7 Ways To Stay Motivated This Winter

After the chaos and exhilaration of the holiday season, I usually find it a challenge to return to “normal” life in January. Judging by some conversations I’ve had with friends, I’m not alone in needing a little inspiration right now. When the decorations have been put away and the cookie jar is empty, it’s normal to feel a little blah. So here are some ways we can pick ourselves back up and stay motivated and productive this winter…

1. Write Down Your Goals

For a few years now, I’ve been starting the new year with a new journal (usually one from Peter Pauper Press) and a word that I choose to be my theme for the year.

This year, while I was up early one morning for no good reason, I decided on the word change. Crazy, I know, especially after two years of pandemic inspired changes in plans, rules, lifestyles, etc. But the word got stuck in my head, and I realized that the only way to get rid of it was to embrace it. So I started writing down some ways to embrace change and came up with these:

1. Switch negative thoughts with positive ones with a change in perspective.
2. Let go of what can’t be changed (i.e the past)
3. Initiate change.

If you’ve already abandoned your list of New Year’s resolutions, try this instead. The key is to write it down somewhere where you can see it, and preferably where others can too. Even if no one holds you accountable, there’s something about declaring our intentions that motivates us to achieve them.

If you’re curious about the neuroscience behind writing, this article from Forbes explains how it helps us to achieve our goals.

Prefer pictures to writing? Create a vision board. You can do this the old-school way with photos, magazine tears, and printed images or create a digital one (with videos) on Pinterest, Canva, or PicMonkey.

2. Declutter Your Space

Does anyone else still have Christmas decorations up? No? Just me? Okay, so I promise to put them away right after I finish this post. (There, I said it out loud, so now I’m going to have to do it.) To stay motivated, I’m picturing myself sitting in a clean living room, with my feet up and a cup of tea in my hands!

Even after the holidays, our busy household requires constant decluttering, so I’ve just made it a habit to do a little every day.

Last weekend, while I was putting away our mountain of laundry, I noticed a bunch of clothes that I was keeping simply out of guilt. There was that silk wrap dress that I ordered on a whim that is really a size too small. There was a jacket that I bought to wear in the spring, only to realize it wasn’t warm enough for our NY spring weather. I also found a number of gifts that I was hanging onto even though they looked dated. So I switched out that guilt for a clear conscience and put them all in a donation bag.

Do you have a hard time deciding what clothes to keep and what to donate? If it’s something you don’t wear because you have nothing to wear with it, hang on to it. If it’s something that you can easily replace, that makes you feel uncomfortable or would require losing a lot of weight, let it go.

Clean space = clear mind = more room for creativity.

3. Detox

Sugar is hard enough to resist, but around the holidays, it seems impossible doesn’t it? (Feel free to replace sugar with butter, alcohol, social media, couch surfing, or whatever is your poison!) So it’s no wonder that January is the most popular month to detox. I’m not a wellness expert, but I’m always reading and learning about health. I’ve found that no matter what diet they propose, wellness experts agree on these five actions:

1) Eat unprocessed food.

2) Drink plenty of water.

3) Sleep.

4) Move.

Even better than a winter detox? A lifestyle that supports health and longevity. The Blue Zones^® are regions in the world where people tend to live longer and researchers have identified 9 traits that they have in common. You can read more about the Power 9^® on their website.

4. Read, Listen And Learn

Winter and summer are the busiest times for our kids’ activities, so I spend a lot of time in my car during those seasons. To make the most of my time, I download podcasts to listen to when I’m on my own. Here are some that have been keeping me motivated this winter:

The Happiness Lab in which Dr. Laurie Santos shares the latest scientific research on happiness. One of my favorites is Season 3, Episode 5: You Can’t Always Want What You Like. If you’ve wondered why it takes you so long to motivate yourself to exercise, even though you know it will make you feel better, Dr. Santos has an explanation.

A Slight Change In Plans hosted by Dr. Maya Shankar who interviews people who have experienced extraordinary changes in their life. Dr. Shankar is pretty extraordinary herself having been a student of violinist Itzhak Perlman, a Senior Advisor at the White House, and a graduate of Yale University. Talk about an inspiring human!

Hidden Brain which explores human behavior.

TED Talks Daily is a good one for short car rides.

If this is a slower time for you, it’s a good time to pick up some books you’ve wanted to read or to subscribe to some newsletters that will keep you motivated through winter.

I tend to read a lot of articles and constantly try to learn new skills, so my reading goals for this year are simply to pick up some novels from the library and read just for fun.

5. Find Your People

In the summer and fall, I love running or walking outside. We have some beautiful parks and trails around us so it’s easy to get my nature fix. In the winter, though when it’s cold, windy and gray, I need help! So I have a couple of groups of friends that I run or walk with, and that keeps me motivated to exercise all winter.

This pandemic certainly hasn’t made it easy for us to be with people, but we have social media, video conferencing and so many other tech tools to help us stay connected. I always try to prioritize IRL (in real life) connections, but social media can be a good back up if you use it in moderation.

6. Update Your Look

For those of us who work for home, it’s tempting to wear sweatpants and a ponytail all through winter. Don’t do it! Winter is a good time to get those highlights or change your hairstyle. My hair and skin feels very different in the winter than it does in the summer so I switch the products that I use to ones that are more moisturizing. This year, I asked my stylist and friend to put some layers in my hair. It’s a subtle change, but it has motivated me to try some new hair accessories and to style it in different ways.

7. Look Ahead

What gets you excited? Travel? Parties? Concerts? Even if you can’t do some of those things now it doesn’t hurt to dream and plan. I love all those things, but my go-to mood booster has always been fashion. I’ll go into more detail in my next post, but I’m already inspired but the 2022 trend reports that I’ve been reading. They call for a little more creativity and optimism than we’ve had the past few years. Look out for more color, more rule-breaking and options for individual expression than ever before.

Happy New Year!

P.S. You might also enjoy this post: 7 Ways To Ease The Winter Blues