I love Autumn and Winter for so many reasons. A chance to bundle up warm in my cosy jumpers and scarves and taking long walks in cold fresh air. The festive spirits and atmospheres surrounding this time of year with the knowledge that Christmas is just around the corner. Beautiful displays on shops’ windows and twinkle lights everywhere you go. What I’m not a big fan of however is the shorter days, darkness that arrives at 4pm everyday, robbing you out of ‘a proper day’ that you had so many of during the summer.
So when this time of year comes around I have a few routines I tend to stick too just to make life a little easier.
Get up early. And by that I mean really early like 7.30am or 8am the latest. If you make sure to make the most of every available hours of daylight you will hardly notice the shorter days! I make it a habit to get up at 7.30 every morning so I have a long morning to get things done, go to the gym if I want to before starting work. And by lunch time I feel like I’ve already done so much and the day miraculously feel much longer that it really is.
Get out and do something. I know it’s so hard during the winter to want to venture out because some days can be so rubbish with torrential rain and sub zero temperature. But if you sit around the house and do nothing the whole day it’s going to feel like the day has flown by and you will notice that shorter days even more. So make it a habit to get out of the house everyday even for just a little while; going to sit in a coffee shop and read for half an hour, going to the gym, walking the dog or just go for an hour stroll yourself.
Exercise and Eat Well. This may sound really boring and I know when it gets colder and darker outside it is tempting for us to resort to comfort foods. But eventually binging on unhealthy comfort foods just make you feel bloated, lethargic and a whole lot worse. Try eating clean and you will feel 100 times better, more awake, more energetic and it is at this time of year that you need it most to keep yourself feeling upbeat and energised. I try to opt for healthy smoothies in the morning with berries, bananas, apples, spinach or kale, chia seeds, protein poweder, some coconut water and a cube of ice.
I’ve also been motivating myself to go to the gym at least twice a week. Going to the gym can be such a drag but the way I get myself motivated is by having a planned routine of what I do at the gym. If you have to wander aimlessly at the gym, not knowing what to do of course you’re going to feel pointless and stop going altogether. So make sure you have a routine; either go and speak to a trainer and ask him/her to advise on a routine that suits your needs, or look up online and plan your own routine. There are so many amazing fitness blogs, and YouTube videos and websites available these days and finding something that suits you should not be that hard at all.
On the days that I don’t go to the gym I like to do my own exercise at home. Doing at least 15mins exercise everyday makes a ‘huge’ difference to how you feel and although it doesn’t sound that long it is actually very effective. I love doing Pilates with Blogilates on YouTube; it is a great channel for beginners and it is surprisingly fun!
Make staying in more fun. Finally I always feel like shorter winter days give us a chance to catch up with indoor activities that we might have been neglecting at other times of the year. I know I have plenty of reading to catch up on and the idea of going to the bookshop and pick up some good books that I will be spending hours reading by the cosy fire with a cup of hot chocolate is somehow very very comforting!
What’s your secret to fight the winter blues?
