December is peak chaos season at work.
It’s when smart, ambitious people start to feel:
– mentally flooded
– overextended
– irritated at small things
– constantly “behind”
– desperately waiting for the holidays
This is the worst month to fall apart — and the best month to glow up.
Here are the 10 steps to glow up at work in 30 days —
not by doing more, but by working differently.
1 — Stop agreeing immediately
Instead of “Sure, I’ll take it,” try:
“Sounds interesting — I’ll get back to you on this.”
One sentence =
time ⟶ clarity ⟶ emotional distance ⟶ authority.
2 — Do a brain dump & cut 30%
Everything you want & need to do before EOY → write it down.
Delete 30% immediately.
Your brain cannot glow while managing 17 emotional tabs at once.
Pin the remaining list.
Chaos hates clarity.
3 — Face your One Big Elephant Task
Write down all the reasons you’ve been avoiding it.
Then tell yourself:
“I will be safe even if my draft is imperfect.
I am allowed to begin before I feel ready.”
A small spark of anticipation will appear.
Use it.
4 — Change your speaking ratio in meetings
If you talk every 10 minutes → reduce by half.
If you speak once per meeting → triple it.
Warm presence > silent resentment.
Authority = intentional contribution.
5 — Audit your stress patterns
Write down your last 5 stressful episodes:
What triggered it?
What meaning did your brain attach?
How did you react?
If you want a full diagnostic test of your work-stress pattern (pleasing? perfectionism? avoidance?) → you’ll get it this week on Thursday inside this Inner Circle newsletter.
6 — Practice deconcentration
Search “Guided Eyes Open Mindfulness Meditation”
10–15 minutes. Eyes open (preferably).
Feels strange, works incredibly well for focus.
7 — Level up how you look
Dress like someone two levels above — not for approval, but for embodiment.
Energy shifts when identity shifts.
8 — Stop gossiping
Micro-drops of judgment = macro-loss of confidence.
Let people feel safe around you — it changes everything.
P.S. you might be surprised, but your inner critic is the same voice that bit*hes about others.
9 — Audit your relationship with work
Why are you here?
✓ to earn
✓ to grow
✓ to build a career
✓ to feel competent
✓ to enjoy it
Misaligned expectations create resentment. Your colleagues are not your family. Your job is not your complete purpose.
Aligned expectations create momentum.
10 — The Identity Shift Rule
This is the one most ambitious people miss:
Decide who you want to be at work in January — and start acting like her/him now.
Write a 4-line identity script:
The person I’m becoming handles…
The person I’m becoming speaks like…
The person I’m becoming doesn’t tolerate…
The person I’m becoming consistently does…
Identity → behaviour → results.
Your glow-up is not in “doing more,”
it’s in choosing who you’re becoming.
Love,
Alena Guzharina (@alena.speaks)
Psychotherapist & coach, speaker and content creator
Book an intro coaching session with me
www.alena-speaks.com