For the Winter Blues: How to Get Through the Last Weeks of Winter
Life moves pretty fast, and the next time you blink, winter will be gone and it will be spring again.
In the grand scheme of life, the time between now and summertime is no time at all. But while you’re living it from day to day, it can feel pretty slow and never-ending.
But on the flip of the coin, in a you-only-live-once-and-life-is-really-short kinda way, you have to make the most out of this time and never stop making life as good as you can. Don’t waste these next few weeks of your life bummed out with the winter blues until it’s spring again.
Personally, I feel like the best way to live through this time of year is by finding a good balance between letting yourself get excited about the changes that are coming, and also finding ways to love the time now, not just wish it away.
I am definitely not an expert and I think that balance might look a little different for everyone, but here are some ideas of how you can make the most out of these last few weeks of winter.
Soak Up Every Ounce of Sunshine You Can Find
I’ll take a shot in the dark and guess you’re missing and craving the feeling of sunshine right about now. It’s been months of cold, and that is way too much cold for a person who thrives in summer.
If that’s you, then you need to seek out every ray of sunshine you can find and appreciate the heck out of any warmth it brings. The warm sun will be back in just a little while for you to bathe in, spend your day under, and walk barefoot on the ground it heats up. But until then, soak up every bit of sun that you possibly can for the sake of your mind and body that are missing it real bad.
If it’s too cold to go out, lay on the floor in the corner of your room where the sun hits or go for a drive later in the day so the afternoon light reaches you in your warm car. Go to your favorite coffee shop, but make sure to sit by the window with sunshine pouring through.
Sit out on your porch, balcony, or in your backyard at the time of day when the sun hits it just right. Even if it’s a brief window of time and you have to bundle up anyways, get outside and enjoy the extra bit of warmth.
Make a Spring Playlist
Make a playlist of songs that feel like spring. Not quite a summer playlist, but one that feels like new beginnings and the excitement you feel as the leaves come back, flowers bloom, and sunshine becomes a dependable part of your life again.
Make a playlist of the songs that make you want to stand up right now and run outside. Songs that feel like rolling down grassy hills, running through fields, and picnics with friends. Songs that feel like sunshine and happiness.
Listen to your playlist when you catch yourself dreaming about sunshine or bumming about winter. It will help with both. Let yourself experience those good feelings of spring through music.
Do Some Spring Cleaning
Make your space feel fresh and new, like spring.
Get rid of clothes you don’t wear anymore and reorganize your closet. Re-arrange part of your room or even the whole thing, switch around some of your decorations, and clean too.
Even just little changes, like re-arranging the books, candles, picture frames, and little decorations on your coffee table or dresser, can make your space feel refreshed. Buying flowers is always a good idea too.
Make sure to open up your blinds to let all the light in and open your windows for some fresh air too.
Go Outside
Even if it’s still a less-than-ideal temperature, get outside as much as you possibly can.
Drive to a lookout or a favorite spot nearby with a good view. Sit in the back of your car or outside for a little while, if it’s not too cold. You can also go to your favorite spot from the summer. Even if it doesn’t look the same, appreciate how it looks now and get excited about the thought of going back there in the summer.
Enjoy the view and every sensation of nature- from the smell of pine trees to the cold wind that blows across your face. Find little pieces everywhere that you love, even the less desirable things like the wind, the bare trees, and the layer of snow/ice hiding the Earth. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll end up really loving the moment you’re in and you will appreciate that spot so much more when summertime comes around.
Take walks, sit in your backyard, take a hike, whatever you can do to get outside as much as you possibly can.
Think about it this way: if you start getting outside as much as you possibly can starting today, think about how incredible it will be to experience the transition to longer, warmer days.
Make Art that Reminds You of Spring
It can be a vision board of what you want this year’s spring to be, paintings of blooming flowers and other scenes of spring, or something that represents the emotions you feel.
Creating it will make you happy, and that happiness can flow right back to you whenever you look at it.
Start Making a Spring Bucket List
Start working on a little bucket list you can complete this spring. Just make a list of all the things you want to do, new things you want to try, and places you want to go.
Dream big and write things you’re excited about, but also keep it realistic so you can check at least most of them off between now and the summer solstice.
Check back next week for a whole blog post dedicated to ideas for your spring bucket list, but for now, here are a few:
- Watch the sunset with friends
- Have a picnic at the park
- Stargaze on the first night above freezing
- Sit outside at a restaurant again
- Take a drive with friends
- Do yoga outside
- Wear flowers in your hair
- Do sidewalk chalk
- Take a bike ride
- Sunbathe, paint, and hang out with friends on a picnic blanket in the sun
Get Really, Really Excited About Every Sign of Spring You Find
When you see that first leaf bud on a tree, a flower blooming, dandelions, grass turning green, or a warm day, get really, off-the-charts excited about it. Get excited about every little thing, and these next few weeks can just be a constant flow of excitement.
Make wishes on dandelions, roll down hills of green grass, do cartwheels, and hula hoop in the sun. Make this time of your life as happy as you can.
