It took me a long time to come up with this title, to tell you the truth. I thought about calling it ‘how I fight winter’ but to be perfectly honest, I don’t fight it. It’s not a 6 month battle between me and SAD. It’s a lengthy process which I go through to keep my head above water and, as dory would put it, just keep swimming. The truth is, I really struggle during the winter months. I fricking love Christmas, so I feel like the months leading up are always so full of excitement and anticipation- but once that’s all over it’s just dark days and cold nights. And it’s blooming hard. I used to really beat myself up for how I felt- how lethargic and unmotivated I am. But I saw something recently which really changed my outlook on it- I can’t remember the exact words but it said to look around, look at what nature is telling you. Mother nature is in hibernation, and so should we be. Everything goes to sleep. Everything is quite- the birds, the bees, the flowers. Nothing is meant to be at its fullest all year round, so give yourself a break.
So when it comes to the winter months, just surviving is enough to me. And this is how I survive.
Use a LUMI Light
Recently I invested in a Lumi light in order to help me, especially in the mornings. I HATE getting up in the dark- so much so that I used to just turn off my alarm and roll back to sleep. Not ideal when you need to be in the office on time. I had heard a lot about these ‘wake up lights’ and wanted to try them out for myself.
I can honestly tell you that this has been the biggest life saviour ever. All you do is set the wake up time, and the light will wake you up naturally. It starts illuminating around 30 minutes before your wake up time and just gradually gets lighter and lighter to mimic the sun rising- I’ll tell you now that the brightest setting is BRIGHT. I love this and usually wake up naturally before my alarm now- A MUCH nicer way to wake up in the morning!
Coat- Topshop
Tee- New Look
Jeans- Asos
Boots- New Look
Necklace- Topshop
Plan a trip
When it comes to winter, I find having things to look forward to always help me get through the days better. Whether it’s a big extravagant summer holiday you have planned, or a weekend trip to Edinburgh (my favourite place), having a trip where you can get away and just enjoy exploring somewhere new is so important.
Timeblocking
Something that I was introduced to recently is the concept of time blocking- its a scheduling system where instead of working by the clock (eg I’ll work between 8 and 9 or for 1 hour), you work according to what you need to get done. Finishing an entire task in one go- that’s the aim. It always help me to focus on what really needs to get done rather than beating myself up about sticking to a timed schedule.
Use essential oils
I love using essential oils, and not just in winter! I always keep a night time oil beside my bed to help me sleep and a ‘wake up’ oil to get my ready to work. You can get essential oils from almost any beauty supplier and they are such a great way to boost your mood just that little bit.
