The holiday season has quietly ended, and ordinary days return with their familiar pace. On these chilly January mornings, a line from a Russian rock musician, Dmitry Revyakin, echoes in the mind. It isn’t just the end of celebration that feels sour; it’s the shift back to work, to routines, to a universe that can feel cold and distant. Yet there is a reserve of resilience in daily life, a belief that it can be managed with steady steps.
There is still time before the Old New Year passes, and on the eve it is worth revisiting Oleg Efremov’s memorable film of the same name. In it, Evgeny Evstigneev shines as Adamych, while Alexander Kalyagin embodies a classic Soviet intellectual—creative yet precise. The message remains clear: the calendar will turn, Epiphany will come, and the year will keep moving through winter toward spring, one day at a time.
The real question, though, concerns ordinary people who count on holidays, bright lights, festive meals, and even free parking during this long weekend. How does one slide back into working mode without losing the sense of possibility that holidays bring?
Money rarely earns itself, children don’t attend school on autopilot, and leftover meals don’t eat themselves. The practical truth remains: small, deliberate actions often start the turnaround.
A suggestion is simply to begin with something modest, something that might seem inconsequential at first glance.
For example, there is a need to draft several letters related to business operations. They should avoid ultimatums and should not carry a festive tone. A note along these lines helps: “Colleagues, could someone confirm the current stage of our project?” It does not force a decision, but it reduces the anxiety around business correspondence and clarifies next steps.
The next step is to resume routine household tasks. The Christmas tree can stay a little longer, avoiding needless trauma, but the important part is to arrange the physical space with intention. Books can be organized in a chosen order, establishing a sense of discipline. Cable management—keeping the tangle of cords orderly—becomes a small, meditative ritual that underscores the value of orderly habits in daily life.
Heading back to the office, even when remote work is the norm, creates a tangible reason to engage. Signing a document, delivering a paper, retrieving a crucial item, or simply checking in with the accounting team helps restore a sense of purpose and structure.
Public transit offers another path back to reality. Topping up the travel card, observing fellow riders, decoding station signs, and stopping at a store to pick up tangerines all contribute to a practical rhythm. There is a quiet joy in collecting small, tangible outcomes after a workday ends—the kind of momentum that makes the return to routine feel attainable. Tangerines, despite their annoyances, symbolize the holiday’s lingering sweetness and provide a cheerful end to the workday routine.
Financial matters deserve attention as well. Logging into banking apps and tallying the holiday expenditures helps counter the impulse to overspend during celebrations. In many households, the impulse to “break the dishes, bill me later” gives way to careful accounting. The point is to determine how much of the holiday premium remains, how much cash to set aside, how much to allocate for foreign currency, and how much to reserve for future expenses. Writing it down, even privately, helps cultivate financial clarity and confidence.
Next, there is a check of tax portals and government services to ensure any accruals or overdue items are addressed. Paying debts and penalties may feel painful, but it reduces anxiety for the year ahead and prevents small issues from snowballing into larger ones.
A quick review of previous year’s correspondence with colleagues—whether promises were fulfilled—provides a clear, objective view of progress. If nothing was left unsettled, it’s a positive sign that the workflow is on track as the new year unfolds.
After laying this groundwork, the mood shifts toward balance. A quiet morning with family can help steady the pace, making it easier to step out of the holiday whirlwind. A glass of mulled wine or a similar comforting ritual can underscore the transition, not as a retreat but as a measured return to everyday life. The aim is to move through the day without hostility toward routine and with a renewed sense of calm and purpose.
In the end, the goal is clear: to cultivate a sustainable rhythm that honors both momentum and rest, to manage resources wisely, and to approach each next task with a grounded, practical mindset. The shift is less about abandoning celebration and more about translating holiday energy into purposeful, everyday actions that build confidence for the months ahead.