How to combat seasonal laziness as a writer ❄️

On staying productive when it's cold, grey, and depressing outside...

We’re already almost a week into December, which means the “most wonderful time of the year” is officially in full swing! ☃️ The strange thing, though, is that I always feel less productive around the holidays - and not just because of all the festivities and busyness. In the wintertime, I find it much harder to sit down and focus when I have time to get some writing or other client work done. I’d rather run around with my nieces, nephew, and little brother, watch Christmas movies with my parents, or bake a mountain of cookies. I’d rather read a book, take a long shower, or lay down for a nap. There’s evidence that people get more depressed during the winter months (due especially to the cold weather, shorter days, and longer nights), and thus become less productive as they work to overcome mental health hardships.

Photo by Bailey Zindel on Unsplash

As a full-time remote ghostwriter, I’m especially concerned about how this trend might play out in my life. I’ve gone on a few trips this fall, so I’m hoping to get a lot of work done over the winter season (in between holiday celebrations and family time, of course!). So, I’ve done some research and reflected on my own experiences with wintertime laziness to come up with a set of tips/actionable steps for those of you hoping to maintain productivity through the chilly months.*

---

While I wish I could just sit down and get stuff done, I recognize that holistic health plays a major role in my ability to work during the winter months. To help your mental state of seasonal laziness, consider the following:

• Exercise regularly. 🏃 I know, I know: these days, “exercise” seems to be the response to every problem. But there are reasons it works so well for combatting winter laziness - for one, you’re likely getting less natural exercise/movement in the cold months because you’re leaving your house less, sitting around at home more (since the days are shorter and the nights longer in the wintertime), and spending time on sedentary activities (cue the Hallmark movies! 🎥). You may also be consuming more carbs/sugars than usual, as many people take in more calories during the winter months from holiday food and being cooped up/bored inside. “Exercise regularly” doesn’t have to be anything dramatic, either; just getting up and moving for 30 minutes a day can significantly impact your mental state and ability to focus!

  • For more on how exercise helps with anxiety and depression, check out this article from the Mayo Clinic.

• Speaking of those filling winter foods, ensure you still get fruits and vegetables in your diet! 🍎🥦 It can be easy to forget them when you’ve got so many sweet options available, but your body still needs all the right food groups.

• Get enough sunlight. ☀️ Even if it’s cold and you can only get outside for a little bit each day, your mind and body crave the light. Seasonal darkness contributes to those lazy, depressive feelings, so try to spend some time outdoors every day.

• Journal! 📓 This is something that has really helped with my anxiety, as journaling allows me to better sort my thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Journaling also lets me look back through my memories and see how things worked out, which helps ease the stress or sadness I may feel in a present moment. Write down your emotions, your ups and downs, the things you’re up to… Write down your wins and losses instead of shoving the hard stuff down and trying to power through.

• Listen to music that is calming or positive. 🎵 I love sad music, but I know if I listen to it late at night or during the cold/dark months, I will find myself feeling depressed. As much as you may love sad music, too, it’s not worth the inability to get anything done or sleep on a decent schedule. Find music that’s either slow and calming or fun and festive. To fight seasonal laziness, avoid the sad tunes unless you really need a good cry.

• Spend time with other humans! 🏘️ Isolation will breed laziness and make you feel more downtrodden. You’ll scroll aimlessly on your phone or watch Netflix for hours instead of prioritizing your precious time the way you should. Trust me, I know - I’ve done it. When I go to bed after hours of time wasting, I’m disappointed in myself. When I wake up late the next morning because I went to bed late, I’m disappointed in myself yet again. Make plans, talk to people, and use that precious alone time to get chores and work done. It’s good to rest, but absolutely avoid isolating yourself.

• Sleep on a consistent schedule. 😴 Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day. It’s generally better for your body, but especially when the nights are longer. Unless you absolutely can’t, sleep when it’s dark out and don’t waste your precious daylight hours in bed.

---

To help with your writing productivity during the winter months, here are a few tips:

• Establish a work time. 👨‍💻 What hours of the day do you typically have the most motivation/feel the most productive? If possible, set aside those hours for work, and schedule your fun events outside of them.

• Create a dedicated work space. 💻 It’s fun to get out and work at coffee shops, but it’s also nice to have a dedicated space at home where you can write. This space shouldn’t be your bed, for that can negatively impact your sleep and posture. Make your space comfortable and homey for you! Have a candle there if you like to burn one while you work, or figure out how to play music the way you like (using headphones, a small speaker, or whatever’s best for you). Get a comfortable chair and simple desk with enough table space (you can get good desks with a wide workspace for less than $100 on Amazon!). Unless you have a particularly distracting view, put your desk by a window for increased light exposure.

• Eat before you work, but not too much! 🍽️ When you sit down to write, ensure that you’re full enough to get things done for a good chunk of time, but not so full that you start to feel sleepy or need to get up often to use the restroom. Preventing interruptions to your work time enables you to get more work done in less time.

• When you don’t feel like working at your designated work time, sit down anyways and follow the two-minute rule, a tip I learned from a fantastic post on productivity by

  Amy Suto
  (post linked below). Her “two-minute rule” is to sit down and start working on your task for just two minutes. When the two minutes are up, you can decide whether to keep working or quit. Once you’ve worked for a couple minutes and gotten into what she coins your working “flow state,” it’s a lot easier to keep going. I’d never heard this tip before I came across her post, and I find it immensely helpful when I don’t want to sit down and write.

  ✍️ Desk of Amy Suto: Hack Your Way into Flow State (A Procrastinator's Guide)

• Have a plan! 🗓️ I can’t overemphasize the value of this productivity hack. If you have a list or plan of things you want to accomplish for a particular day/week, it becomes so much easier to get to work. You check through that list and feel a sense of accomplishment with each task completed. You might finish your weekly goals two days early, and choose to rest or get even more done! Setting deadlines for yourself is essential in combatting laziness, especially when your deadlines are helping you work on client projects. You never want to be the freelancer who sends deliverables late or only half-completed. Not only is that sloppy, but it will impact your ability to get good referrals for future clients!

• Use a reward system. 🏆 When I’m feeling especially lazy, I set rewards for myself to stay on track. I allow myself to get that dress I wanted or go pick up a coffee if I finish a certain amount of work, or write a certain number of words multiple days in a row. It sounds silly, but it works. Reward yourself!

---

I’m glad you took a look at my tips for writers on combatting laziness during the wintertime. Let me know your best tips in the comment section! I’m always looking for new ways to improve my productivity. 😊

*None of my tips or steps are or should be construed as medical advice. I am only providing a list of what’s helped me increase productivity and positivity during the winter months. If you’re suffering from seasonal depression, see a licensed physician for better help! :)