How to conquer your Janxiety
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There were high hopes for this week.
It was meant to be the time you knuckled down and became a better person — more focused, with a healthy bank balance and able to fit into your tightest pair of jeans. But you feel the same as you did last week. Except your bank balance is depleted. That drive to start Pilates and give up sugar has been replaced by a nagging sensation, a bit like hangover guilt. It’s Janxiety. Here’s how to beat it.
Work it out
It’s back to the same desk at the same job. Before Christmas you meant to tidy so you’d return to a Zen workspace, but you went for a boozy lunch instead and then realised you hadn’t bought any presents for your family.
The fix: Expand your horizons. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. The School of Life is hosting a one-day workshop called Finding a Fulfilling Job on January 13 at its Bloomsbury HQ. Or read one of the new books about work. Lab Rats: Why Modern Work Makes People Miserable by Dan Lyons argues that it’s not you that’s the problem, it’s the system we’re in. Fight the power.
On the money
This is peak time for money hangovers, where you resent that December spendthrift version of yourself who spent all your dosh on rounds of red wine and presents (partly for yourself). Everywhere adverts are urging you to shop the sales but you feel a creeping sense of unease. You want to take back some clothes you bought for the Christmas party season but you’ve lost the receipts.
The fix: Get a Monzo card. It itemises all your spending and makes it easier for you to request money that’s owed to you by texting your bank details. Failing that, buy a Lottery ticket and cross your fingers. Or de-clutter your house, inspired by the new Netflix series about organisation guru Marie Kondo’s method. You might find a £20 note down the sofa.
Blame Brexit
Brexit is a useful scapegoat — it’s not your fault you don’t own a house/have an interesting job/are going out with Ryan Gosling: it is because no one wants to make decisions in this climate of fear.
The fix: Even if you think you’re ignoring Brexit, it’s affecting you. Either equip yourself with knowledge — there’s a new book by Kevin O’Rourke about its history (though that may soon be out of date), start a new political party, or stop caring and have a drink.
