Why January feels so hard (and what your brain Is actually doing)

We’re in the depths of January and, if you’re honest, you might already feel like you’ve had enough.

The inbox is overflowing. The calendar is chaotic. The only thing left in the Quality Street tin is the coffee creams (the horror!) And everyone seems to be running on fumes, desperately trying to summon some motivation.

If that’s you, you’re not weak. You’re not lazy. And you’re definitely not broken.

Biologically, this is one of the hardest times of the year to perform at your best.

January is a brutal time to expect peak performance

January asks a lot of us.

After a strange, nebulous Christmas pause, we’re thrown straight back into full-speed mode - dealing with the pile of tasks that “future us” promised to handle. (Thanks, December Clare!!)

It’s dark. It’s cold. People are run down. And yet this is the month we tell ourselves to reinvent everything: new goals, new habits, new levels of productivity.

From a neuroscience perspective, that expectation is wildly unrealistic.

Your brain and nervous system are wired for recovery at this time of year - not reinvention.

What’s really happening in your nervous system

In winter, our biology naturally shifts towards conservation. Less daylight, colder temperatures and accumulated fatigue all signal the nervous system to slow down.

But many workplaces do the opposite.

They push for more, faster, better at the exact moment when people have the least capacity to give.

That abrupt shift (from rest to full throttle) sends the nervous system into survival mode.

And survival mode changes how we think, feel and perform.

What survival mode looks like at work

When the nervous system is in survival mode, it prioritises safety over strategy.

That shows up as:

• Increased reactivity

• Less collaboration

• Poorer decision-making

• More mistakes

• Narrow, short-term thinking

  
  

Sound familiar?

If you’re feeling slower, more irritable or less focused than usual, you’re not failing.

You’re responding exactly as a human nervous system does under pressure.

And chances are, so is most of your team.

How to get out of survival mode (without burning yourself out)

The goal isn’t to “push through” January. It’s to work with your biology instead of against it.

Small, consistent shifts can help signal safety to the brain and calm the nervous system, including:

• Creating white space in your day

• Moving your body (gently counts)

• Taking deliberate pauses between meetings

• Using simple mental reframing techniques that reduce perceived threat

These aren’t wellness add-ons. They’re performance enablers.

When your nervous system feels safe, your brain regains access to focus, creativity, perspective and better decision-making.

That’s when quality and sustainable performance return.

What I’ll be sharing next

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing practical tools to help leaders and teams move from just getting through to performing sustainably - especially during this demanding first quarter.

If this resonates, my getting out of survival mode masterclass may be a helpful place to start.

It’s a 90-minute session designed to give teams practical tools to protect energy, improve decision-making and maintain delivery during high-pressure periods.

If you'd like the overview just drop me an email and I'll share - clare@clareEkenny.com

In the meantime, take it gently this week.

Nature’s still asleep for a reason.

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