for it!
2. Be gentle with those extra few pounds. If, like most of us, your weight has inexplicably increased over the holiday period, don’t be too harsh on yourself. Take a relaxed approach to getting back into a healthy lifestyle. If the ‘diet starts on Monday’, take solace in the 52 Mondays still to come.
3. Layer up! Christmas may be over, but winter weather is here to stay for another little while. If this means wearing a thermal vest / pink fleece under (or over) your diamonte jumpsuit to ward off hypothermia, throw two fingers to the fashion police and stay cosy!
4. Cancel plans. If silly season has taken a toll on your energy and well-being, don’t beat yourself up about cancelling plans with friends and family. Send a quick message and don’t feel like you have to explain yourself to everyone.
5. Avoid the sales. What is more synonymous with ‘treating oneself’ than indulging in the Christmas sales? This year, treat yourself to avoiding the sales. A walk in the fresh air is far more life affirming than being elbowed by possessed bargain hunters in BT.
6. Ditch the make-up. Still recovering from NYE festivities and struggling to get out of bed for work? Hit the snooze button and skip the morning make-up routine for today. Colleagues commenting on how tired you look without the usual face paint? Apply that transfer pirate tattoo from the £2 shop Christmas Crackers to distract their attention.
7. Embrace a dewy New Year. January can be tough at the best of times. If a glass of wine helps lubricate the winter chill, embrace it. A dry January is not for everyone.
8. Stop guiltily Tinder-ing. The NY countdown only serves to remind you of entering another new year single? Unlike those fancy Fallon and Byrne cheeses stinking up your fridge, love has no best before date; it will find you when you least expect it.
9. Declutter the unwanted Christmas gifts. Stop squeezing yourself into the unwanted jeans your aunty got you that give you indigestion. If the present is not right, don’t feel guilty, declutter your life.
10l. And if all else fails, there’s always time to recalibrate the New Year’s resolutions come February 16th, the Chinese New Year…
