By Nicola Priest IT’S January. You are either delighted to be back at work and glad life has returned to normal or you’ve got the January blues.

Those of us lucky enough to get a decent break over the festive period have enjoyed lazy mornings, reading the papers from cover to cover and even an afternoon film or two. We might have shown willing and gone for a few bracing walks, but then returned to the couch.

And there’s nothing like a New Year’s resolution or three to focus the mind.

Many of us will have vowed to lose weight, do more exercise and cut back on the booze/fags/chocs – whatever your particular vice.

As if January couldn’t get more miserable, dark, wet and cold, we put our bodies through added agony trying to reinvent ourselves in a few weeks.

Then we wonder why we fail.

Returning to work after Christmas means finding room on your desk for all the quirky presents your family assumes you need each year like notebooks, pencils, heart-shaped sticky notes, USB lights for your computer and plastic novelties to stick your pens in.

Then you’re bound to have a new mug, a wittily-worded coaster or framed photo of your loved ones.

All those e-mails have to be faced at some point. Those Facebook updates – you’ve got 29 new messages and nine photo tags – really? I’ve missed so much and yet it’s strangely had no impact on my life.

You’ve got 10 new followers on Twitter (I can’t think why when I’ve not posted anything since before Christmas) and you’ve got professionals endorsing you on LinkedIn or wanting to connect with you.

It’s a strange phenomenon LinkedIn – I’m connected to hundreds of people, many of whom I’ve never met before, then some who I do know, have endorsed me for my skills – including writing!

It’s very good of them to take the trouble to do that but I like to think as a trained journalist with some considerable years under my belt that it kind of goes with the territory to have some level of writing ability.

According to my profile strength I’m now almost an expert – which is good to know.

But as I’ve been on Linked In for a number of years now I’m not sure what positive effect it’s having on my life.

Certainly there have been no head hunters clamouring for me, no offers I can’t refuse.

Perhaps 2014 will be my year, not that I’m looking for a new job, but it’s always good to be wanted.

Other post-Christmas e-mails to wade through will include an assortment of discounts on holidays and all those sales goods you could have bought on Amazon if you’d actually known about them on Christmas Day – if your life is really that sad.

Another annual job awaiting me includes signing a round of staff holiday requests – with everyone wanting to get in first before all school hols are taken and so they have something to look forward to.

It’s like a domino effect, one starts and everyone’s desperate to take a holiday.

Oh it’s good to be back, have a great 2014!