Cold weather motivation

It's cold in the Carolinas, the coldest it's been in months. And as was expected, the recent change in time and the arrival of cold weather has made everything bleaker, making it harder to get things done. It's not like in the summer, where the brightness and warmth of the outdoors often push us to also be bright and productive. No, at 11 a.m. on a Friday I'm looking out my window to a cloudless, gray sky with slow rain.

So then when the nights get longer and the days are cold — what motivates you to be yourself regardless, and to be productive?

For me, it's a combination of things. My free time during workdays is actually the mornings and early afternoons since I work evenings. As is the case, I'm still fortunate to have daylight when I'm home with things to do. But since it's so cold, I have to find other ways to invite warmth and energy to it. Personally, I do that very literally through coffee. It's amazing what a cup of coffee and the allowance of an episode of TV or a little background music can do for energy.

Additionally, I'm incredibly list-oriented — I love the feeling of knowing I accomplished all I wanted to on a given day. But what I've noticed in the colder months is the best way to tackle to-do lists when the winter blues hits is to be reasonable and forgiving. If I can tell one morning that I"m particularly tired or the day is especially gloomy, I'll adjust my to-do list, making sure it's shorter and more attainable. That way, I can still feel good knowing that I accomplished it all. I find that if I'm able to accomplish my to-do lists every day (even if there's only a little bit on there) then I feel more equipped and energized to handle a day where I try to accomplish much more.

All that said, the one nice thing about this onslaught of cold weather is the knowledge that in a few short weeks, I'll pick up my Christmas decorations from my parents, I'll be ready to hear the holiday music that's already playing on radios (which, wow) and I'll gleefully have peppermint flavoring in as many things as possible. Once that hits, the cheer counteracts the gloom. And that's just around the corner.