Auld lang syne 2024; welcome 2025!

This year has been one characterised by post-covid stabilisation and restoration to normalcy. In work organisations, staff are increasingly required to head back to office/work spaces to do work. More time spent at work/ in office may mean increased communication and interactions with colleagues which can serve as more social support and/or may result in interpersonal concerns.

Of transitions and changes ...

At the home front, as individuals head back to offices, this meant that they need to re-adjust their and family members' lifestyles as well as childcare and eldercare arrangements accordingly.

Amidst all these changes and adjustments, it is inevitable to feel overwhelmed or discouraged - especially when one’s expectations do not align with reality. We may even be harsh with ourselves for our unmet expectations, thus end up feeling low, disappointed and consequently demotivated.

Just a gentle reminder:  even if you merely or barely “survived”, let’s perceive that as a small win - at the very least you have made it thus far. And I am pretty sure you would have learnt something from the experience(s) if we gave ourselves the opportunity to reflect…

In offering ourselves with some credits for whatever small wins there may be, it can motivate us to keep going… onto the new year!

The new year is round the corner — and again we are foreseeing a similar trend of restoration of normalcy come January 2025. The parents, students, and school staff among us  as well as their colleagues, families or friends will probably know what’s in store for them next week…

One of the biggest changes has got to be the sleep routine —  the unusually later awakenings during the holidays will soon be a thing of the past. Come start of school term, it will be back to unearthly hours for morning calls, and the sprint to the school gates by the stipulated time. The roads, along with the vibes, surrounding schools are likely to get more hectic during the peak hours too. I can imagine the vigorous nods of acknowledgement among many reading this and at the same time, wishing that this day may be delayed slightly…

Well, the good news is that we are about a week away from start of school term. So, we get some lead time to prepare ourselves for THE day(s) to come. We can start by re-adjusting the time by which we sleep at night and waking up at the usual time for school term from now on. We can consider adjusting incrementally towards the desired sleep/wake times. This can help with the sleep/morning routine when school term starts eventually.

For those who are friends or colleagues of those directly impacted, some kind understanding and patience can go a long way…

Finally, do take comfort that with each passing day, we will slowly but surely get used to and become more adept at managing the routine…

All the best!

Rooting for you!

Jeanice