How to Stay Motivated in Autumn and Winter

Summer is officially over and as the weather changes, we get to swap our summer dresses and shorts for cosy jumpers and thick coats. Although the idea of feeling cosy may be appealing to some, according to the BBC, 90% of us will notice subtle changes in our mood in the coming months which can lead to a huge lack of motivation.

As we all begin to prepare for the short, dark days and the seemingly long nights it is natural to slow down a bit. However, it’s important that you don’t come to a complete standstill. Here are a few ways that you can keep yourself motivated during this Autumn and Winter:

• Take another look at your goals:

To keep yourself motivated, you’ve got to have something to keep you going. This time of the year is great for reflection, how far have you come this year? What have you achieved? What were the highlights? And what didn’t go so well?

When you map out what you have actually done during the year, it will allow you to make an assessment as to what you need to be doing to achieve your goals over the coming months. Think to yourself, what kind of action do I need to be taking so I can achieve my goals? Remember to make allowances when you consider your goals, you can’t expect yourself to be working your socks off 24/7.

• Look after your health and wellbeing:

We think this is a very important thing that we should all keep in mind. As the dark nights close in on us, it can be so tempting to go straight home, eat comfort food and snuggle under a blanket until it’s time for bed.

We understand that exercising and eating right seems so unappealing when the weather is cold but it’s important to keep at it. It may sound cliché but exercising releases serotonin which is our ‘happy chemical’, and without the warm sunshine giving us our serotonin, we need to get it elsewhere. Slow down if you feel you need to, just try and stay as active as possible.

In terms of your diet, the idea of roast dinners and warm desserts with custard sound utterly mouth-watering, and by all means treat yourself, but try and make sure you are eating your 5 a day. Ensuring this will give you more energy and make you feel more motivated!

• Get inspired:

Everyone feels inspired by different things. At IP, we enjoy reading motivational quotes in the morning when we get into work. Doing this makes the team feel like they can tackle the day and anything it throws at them, but this might not work for everyone. Whatever makes you feel like you can tackle anything be it books, films, blogs, music or even TEDtalks make sure you use them. Also, it is important that you spend time with people who make you feel inspired, people like that improve your mood and motivation levels massively.

• Give yourself time to rest:

As well as this time of the year being for reflection, it is also a time for rest and rejuvenation. In the summer, the days are longer, meaning that so many of us go to bed later and rely on the little sleep we get. Take the time during the Autumn and Wintertime to practice good sleeping habits. Try to make a conscious effort to go to bed earlier, so that in the morning you feel refreshed, rather than groggy. Also, when you are getting into bed, try to avoid using electronic devices as the blue light that is emitted from screens affects our quality of sleep. Take this time out to read or listen to audiobooks, this will make you feel more tired and more likely to drop straight off to sleep.

We hope that these tips help you feel a little more motivated during the Autumn and Winter months (as much as you may want to hibernate). Team IP hope you have a positive end to the year!

Got any more tips for motivation? We’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below.