When you set New Year resolutions you’re vowing to do them pretty much overnight, the start time being 12.01am 1st January. Can you really engage your motivation as simply as flipping a switch?

Telling yourself you are or are not going to do something isn’t backed up with the motivation, plan or steps to make it happen.

So what should you do when we hit this turning point in our traditional calendar that we associate with new beginnings and fresh starts?

The Christmas season is pitched as the most wonderful time of the year when everything and everyone is merry and nice. But is it really like this? Christmastime often brings with it a huge amount of expectation and pressure. For many, this picture-perfect ideal isn’t their reality, causing stress and pressure to mount. Can you avoid the common burnout this time of year throws so many people by having your own perfect festive time?

It can be easy to feel like you’re failing and not progressing. We often focus only on what hasn’t been done and how many things are outstanding on our ever-growing ‘To-Do’ list. Our minds are set in default mode to go straight to these things and worry about when we’ll get to them. Instead, we should be reflecting on what we have done and how much we’ve achieved.