Blue Monday? 7 cheap ways to embrace joy instead of dread

While there's little research to support the idea that the third Monday in January is 'the saddest day of the year', for many people January can still be a bleak month. Strained finances, the emotional comedown of the festive season, and harrowing world events would be enough to overwhelm any of us.

As an unconventional contrarian, I enjoy subverting the so-called sadness of the day, so I make efforts to do something especially uplifting on 'Blue Monday’.

If you’re interested in doing something similar, here are my free or cost-effective tips on how to bring joy to your day.

Colour

On especially bleak days I like to dress in my most outlandish and colourful clothing. It helps lift my mood and I often get stopped by strangers on the street who tell me how seeing my colours has brightened their day. While I don't expect many people to be as over-the-top as me, there’s plenty of research to show that colour affects mood, so it’s worth a try. Even if it’s just a bright scarf or pair of socks, every little helps in the dark days of winter worksdays.

Dancing

Start your day with a good old-fashioned kitchen dance party, even if it’s just you leaping around your kicthen in your pajamas. Blast your favourite songs, or if house-sharing, put your headphones on for a silent disco. Dancing gets your adrenaline pumping, creates a release of endorphins, and it’s a fun way to exercise. By picking your favourite song, you get to decide how your Monday starts!

Avoid social media for 24 hours

Make a promise to yourself to not look at social media for a day and see what surprises open up for you. How will you fill the time you usually spend scrolling? What are the offline things you love to do? The third Monday in January might be the perfect excuse to examine your relationship with the digital world.

Baking

Maybe cake doesn’t solve everything, but it certainly makes life better. In past years, I’ve made cakes and brought them into work for all my colleagues. By the third week of January most people are finally ready to eat something sweet again, so my cake offerings are usually a hit.

Bird watching

Put out some quality fat balls and spend at least 15 minutes watching birds from the warmth of your house. Connecting with nature is grounding and nurturing but it can be harder to do in the cold weather. This is a lovely way you can enjoy the natural world, while also helping hungry birds get through winter.

A hot bath

The third Monday in January is the perfect day to pull out all the bath stuff you got for Christmas, light up some scented candles, and spend some time relaxing in hot water. If you don't have a bath then fill a tub with hot water and soak your feet before taking a shower and using all the 'good’ body care products you’ve been saving.

Spread joy

Think of ways you can pepper the world around you with small joyful acts. Maybe you’ll give a fun sticker to everyone you meet through the day, leave a joyful wish for a future reader in a library book, or you’ll make an effort to say something lovely to everyone you interact with in the day.

We each have our own way of sharing our uniqueness with the world so figure out what yours is, and pass your joy onto others.

If all else fails then use the day as a good excuse to treat yourself. Maybe you’ll meet a friend after work, buy a new book to delve into, eat a second slice of that cake, or give yourself a mini facial - whatever treating yourself looks like for you this is your permission to do it.