It’s January again, that funny old time of year where new starts clash with old habits of wanting to hibernate and generally not feeling all that motivated when you’re still operating with less than 8 hours daylight (on a good day!). After the glow of Christmas has ended it’s easy to slip into that feeling of the winter blues. The spring still seems like it will never actually come around and we all know that we probably have snow on the horizon soon. It probably wont come as a surprise to you that I am a real summer baby, I love the light evenings, warm weather and generally my mood is much better in the spring and summer (something my mum likes to remind me of every year). When summer ended last year I decided that to try and combat this I would really throw myself into making the most of the autumn, go for lovely walks and enjoy the colours, start to get into the cosy evenings, it all really helped me. So now we are in January I have decided to take the same approach to the rest of the winter.

Winter is the toughest season for a lot of reasons, people aren’t around as much, the weather isn’t great and motivating yourself to get out and go to your exercise class when you get in is much harder when it’s cold, dark and raining outside. To try and overcome this here are some of the things I have been doing and they seem to be helping.

Embrace the quiet weekends: The weekends are when I feel the winter blues the most. For the rest of the year I’m generally pretty busy on the weekends and won’t really have many free ones so when you’re in the depths of winter and feeling a bit rubbish anywah having quiet weekends never feels that appealing. But this year I’m trying to see it differently and to lean into the quietness a bit more. I’m making the most of the lazy Saturday mornings spent in pyjamas and the ability to get things that I need to do done without feeling like I am missing out on anything. I know that within a few weeks I will be rushed off my feet again and craving some quiet time so instead I’m seeing this as an opportunity to bank some.

Get stuff done: You know all those tasks that you always put off but know that you should be doing? The things like cleaning your patio doors, tidying your tupperware cupboard, organising your underwear drawer…all of those jobs that aren’t vital but you know you’d feel better for doing. Well use this time to just get them done. You don’t have to spend all day tidying (unless you need/want to of course) but tackling those jobs you’ve been putting off for months can feel so great, espeically when you know you aren’t missing out on something else. Whack on a podcast or Netflix and just power through it.

Get outside & enjoy the weather: Ok, so not every day is going to be beautiful and sunny and I totally understand wanting to hibernate when the weather is crap but the winter can really kick out some cracking days so if the sun does make an apperance make sure to get outside. Whether it’s the weekend and you go for a longer walk or you just take a quick stroll at lunch time, get out. It will undoubtedly make you feel better, get you to move a bit more but also remind you that the better weather will eventually come! Wrap up warm, pop on some music or a podcast to keep you company and go for a wander.

Enjoy cosy evenings: Winter evenings can feel dull and a bit bleak so instead make them more into an occasion. Turn down the lights, put on some candles and snuggle up on the sofa with a cosy blanket. Use the time to read in peace or start a new series that you’ve wanted to see for ages. Maybe you start to make your way through the list of films that you always say you want to watch but never get around to doing it. Cook yourself a lovely meal or treat yourself to a bath. Personally I think there are few things as luxurious as a day time bath and with it getting dark by 4.30 there’s no better excuse! Turn hibernating into something fun to do instead of something you’re trapped doing.

Before we know it the spring will be here and we will all be enjoying the longer evenings and (hopefully) warmer weather. But for now we are stuck in winter and there is nothing we can do about it so my logic is that it’s probably best to try and make the most of it and try to stop wishing time away. It can be hard if you’re a summer baby like I am but I’ve found that since I’ve been embracing these things more I’ve started to see the charm of winter.