If you see a piece called ‘New Year Detox’ you probably think I’m about to wax lyrical about dry January, giving up chocolate and carbs, drinking only juice and doing lots of exercise…. while all that sounds very worthy, in fact that’s not my take on the start of a new year at all.

Eminent nutritionists and holistic health experts believe that actually the Autumn is the best time to ‘detox’ by eating only cleansing foods and give our systems a rest from the ‘heavier’ foods, and Winter is the time to eat nurturing foods.  If you crave warming soups and hearty winter casseroles and roasted root veg that’s probably because that’s exactly how we are meant to be nourishing ourselves in the dead of Winter.  So, what do I mean by detox?  Well I believe it’s the other stuff that needs to be eliminated for a while, we need a break from people and things that drain our energy.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying ‘Some people are drains, some are radiators’ …we all have those people in our lives, be they relatives, colleagues or friends who always take the negative view, who dismiss every creative thought we have and make us feel worthless. Of course, I’m not advocating that we have a big falling out with family and friends but we can make the decision to spend more time with those people who ‘radiate’ a good energy, meet with the colleagues and friends who you know support you.

The other thing that you may need is a digital detox.  For some people, it’s become a burning necessity such is their addiction, but for most it’s simply that we know how much more we could actually achieve if we set aside our phones or tablets and got on with the task in hand.  If you know you are one of those people who can’t go five minutes without checking your phone, it’s the first thing you do when you wake up, and the last thing at night, you find yourself surreptitiously sending a text in meetings, in the cinema – a digital detox January could be just the thing for you.   

A recent study in Japan found that if you want to get more work done you need to not only turn off your phone but move it out of sight, the mere presence of a phone is distracting.  The study also found that when in conversation with others, placing a mobile phone in view has a negative effect on the quality of face to face communication.

So, have a digital detox and a ‘negative friend’ detox, just for a couple of weeks…I look forward to seeing just how productive you are!