Getting Through The Midyear Slump – Winter Wellness and Motivation Tips
June brings cosy nights in, lovely layered fashion, warm beanies and soups. It can also bring a drop in motivation, a dip in the immune system, and sometimes a bit of a blow to your mental well-being. Here are our tips for maintaining motivation through what can be a challenging time of year.
Maintain social connections where you can
It might not be BBQ weather, but do your best to maintain social connections despite the temptation to stay home on those wintery days. Maybe you would prefer to connect with loved ones over the phone while you stay home, and that's fine! Or, have guests over to join you with tea on the couch, meet for dinner or brave the cold together for a brisk walk.
You have the best understanding of your introversion and extroversion needs, so do your best to get the right balance of alone time and social time through what can be a slightly more isolating time of year.
Be an active participant in your motivation
The idea of 'motivation striking', while not impossible, can be anti-productive. Sometimes waiting for motivation to strike before you sink your teeth into something will keep you waiting for a long time. When you're feeling uninspired, try to find motivation rather than waiting for it to find you. A great approach to this can be to set small, achievable goals.
Say you need to get something written – try setting a 15-minute timer and sitting with your page. Knowing that the timer will go off any minute and you can take a break may help you ease into the zone. When the timer goes off, you'll hopefully find yourself on a roll (or get up, take your break and repeat the process later!).
No matter your goal – spend more time at the gym, cook healthier meals, enjoy more quality time with loved ones, read more – be intentional and active in cultivating the motivation to start a new habit.
Regain that New Year’s resolution energy – reset new goals and celebrate how far you've come
The middle of the year is the furthest point from that 'New Year' attitude. You already made those goals in January, and it's another six months before you really think about new ones. Make time to re-assess and set mid-year goals. Think about how you're tracking toward achieving any goals you set earlier in the year; celebrate what you have achieved and refine what you need to do next. Taking the time to reset can help avoid that 'slumpy' feeling of all these cold months blurring into one.
Focus on health
With the weather getting colder in the middle of the year, the way you look after yourself changes. Make sure you're keeping warm, eating warm, eating healthy and exercising despite the unmotivating chill in the air. We're all for curling up on the couch and taking it slow (that's a big part of winter self-care), but it's essential to balance that with enough activity and stimulation. Our article Looking After Your Well-being As The Weather Gets Cooler offers more detailed tips, from which foods have those much-needed immune-boosting vitamins to ways to keep on top of your physical and mental well-being.
Nature, fresh air, exercise, hydrate
Great rules to live by – seek out these four things whenever you hit that afternoon slump on the daily. Spend time in nature whenever you can, take breaks for fresh air and movement, and always stay hydrated.
Change your scene or routine
If you're hitting that slump, seeing and doing the same things every day can reinforce it. While a routine can help improve productivity and mental health, a stale routine can be stunting. Changing something about your environment can switch up those context cues and open your mind to fresh pathways. Consider shaking up some of these things to help hit the mental reset button:
- Your route to work
- Your desk arrangement (move around decorations, add some plants)
- Your room set up
- Your daily playlists or radio stations
- Where you exercise (run in a different park, try new routines at the gym)
We’ll be sending you warm thoughts through winter!
