Saturday, December 5, 2015

When you're not feeling motivated...

The dark, cold months of winter are rough for me.

The dry skin, cold temps, shorter evenings, removal of most of my favorite outdoor activities, and Utah inversion really kill me. And among other things, one thing that leaves me during this time of year is my motivation. I just want to stay in bed and eat lots of warm carbs, which really kills the progress towards goals :)

I've found a few things that help me get through this rough time of year and help me overcome my lack of motivation:

--I get everything ready way beforehand. If I want to work out in the morning, I pack all my bags, lay out all my clothes, prep breakfast, and write it in my planner. I want to put enough effort into in that I'll feel dumb if I decide to sleep in, instead.

--I trick myself. When my alarm goes off and I want to ignore it, I tell myself that I don't have to go to the gym as long as I get up and go to the bathroom. Once I'm up and out of bed, I'm no longer tempted to skip :)

--I reward myself. I attach each goal with a reward (or punishment). If I go to that yoga class, I get to stop at the lululemon store. If I do that morning workout, I will postpone doing laundry that day (very adult of me, I know). If I don't do the workout, I make myself clean something or do extra work. It's very motivating haha.

--I try to regulate my biology. I try to get in the sun for at least a few minutes (harder than it should be, this time of year), eat fruits and veggies, go to bed early, drink lots of water, read for a few minutes, do kind things for others, and at least get up and walk or do the stairs throughout the day. By covering these bases, I feel those winter blues a little less intensely.

--I force myself to do fun things and look on the bright side. Winter may suck, but at least there is skiing! And blankets! And boots! And hot chocolate!



Do you have any tips for keeping that motivation going during winter?