The Quiet Week: Why the Days After Christmas Are the Best Time to Reset

The days just after Christmas have a strange kind of calm to them. The rush has passed, the chaos of the lead-up is over, and for a few days the whole country seems to slow down, or even stop, at the same time. Shops go quiet, inboxes settle, and even the dog seems to think it’s time to take it easy.

For me, this week has always felt like a mini reset that arrives automatically every year, whether I plan it or not. It’s not quite the New Year, and not quite the old year, just an odd little gap where life pauses long enough for you to catch your breath.

The Pace Finally Slows Down

St. Stephen’s Day 26th December is the first day I notice the difference. There’s no pressure to be anywhere, no deliveries coming in, no customer queries waiting. No Christmas dinner to eat and no gifts to give out.

Even my workshop feels different. The tools stay quiet, the lathe stays off, and I’m not rushing from one job to the next. The office PC isn’t whirring constantly under my desk, or groaning under the pressure of my habitual collection of open tabs.

It’s one of the few times in the year when you can actually hear yourself think.

A Chance to Reset the Workspace

Every December I tell myself I’ll keep the office and workshop tidy, and every December I realise I’ve failed miserably. Offcuts everywhere, paperwork piling up, sanding discs migrating to places they shouldn’t be, you’d swear the place had a life of its own. Workshop counters and office tables seem to act like magnets for things that don’t belong there, but end up there anyway. I’ve even admitted before that I’m terrible at keeping my office tidy, something I wrote about in more detail when I confessed to running a constantly cluttered desk.

This quiet week is when I normally try and reclaim them.

A bit of sweeping, a few small repairs I’ve been ignoring, and suddenly everything feels ready for January again. I don’t go mad with it; it’s not a full reorganisation. It’s just enough to clear the head and make the new year feel a little more manageable.

Finishing the Half-Done Things

If you’re anything like me, you probably have a few projects that slipped into the “I’ll finish that later” category sometime around September.

This is the week where I actually get to some of them. Not workshop projects, but the reorganisation jobs that quietly benefit me and the business going forward.

Stock taking is one of those tasks I always swear I’ll improve on and get done quicker at the end of each year, but never do. I’m usually so tired after the Christmas rush that a job like that can wait a little longer. Eventually, I have to make myself do it, grudgingly, and when it’s done I’m always glad it’s finally out of the way, even if I probably rushed it.

Don’t tell the boss… oh wait, that’s me.

Clearing these small jobs always feels strangely satisfying.

Clearing these small jobs always feels strangely satisfying. I’ve written before about how hard it can be to run a craft business in Ireland, and this quiet week often feels like the point where things settle again.

Books, Films and a Bit of Breathing Room

This is also the time of year when I usually pull down the books I never got around to reading. Even one chapter feels like a win. At this stage of my life, I find it much harder to sit and read for long stretches, so I’ve learned to appreciate small progress.

And of course, the films come out. Old favourites, Christmas classics, or whatever happens to be sitting in the Blu-ray stack waiting its turn.

There’s something nice about switching off properly and letting your brain wander. No pressure, no guilt, just slow time.

And with Bud still being young, a couple of longer play sessions this week do us both good. Fresh air after a week of celebrating is honestly underrated.

Planning Without the Pressure

I never make big New Year’s resolutions, but this is when I sketch out the rough direction for the year ahead. Nothing formal, just thoughts on the business, the blogs, woodturning ideas I want to try, and a few things I want to avoid repeating.

I do have some big, slightly lofty plans for 2026, most of which I’ve already set in motion during 2025. It’s probably the most forward planning I’ve done since I started the business, if I’m honest, and some days I’m not quite sure where the energy is going to come from to do it all.

The quiet of this week makes it easier to think more clearly.

I can do it. I think.

Why This Week Matters

The older I get, the more I appreciate the value of slowing down for a few days. I touched on this recently when I wrote about whether Christmas actually sucks as you get older, or whether it simply changes shape as priorities shift. It isn’t about productivity, catching up, or getting ahead. It’s about stepping back long enough to reset your head before the new year begins.

If the rest of the year is full speed, this week is the little breath you take before diving back in.

And to be honest, I think we all need that.

Thanks for Reading,

David

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a small business owner and blog writer based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Running my own woodcraft business means I’ve seen first-hand how much confusion there can be around shipping times, delivery dates, and what “business days” actually mean. That’s why I wrote this post — to share a bit of what I’ve learned and hopefully save you some frustration.

Every so often I step outside the workshop to write about wider business topics like this one. If you’d like to know more, you can follow the link in the Note from the Author section below or visit my About Me page to learn more.

💬 Note from the Author
This post was written specially for David Condon Finds. If you enjoyed it, you might also like my other projects:

Phoenix DVD Blog – where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and life as a collector
David Condon Woodcraft – my main site focused on woodturning and handmade Irish pieces

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