Chicago person here. I am definitely less productive when the days are shorter. I’m also sensitive to the shorter days (lower mood and lower energy).
Things that help:
Dawn simulator alarm/light. Negative Air Ionizer in bedroom. Light therapy box. I have all three. I purchase from the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (cet.org) to make sure I’m buying effective, research-based products.
The first 2 products are “passive”, so I use those every day starting in September. I have found it’s better to get an early start on it versus waiting until November when I’m overwhelmed with no energy and gloom.
My light box is above my computer at my work desk at home. I use it daily unless I have a meeting or need to be somewhere else in the morning.
I also walk the dog every morning, for about an hour or more, unless it is bitter bitter cold and his paws cannot take it.
I work mostly from home, so this fits with my schedule.
Doing those things makes a BIG difference in how I feel in the late afternoon - early evening. Sure, I feel the tug to stay in, not go out, not be as productive, but it’s not crushing.
I also am a fan of ToDo lists (keeps me accountable) & playing music I love (energizing and mood lifting).
It is normal to slow down and sleep more when it is dark and cold in the winter. Don’t fight it too hard or feel guilty! If you want to feel more “productive” on your couch, watch video courses or documentaries instead of random shows. Work through a reading list (those great novels you never read?) instead of grabbing the newspaper. If you knit, crotchet, do needlework or other crafts you could work on a project while you’re watching your video course. If you can make it to the kitchen, try a new soup (or whatever) recipe every week…
Have a short winter to-do list and congratulate yourself for finishing a couple things. But not too many things. Take a long bath and go to bed early–that is what winter is for!
I try to get to the exercise immediately when I get home (consoling myself that I can reward myself lounging in the couch later!). Then after exercising and eating dinner (yes, on the couch ), I try to do ONE chore before doing the dishes, making lunch, filling coffeemaker, etc for next day. Once I’m rolling on that one chore, I find that sometimes I can keep going for a couple more. Oh, and I motivate myself to get up for the one chore by reminding myself that the earlier I get it and next day prep done, the earlier I can snuggle in bed with a book.
Y’all are wonderful and no one is really scolding me. The issues are three-fold, I think:
I need to do cardio; I hate cardio. No dog to walk, no pretty place to walk, no home gym equipment. In the next six months I plan to turn my youngest D's room into my exercise room, so that should help.
H gets home after 10 pm 3-5 nights a week and wants me to be awake when he gets home. I would really like to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. May just chance the rift in our marriage and do that.
When I wake up, go to work, come home, watch TV, then repeat, I feel like I am doing nothing with my life. I always feel like I have to "accomplish" something, then feel guilty when I don't accomplish anything. Somehow, working a 10 hour day doesn't count in my warped brain.
I bought one of those sunrise alarm clocks a few years ago. It didn’t really help.
Bring your exercise clothes with you and go straight to the gym. Only way to make yourself go in the dark winter. I sometimes stay in the office a little longer so I can go straight to a class. i find I am more motivated to go to a class at a scheduled time than just work out. If it is not too cold, i can also sometimes get myself to take a walk even in the dark. I live close enough to our little downtown to walk there where it is well lit and people are around.
I also am taking an art class one night a week…
I agree, however, that it is harder for me to motivate myself once i get home and it is dark and cold. Part of that is a longish commute (45 minute drive each way). It does help to plan your evening while still at your desk. Sometimes that helps me get excited about what i am going to get done (even if it is just something as simple as what i am cooking for dinner).
How about working out at home? I have a 30 minute kettle bell workout DVD, it’s cardio and strength, it’s a workout but it’s only 30 mins, and that’s what I always tell myself. Come home, have a glass of water, and up to the workout you go…no TV, social media, until you get that done. Afterward, you are allowed to be “done” for the night if you want, or you might just be energized enough to work on a project a little bit. You can also make a schedule for yourself like T and Th are workout days, Wed is project days, Mon and Friday are days off. We definitely have to fight the darkness but adding activity actually helps. Or, can you get outside during lunch for a short stroll?
I’ve been leaving the office early 1 day a week since the time change to run while it is light outside. Then I run or hike (or cross country ski soon!) ar least 1 day on the weekend. I walk the other days - yes, it is dark, but there are lit sidewalks I can go on. Often I combine it with an errand - mail something, drop off a library book, go to drugstore, etc. If it is pouring I go to the mall & walk. I took a couple ballroom dance classes with mixed results — enjoyed the first one & never missed, but the second one was less to my taste — I made it to 5 of the 8 I paid for, and signed up for a drawing class instead next quarter.
You know, I think buying a treadmill would be a good thing. Throw a TV to watch then don’t feel guilty about the rest of the night. I like to vege and cocoon in the winter. Enjoy it! It can be snuggly and comforting. Just don’t eat while your lounging around. I bet if you just did 30 minutes of walking, you’d feel better.
I would never exercise if I did not do it at home. I do Kettle Bell and have and Elliptical.
Otherwise, give yourself another decade and all of the guilt of not accomplishing anything disappears!
Maybe going to bed a few nights, not all, would be ok with your H.
I sympathize because I suffer from a similar sluggishness when it gets dark so early. One thing that I’ve done that gives me a little exercise and lifts my spirits is to force myself to go on a short (one mile or so) walk in the early evening. I bundle up and go out in the frigid air with no expectations. But inevitably I feel a bit better when I return home, sometimes even gaining the energy to be productive. And if nothing else I have a sense of accomplishment because I was not a total slug that evening and feel better about letting myself veg out for the rest of the evening.
I’m totally with you that my body/brain shuts down after dark and now it’s not even all that good with my vision trying to drive after dark even when I need to.
I try to get my exercise in before dark. Other than that, I dream about snowbirding. Most years (now) we get to vacation south for a month or so each winter and looking forward to that helps considerably. This year we’re not likely to get south at all - a definite major negative mentally. Can you take a week off (heading south somewhere) to give your mind something to look forward to? I’m pretty convinced natural Vitamin D is the Fountain of Youth. Even a week off in the south is totally refreshing to us - which is why our original “week” turned into 2 weeks, then 3, then a month, (as we could afford it) and now hoping to snowbird. Our bodies/brains are leading us that way as soon as we can do it.
In the meantime, the only time significant “other” things got done in my house is when I had a weekend to myself last week - and then only during daytime hours. My brain definitely shuts down after dark. Such is life for me. I get my walking steps and chores (the majority of my exercise in) earlier.
How about volunteering or finding a new hobby or do a book club? Just one day a week.
It is hard to motivate yourself after a long day in the dark and cold, and instead of thinking you have to be productive, think about how you’d like to spend your time and start slow. One day a week.
You said no dog, OP. I will say that while I don’t have one now, I feel like my ability to get up and go outside in the dark after work is partly due to a habit of taking my dog on nighttime walks after work no matter what the MN weather for many years. What I learned is that it often isn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I think that helps me get going now.
), I try to do ONE chore before doing the dishes, making lunch, filling coffeemaker, etc for next day. Once I’m rolling on that one chore, I find that sometimes I can keep going for a couple more. Oh, and I motivate myself to get up for the one chore by reminding myself that the earlier I get it and next day prep done, the earlier I can snuggle in bed with a book.