Cold weather blues

For a few days, it felt a little like spring.

The last few mornings and all of yesterday felt cold, and I am a tad bitter about it until I remembered – it's January. It SHOULD be cold right now. There's a chance I could even see a dusting (maybe) of snow soon, and that shouldn't surprise me either. But still, I didn't want to say goodbye to the warm weather.

When it's cold out, its' so easy to stay under warm covers instead of tackling a day. It goes a little bit beyond just that, even. The presence of the sun and the ability to roll down windows while driving just makes me want to get out there and make the most of my day. That external force just isn't there as much when it's dreary out -- you have to create it yourself.

That being said, I haven't been able to conform to my cold-weather-induced desires even if I wanted to do so. With moving into a new house, I've had so much on my plate that there isn't room to say no to my to-do list. I'm just hoping that when my kind of urgent (and kind of fun) moving list reaches an end, I don't lose motivation to use my free time wisely.

Five days a week, my free time is in the morning before 2 p.m. That leaves room for me to accomplish a lot, if I want to. I'll need to resist the urge to keep hitting snooze, no matter how comfortable my bed may be.

I think the way to beat this, at least for me, is to meet my needs halfway. Inevitably, I have to run errands, or I want to take a walk or explore the city. But I don't need to start every day (when it's cold and dreary, at least) by leaping out of bed ready to charge.

I can sit in bed and drink coffee while I write, journal, design or update my budget. Then, feeling like I've accomplished some stuff already, make the most of the rest of my day.

It's easy to fall into that winter slump -- and sometimes it's even kind of nice to embrace it -- but I truly hope that going through the rest of winter, I keep a little drive, curiosity and excitement from those sunny & 75 days that pop up here and there.

Then, when spring finally comes, I'll be more than ready for the literal & metaphorical new life it brings.