A Few Ways to Fight Off Winter Boredom

What a divisive season winter is. As soon as the evening drawn in earlier and the cold starts to cover the days, you either love it or hate it. This can be closely linked to how early in the year you’re prepared to put the heating on. Do you crank it up as soon as the cold snap sets in, or are you like me in that you will wait until you’re three jacks deep and wearing a pair of ski socks before you contemplate turning up the heat? It can be a tough time of year!

As well as the heating situation, you’ve got the aforementioned lighting situation. No sooner has summer ended, then you’re going to be heading to work in the dark and then coming home in the dark. Warm nights aren’t your friend and neither are light nights. Or lack of. It may start to feel fairly claustrophobic and not too fun for a little while, and that’s the way the light winter can affect you. It’s always worth looking out for that. Winter is a season you need to be able to handle well in order to navigate your way through it. They’re the simple facts.

With commuting to work in the darkness and coming back in the same state, it can feel a little bit like hell. Not that much goes on in the winter evenings and that leaves you returning to a house that can often be cold, expressionless and lacking in excitement, while you lack a routine and motivation too. As a writer, myself, it’s sometimes tough to seek out inspiration on glum, gloomy days and seeing as that’s what winter is in the main, I can understand the feeling excellently. What is the answer?

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It’s a tough situation to find yourself in and it’s often really tempting to acknowledge your inner bear and hibernate for the winter months until the flowers of spring begin to blossom, but maybe that’s not such a great idea. The thought of wrapping up warm for three months than braving the winter chill is one that is almost overwhelming, but just remember that three months is a long, long time watching Netflix and TV reruns. As soon as you’re out of options, things can start getting pretty lonely, really quick.

Using just one example, the literal dark of outside can sometimes lead to a bit of a negative feeling in you: your own personal darkness. You need to be well prepared for the longest period of the year with ways in which you can approach the winter months. There’s plenty of ways, too. You just need to be creative with your thoughts and acknowledge that you need to be proactive in the way you go about your life. I’m going to give you a look at a few of the types of things I do to thrive during the dullness of December and when I’m fed up in February. Hopefully, these can help you too.

Active in the Arctic Conditions

Don’t worry yourself, this doesn’t mean I’m going to focus on being physically active to fight off the winter blues (although that is an option!), but meaning that you should make sure you’re full of bright ideas and options of things to do. Make sure you’re eating well and proactively getting the goodness from food you need. Cooking a hearty meal is more than enough to make you feel delightful and will use up a good few hours of your evening, too. Pop on the radio, grab a glass of wine and be sure to cook away the winter blues.

Become chief organizer! Make sure you and your pals have loads to do. Winter is awash with fantastic opportunities to see the outdoors in another light - be that darkness or daytime. Wrap up warm and go on walks through the woods. See nature for all it is and become dazzled by the frost-bitten leaves. You could even head to the inner city. Christmas is a great time to check out the Christmas lights or fancy markets that sell anything and everything and you’ll come out the other side feeling wonderful and jazzy. If you get all of your friends together for this, the wellness that can be created can be such a lovely experience and remind everyone that winter doesn’t need to be dreary and boring if everyone comes together. Seeing people is the best way to keep your mind in tip-top shape.

Delve into a good book. This is always a great way to stay sane, regardless of the time of year. Books can transform your world from one thing into something completely different, while cheering you up and humbling you in the process. You could even go a little further and join a book club. Why not mix the excitement of a book with the conversation of similar minded people? Book clubs are such a fantastic way of passing on knowledge but also making new friends. Usually a weekly thing, this will give you some more structure to your day as opposed to merely arriving and leaving work muddling in with anything else you can squeeze in. Broadening your horizons will certainly help fend away any disdain for the cold!

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There are plenty of other little things you could do, too. Taking up an indoor sport, such as squash or badminton will keep you active, fit and in a great frame of mind. Exercise is a superb way to stay mentally awake and fresh and it’s no doubt helped me in the past. It’s another awesome thing to help you stay in contact with friends that doesn’t involve going down to a bar and drinking your money away. Get a scoreboard going and keep it competitive. That’s always fun!

I’m sure these things will help you out until the warmer months arrive, but why stop there? Keep these hobbies up throughout the year to give yourself superb structure whatever the season. Give it a go, I’m sure you will love it!