Hey friends! I feel like it’s getting to be that time of year again when the temperature and the short days start to take a toll. Anybody else experience this? I think I’m just someone who feeds off of the sun and beautiful weather, which has been one of the big bonuses of living in Dallas. But now that I’m living in Colorado, I want to double down on what I can do to keep motivated during the inevitable cold and short days.

I’ve written a lot about motivation in the past (it even has its own tab on my site) so I’m going to link back to posts that I think apply here but I also really tried to make these tips specific to the season, temperature and shorter days. If you have any tried and true tips on this topic, please share! I’m all ears because I have a feeling I’m going to need all the help I can get during my first Colorado winter!

Here’s what I have so far:

Find a way to get excited about the day

When the weather is crappy and the sun starts to set at 530, the feeling of dread starts pretty early in the day. Instead of letting it take over, give yourself something to look forward to! For example, if you check off X amount of things on your to-do list then you get to buy those new boots you’ve been eyeing or take yourself out to a movie – whatever gets you most excited! Some may call it bribery, but I call it getting stuff done.

Move your body

I’ve said this a million times on Stories and I’ll keep saying it – moving my body more has changed my life! It seriously makes me feel so much better and kind of reinvigorates me. It took a while for me to really make it a habit, but once I realized what a difference it was making in my productivity and how good it makes me feel, I had to keep doing it!

The main things I do are walking (minimum of 30 minutes every single day – challenge yourself to this!), pilates and the madeline_moves workouts (her workouts are THE BEST). Our new house in Denver actually has a workout room in it so I’m really excited to continue all of this and to have an indoor at-home set up for winter.

Talk to a co-worker or friend

I think it’s especially important to make sure you’re not isolating yourself in the fall/winter months. The weather can already make things sort of depressing so if you’re feeling unmotivated, talk to someone at work or a friend. Sometimes the best thing I can do for myself when I’m having a meh day is take a break and talk to someone who inspires me. Or you could even make your own inspiration board to bring some cheer to your office!

Break big to-do’s into smaller ones

I talk about this in this post but I think it’s applicable for any time you’re feeling unmotivated. Think about it. If it’s freezing cold, dark AND you have some giant tasks to get done that day. It’s easy to throw everything aside and just do nothing, am I right? So for example, instead of writing the one big task on your to-do list, break it down into two or three smaller ones spread out over a few days. This will help you feel more accomplished and less bad about yourself for having to keep moving whatever your big task is further back on your calendar.

Anyone have anything else to add? I’d love to read it and I’m sure everyone else would too!

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