Seasons can throw us a curve ball when it comes to productivity, motivation, mood and general wellbeing. It is actually a thing to have ‘winter blues’ as we don’t get our usual energy boost in the form of vitamin D from the sun.
But we don’t have to let the weather beat us. Here are some quick tips to help boost your winter motivation, improve productivity in the colder months and generally feel better!
Beat the Clock
Winter means shorter daylight hours. You want to lie in bed longer, snuggle up, hibernate a little – that’s understandable. But it’s important to stay moving and stay motivated!!
1. Move your timetable around.
Things that can be done in the dark, move to early morning or evening. And things that need to be done during the day, make these your priority for daylight hours. For example, house work. Laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms are all things that are required to be done in the day time.
2. Adjust your programme.
Your summer routine will look different to your winter routine. You might have gone for a walk after work, or planned dinner on the beach/at the park. But with it being colder and darker, we tend to put things off. Try using your lunch break or other time of day for these activities. Just because it’s winter, it doesn’t mean you still can’t do these things – just adjust and plan.
3. Prioritise
Write out your schedule and write out your to-do’s. Organise them into priorities and figure out visually, on paper, how you will accomplish your week, balancing daylight and after dark activities. If you need to, drop of a few items from the bottom of the list. Some things really can wait. Read my blog Plan In Three's for some top tips.
Double Up
Make better use of your time by cooking two meals at once. Double up on ingredients and freeze half. You could save a lot of time by pre-making your meals. Soup is a great one for this. While we are talking about food – substitute your cold summer salads for warm hearty food – it’s a good mood lifter!
Follow the Sun
When the sun is out, make the most of it – get moving, take a stroll, or sit by the office window. Soak it up!! It won’t just warm you, it will give you a good vitamin boost! To be even more productive see if you can combine getting your steps in, your sun fix and tick off your to-do’s all in one.
Slow Down
We are naturally in ‘go-slow’ mode in winter time which affects our motivation. But if you have a routine and perhaps just spend less time doing each of your daily activities, you will still get it done. For example, if you normally go to the gym for an hour adding 10-30 mins driving to get there and back, why not do a home workout instead, or go for a run? Need someone to make sure you stay on track? Enlist an accountability partner.
Crucial Point
Write it down. If you need to find a way to be more productive, if your schedule needs rearranging or if you simply want to increase your mood and health, make the changes on paper.
Figure out what you’re currently doing and make the necessary changes.
It’s so easy to want to sleep in, snuggle up or not socialise as much in winter. But if you write it down, you increase the likelihood of actually doing it. Plan activities, work with daylight hours and prioritise.