3 Ways to Thrive During Dry January (written by someone who failed 15x before getting it right)

Considering dry January but hesitating because you don’t want to be bored and alone all month’? Read on.

The author drinking Little Saints St. Ember, with reckless abandon.

I am not a person of moderation. I full send on everything, whether it be my job as Founder of Little Saints, my relationships, or my commitment to eating and drinking everything in sight during the month of December. Historically, I always approached dry January with the same intensity — not only would I “not drink” as hard as I could, but I would impose multiple additional restrictions on myself (cleanses, etc.) for good measure.

Despite my fervent efforts, this punishment-centric was not successful. To the contrary, it caused me to fail 15 dry Januarys in a row. Every failed dry January would begin with me eating healthy, working out and being a relative hermit at night. And then, sometime between January 17 and 21, I would decide that I either “just couldn’t take it anymore” or I “had to go out”, and I would drink alcohol again (and never in moderation).

After failing 15 times, I finally figured out how to do dry January right in 2021, and I’ve been successful ever since. My path to success has been both not conventional and also surprisingly easy. Read on for 3 ways to thrive this dry January:

1. Do not do a cleanse. I say this as someone who has done every cleanse known to (wo)man — I’ve done the Master Cleanse, juice cleanses, The Milk Cleanse, water fasts, Sakara … all of it. While these cleanses might be great for you later in January or February, when your excessive eating and drinking in December have stabilized, doing too much can induce burnout if engaged in tandem with your dry month. Our livers are supreme cleanse experts — let them do their job without intervention in the first few weeks of January. You’ll notice that simply by not drinking alcohol and slowing down your holiday eating marathon, you’ll start to feel remarkably better on your own. You’ll burn more calories without alcohol to disrupt the quality of your sleep. You’ll naturally crave less sugar if you’re not drinking alcohol. The list of low effort, low punishment, high rewards associated with this approach could go on and on, but I’m not done here …
2. Fill your fridge with adult beverages that happen to be non-alcoholic. After a December of drinking fun cocktails most nights, you know what’s really not fun? Drinking juice and water. Invite your friends over and serve them a juice? No. Unwind after a long day of work with water? No. There is a much sexier, adult way to do dry January, and it’s right at your fingertips. Stock your fridge with non-alcoholic (“NA”) beverages that mimic the taste and smell of alcohol, like Little Saints or anything else available through Boisson.com. Spark your curiosity by creating your own NA cocktail creations, like those suggested here.
3. Fill your January calendar with social plans, starting now. Not drinking alcohol just means not drinking alcohol. It does not mean not making social plans, not dating, not meeting friends for drinks (just order something non-alcoholic), not going to concerts, or not going to restaurants. While tips # 1 and 2 above are important, maintaining your social health is the key to dry January success. Start making plans for the rest of the month now. Meet up with that person you’ve been too busy to see. Make a reservation at that restaurant that was booked during the holidays. Book tickets for a concert or show. Go on a dating app and search for other people doing dry January. Reportedly, 40 percent of people are trying dry January this year, find your people and enjoy yourself!

Let’s reclaim dry January as a time to thrive — no cleansing, drinking juice or being a hermit allowed.

Megan Klein is a 2x founder and 3x wellness entrepreneur with one thriving non-alcoholic beverage brand (Little Saints), one successful exit (Field + Farmer) and one failure (FarmedHere, the one-time largest indoor aquaponic farm in the U.S.). Klein has shared her journey to becoming “alcohol free and way more fun” on Marketplace Morning Report and Second Life Podcast, among others. Long before she became passionate about reframing our collective relationship with alcohol, Klein was an environmental attorney for Earthjustice, where she fought factory farms and coal emissions.