Blue Monday… or An Opportunity in Disguise?
Apparently, today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. Which, if you work in education, may raise a smile because often it is a rollercoaster of ups and downs not specific to any one day.
Dark mornings and an inbox that’s already demanding more of you before you’ve finished your first coffee. Add to that the unspoken expectation that you should be refreshed, re-energised, and powering through new priorities with enthusiasm following the Christmas break and it’s no wonder this time of year can feel heavy.
But what if, instead of going through the motions of Blue Monday (and indeed the whole of January and February), we used it as an opportunity to explore?
The Things Education Leaders Carry (That No One Sees)
Leadership in education has a habit of accumulating stuff. Not just paperwork, planning and data, but assumptions, habits, and responsibilities that quietly attach themselves to your role and never seem to leave.
By January, many leaders are carrying:
Initiatives that made sense once, but now make meetings longer or add an increased load to your workflow
The need to have all the answers for others to solve their challenges (spoiler: you don’t)
Ways of working that feel like a continuous checklist
That nagging sense you’re missing something
But the reality is you’re leading in a system that rarely gives you space to stop and recalibrate.
Letting Go: Not Just for Loft Clear-Outs
In education, improvement often gets translated into “add another thing.” Another policy tweak. Another priority. Another initiative.
But one of the most underrated leadership skills is knowing what to stop doing.
Letting go might look like:
Parking initiatives that dilute focus rather than improve outcomes
Stepping back from doing jobs that don’t actually need to be yours
Releasing the idea that being busy equals being effective
Questioning “we’ve always done it this way” (even if it’s said very confidently in meetings)
This is about protecting your energy and your impact and increasing your capacity as a result. Take a few things out of the jar and who knows what the space may create.
Why January Is Actually Trying to Help You
January doesn’t shout. It nudges. It’s a slower, slightly creaky time of year that quietly asks whether what you’re doing still makes sense.
It’s a good moment to ask yourself:
What feels unnecessarily hard right now?
What’s draining time or morale without really moving us forward?
If I let go of just one thing this term, what would make the biggest difference?
Sometimes you just need a bit of thinking space and a conscious look at reality.
Reframing Blue Monday as a Leadership Check-In
We’re now a few weeks back after the Christmas break so today is actually the perfect time for a low-stakes leadership check-in. If you’re feeling a bit foggy, it may not be about motivation at all. More often, it’s a signal that focus has become fragmented.
In this case, gaining insight into where development should focus could be helpful.
Our new Leadership Focus Quiz supports leaders to think about what needs their focus most. It takes only a few minutes to complete and offers a structured starting point for reflection, whether for individual development, leadership team conversations, or wider strategic work.
It is also worth completing your own check-in:
Identify one thing you’re ready to let go of this term
Have a conversation with your team about what’s getting in the way of good work
Step back and ask whether day-to-day reality is aligning with the longer-term strategy. Is this a people issue or a system issue?
Give yourself permission to pause and shift around lenses
If any of this feels uncomfortably familiar, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
This time of year is often when education leaders benefit most from:
1:1 coaching to think clearly, regain perspective, explore how to redistribute the load and empower others.
Team development that rebuilds trust, focus, and shared responsibility.
Strategic consulting or diagnostic work to identify what’s genuinely working — and what’s quietly holding you back in your systems and people development.
Great progress can be made from letting go of what no longer serves you or finding newer, more effective ways of doing something. What is stopping you from letting go?
If Blue Monday is nudging you to pause and rethink, it might just be doing you a favour.