How To Use The Winter Months To Boost Your Productivity
When it’s cold and dark in the morning we don’t really feel that motivated to do much. In this article Mark Ellis looks at how you can use those long winter days and nights as a motivational tool to enhance your productivity and get stuff done when you might not feel like it.
The super-hot summer we’ve enjoyed this year in the UK is already becoming nothing more than a memory, and as the nights get longer and the mercury begins to fall, thoughts turn to winter productivity.
Well, they do for me, anyway – and they should for you, too, because it’s all too easy to inadvertently lose your work mojo when winter arrives. This stands to reason; you’ve spent all year working hard, and lingering thoughts of the hot summer will have you yearning for the next one.
It’s time to make the most of winter and be as productive as possible. There’s no reason at all that you can’t get just as much done (if not more) as you head towards Christmas.
Don’t give up on exercise
Sure, the last thing you’ll want to do during the winter is get your running shoes on and head out into the dark, cold night, but as any productivity expert will tell you, exercise is vital when it comes to keeping your mind active enough to complete that all-important to-do list every day.
Treat it as a new year
Ok, so, technically, this isn’t the start of a new year. But it could be the start of a new era for your business, freelancing gig or career, so why not make it so?
The changing seasons offer time for reflection and readjustment, and if you’ve felt yourself getting stale over the summer, now might be the perfect time to reassess the path ahead.
Plan new products, devise new marketing strategies or simply go and find that job you’ve always wanted; productivity will return once you find the impetus you’ve clearly lost.
Make money online
If your work is flexible enough to enable you to undertake new projects whenever you feel like it (hello, freelancers!), why not use the winter months for online work?
There are so many ways to make money online these days, no matter what your particular set of skills happen to be.
All you need is time (check), a comfy room at home in which to work (check) and the desire to head out there into the digital world and find people who will pay for your expertise and skills.
Plan a winter break
Who says you should only go away during the summer?
Winter breaks are popular because they give people the chance to unwind and recharge the batteries after a long year. If you can feel your productivity slipping as the winter starts to take hold, it might be a good idea to book a week away where you can do absolutely anything other than work.
You’ll return refreshed and raring to go at just the right time of the year.
Adjust your start and finish times
One of the most annoying things about the winter is the way daylight suddenly decreases in length. Getting up in what feels like the dead of light or signing off at the end of the day long after you’ve closed the curtains can be pretty demotivating.
If this becomes a problem for you, try adjusting the times you work. Wait until the sun has fully risen before starting, or finish before it begins to set. Clearly, you’ll need to counter that with darkness at the opposite end of the day, but starting or finishing when its light will make more of a difference to your productivity than you might expect.
Wrapping up
Are you ready for the winter? I am. And with my tips above, you too will be more productive during the colder months than you have been previously – I promise.
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