When daylight saving time hit and we all gained an hour more of sleep, it finally felt like the winter was coming. With the colder weather approaching and the holiday cheer just around the bend, I started taking notice to how my productivity towards certain tasks became stagnate during the season change.
I’m not sure if it’s like this for most people, but as the rainy season comes, I find that I become less productive than in the summertime. The sun somehow motivates me to get things done and to start my day’s early and fresh while the opposite happens during the winter. It’s almost like a dark cloud (literally and figuratively) washes over the sky and makes everything so bleak and unwelcome. Now I know that this is different for many people. Some may feel that the summertime exhausts them more than the winter, and it truly is all up to your taste of season. But regardless of the seasons and the time of year, what can you do to make sure that you stay motivated to keep productivity alive during these changes?
One thing that I have found myself doing more on the days I feel less productive is writing stuff down. I want to make sure that I have everything planned out, written down, or just highlighted as important. Some days, when I know I have to get more done, I make a full-blown list with times and tasks to complete in my note’s app on my phone. Having a set schedule for days that I really need it help me to not get caught up in the weather and how it makes me feel. I have something I need to get done and I do it, no questions asked. I would always have to tell myself, “you can be a lazy couch potato after you get this done.” And if that didn’t do it for me that day, I would make sure that I set a time aside in my schedule to watch one episode of a show on Netflix or do something other than work for a little bit to clear my head.
Another thing that you can do if you’re feeling less productive than normal is go for a walk or a drive. If you ever feel burnt out or unmotivated to keep your day going, just go out for some coffee or food. Take a drive or a walk to a nearby place; put a mask on and get yourself some fuel. I cannot tell you the number of times that just the action of going outside has helped boost my mood and kept my day going. It’s something about getting out of the house and making sure that you are doing something for yourself.
Setting a time aside in your day for you is what really matters. Making sure that you don’t get into the habit of giving into that little voice in the back of your head telling you to be a couch potato for the day helps you stay productive. And it’s okay to do that some days, to just let it pass you by and watch Grey’s Anatomy all day long. But just making sure that you have that balance between things you need to get done and things you can do after you get said thing done is important.
With everything being online and remote because COVID-19 is still surging through our nation, it is more important now than ever that you continue to plan out your days and keep a routine. You don’t want to fall into something that you can’t get out of later.
What are some things you do to stay motivated during all seasons of the year? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
