7 Simple Steps To Get Back on Track After the Holidays

This is my first blog of 2026. And I want to start with honesty.

For 10 days, I quit everything. Truly — everything.

I’m someone who loves discipline. Structure. Being organized and on track — especially when it comes to my business and my health.

But from December 19 to January 2 (okay… technically more than 10 days 😄), I consciously stopped.

I didn’t track macros. I didn’t count calories. I didn’t think about how much I burned or how much I ate.

I was simply mindful of what I put into my body — and that was enough.

What I did focus on was movement. I walked an average of 15,000 steps a day during my vacation, and it helped my body and my overall condition more than I expected.

And the biggest thing?

I didn’t open my laptop once.

That was huge for me. A real reset. A full pause.

RECALIBRATION

How to get back on track after the holidays

If you took a long vacation like I did and now feel a little lost about where to start picking your life back up, this is for you.

As I’m writing this, I’m still very much in holiday mode. I’m in Belgium. Enjoying chocolate. Having fun 😄

But real life is waiting for me.

I have goals. I have a healthy routine I care about. I have things I want to achieve — both in my fitness journey and in my business.

If you’re feeling a bit off track but still know deep down that 2026 holds a lot for you, stay with me.

What I’m sharing here isn’t theory. It’s first-hand experience. Try one of these ideas — even just one — and see how it feels for you 🤍

What I started doing to move forward again:

1. I went back to the gym

Even though I felt bloated. Even though my gym clothes didn’t feel great.

I started slowly reintroducing my body to movement.

January 2 — Friday. Then Saturday. And then Monday morning, I trained with my personal trainer again… and yes, it hurt 😄

The key here isn’t what I did. It’s that I chose something that gives me energy and motivation.

You already know what that is for you. Do that. Do YOU.

2. I returned to my morning routine

I picked up my pen again and started writing.

To-do lists for the day. Plans for the week. Everything I needed to remember, prepare for, or show up to.

This brought me back into my organized rhythm. It helped my mind settle.

If this works for you — amazing. If something else works better for you — also amazing. There is no one right way.

3. I put myself around people — and into my productive space

For me, that space is my coffee shop.

Even though I didn’t have a perfectly planned day, I pulled myself out of “stay-at-home mode” and went there starting January 2.

Not to be ultra-productive. Not to perform.

Just to get back into the feeling of it.

4. I honored existing commitments

Client meetings. Conversations I already had on my calendar.

(I scheduled most of them back in 2025 😄 — so there were no excuses.)

If you don’t have client meetings yet, that’s okay. Bring back any routine that connects you with others: Coffee with a friend. A networking event. A standing weekly check-in.

Momentum often comes from connection.

5. I restarted my creative, revenue-generating work

This one might be the hardest.

For me, it’s content creation: YouTube videos. Podcast episodes. Writing.

I didn’t intentionally take a break — life just happened.

I recorded videos but didn’t edit or publish them. They’re still sitting in my camera.

And that’s okay.

I’m recording again now. I’ll share them when the time feels right.

Progress doesn’t need to be perfect to be real.

6. I revisited my unfinished 2025 goals

Some people completely abandon last year’s goals. Some rush to finish them immediately.

I sit somewhere in between.

I like completing things — but without pressure.

One of my biggest unfinished goals was a speaker training program I bought in August 2025. It’s self-paced. About 8 weeks long.

And yet… I wasn’t even halfway through.

I put it on my 2026 goals list — but didn’t schedule it.

Until last Saturday morning.

I had an aha moment.

My husband goes to his office on Sunday mornings for his English course to stay disciplined. And I thought: Why don’t I go with him and do my speaker training there?

Simple. Brilliant 😄

We get to do something meaningful for ourselves — together.

If you have a buddy like that, use it. It makes a difference.

7. Do something new (because 7 is a lucky number 😄)

I’m writing this from a coffee shop I’ve visited many times — but never worked from before.

I tried it for the first time on Saturday, January 3.

And my ideas flowed.

Changing your environment changes you.

You don’t need to do something new every day. Just pick one thing you didn’t do in 2025 and try it in 2026.

For me, it’s working from a different coffee shop once a week. I usually go 2–3 times a week, so a small change is enough.

I’ll also experiment with timing: Going in the morning instead of after lunch. Packing lunch. Playing with my routine.

Small shifts create big awareness.

If this resonated with you, let me know in the comments 🤍 Which one are you willing to try first?

And remember: You don’t need a dramatic reset. You just need a gentle return.

That’s how real progress happens ✨

🌟 Who is Burcu Onaranel Erten?

Burcu is an International Motivational Speaker and the Founder of JOYY! LLC. As a Branding Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, and Certified Life Coach, she helps entrepreneurs, speakers, and creatives build authentic brands while creating joyful, motivated lives.

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