We’re heading into the winter months and days are turning colder, darker, and all-around gloomier. It’s hard to stay motivated when you leave for work in the dark and return home in the dark. With Halloween been and gone and Christmas on the horizon, there’s much to do in November and December to get ready for the holiday season and the new year.
But how can you stay motivated in these winter months?
Create heat:
We all know that when you wake up and it’s cold and dark, you don’t want to get out of bed. We want to stay snuggled up in our duvets all day long. Temperature and light have a direct impact on our bodies so, in order to bypass the longing to stay in bed, you need to create heat.
You can adjust your thermostat to warm your home as you rise in the morning. If the temperature outside your duvet is as enjoyable as being under it then there’s no excuse to stay in bed! Or if you already have your outfit planned for the day, put it on the radiator the night before so that when you’re ready to get dressed and conquer the day, your clothes are warm and toasty.
Get wet:
Sometimes when you wake up, it’s nice to have breakfast and a cup of coffee. This is completely fine, but for some, it can take a bit longer than needed especially in winter. To make sure that you’re wide awake and won’t lounge lazily with your breakfast, either in bed or maybe in front of the TV, make a beeline straight to the shower.
Having a shower as soon as you’re out of bed will kickstart your day. The water will instantly wake you up and make you feel refreshed for the day ahead. Once you’re showered and dressed, you’ll be less likely to take your time with things like breakfast or a morning coffee – you’ll be more eager to get started.
Set goals for yourself:
In winter, it is really easy to lose sight of what needs doing and give in to a cup of hot cocoa on the sofa in front of your latest binge-worthy TV show. But, when the days feel shorter and your only desire is to sit and relax, try and encourage yourself to get up and get moving.
Making a to-do list or a set of goals for each day can help motivate you into completing tasks – either work or home-related. If you let the winter blues set in, then you’ll never reach the goals you want to and things will build up until the new year when you feel like there’s so much to do and not enough time.
Make use of your indoor time:
Being stuck inside due to rainy weather or deep snow can actually be a blessing in disguise. Whilst many hate not being able to go outside and being stuck inside four walls, there are lots that you can do to utilise your indoor time, instead of just sitting on a couch watching a movie.
You can clean your house (not fun but does need doing!). You can FaceTime friends and family that you haven’t seen in a while. You could catch up on your reading list. You could even start a blog or write a book or create a podcast. The list is endless.
Take care of number one:
The most important thing you can do in life is to take care of yourself. Whether it’s natural to you or not, you need to make sure that your wellbeing is a priority. When you’re well-rested, well-fed, and stress-free, you will be more likely to have the energy to achieve your goals and succeed in them.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day can help develop a healthy sleeping pattern. Making sure that you unwind and relax properly is key; you can treat yourself to an indulgent dessert or a long, warm bubble bath. Takeaways may be a great idea when you’re eating them, but you need to remember to fuel your body with healthy, nutritional food as well.
This winter will be especially hard to stay motivated since the world has been plagued by a deadly pandemic and there are all sorts of dangers out there – needle spiking to name one. But we can all try to stay motivated, energised, and ready for the day as much as we can.
If any of you have any more tips on how to stay motivated during the seasonal blues, leave them in the comments below.
Until next time…
Thanks for the great advice! A good reminder to take care of yourself. I definitely need a daily battle plan to help me stay productive, scheduling time for all the things I'd like to get done. And as well as making use of the time indoors, I always make sure to make time for outdoors, no matter the weather or the time of day -- it keeps me sane.😆
Really good article, I can relate to a lot of your points! I certainly don’t like getting up in the early hours for work on the cold and dark mornings, especially knowing it’ll be cold and dark when I’m heading home at the end of the day too. The getting wet part of having a hot shower is definitely something I prefer to do rather than sit in bed or even downstairs in PJs. I’m not awake until I’ve done that! Setting goals… I find this really important and can help to focus, drive motivation and make you feel better - if I get any done that is! As for the last two bits of advice, I’m not sure I…
Brilliant advice 👍 and we should take some of those ideas on board!
Some great tips, thank you! I definitely like the idea of warming up my clothes before putting them on in the morning! And staying inside reading, of course!