Motivational hacks for homeworking during winter

 

The nights are drawing in, electric blankets have been ordered and we are all feeling that urge to stay in our beds for slightly longer each morning. But as we stand on the brink of 2023, these winter months can also take an enormous toll on our drive, productivity and health. Here’s some tips (dare we say resolutions) to keep you motivated this coming year.

Go to bed and get up earlier

It’s so easy to waste time late in the evenings. If you want to get up early (having had enough sleep), you must go to bed early. It’s that simple. That means you can get up early enough to make the most of the early morning sun (if it’s not raining) and kickstart your day.

Ignore the 5am club (mostly)

I know I just said get up early, but also, don’t put arbitrary time pressure on yourself for no reason. Set your alarm early – but not so early that you either a) will endlessly snooze it or b) will feel sluggish and tired for the rest of the day. I am a big advocate of waking up before the masses and getting ahead of the game, but if you NEED to sleep, sleep.

Get a solid morning routine down

As soon as your alarm is off, don’t look at ANY social media notifications, emails etc (ideally leave your phone in another room). Chug down a big glass of water to rehydrate from your sleep, make the strongest black coffee you can palate and hit some low intensity cardio like walking outside, a cross-trainer etc for 30-45mins. I like to put on a podcast or classical music while I’m doing this to get my brain warmed up before dealing with work when I get back.

Get an early victory in

When you get back give yourself a head start and nail some little victories. Ticking off tasks (no matter how small) really helps build momentum for the rest of the day. So this could be clearing emails (it’s allowed now) or even doing dinner prep or taking the rubbish out – do a handful of things you know you’ll feel better for doing.

Arrange a weekly huddle to get pumped

Get a small group of people like yourself and talk all things growth and positivity for 15 minutes before diving into work once or twice a week. My team and I call these ‘huddles’ (think hands in and hoorah). Everyone leaves pumped and ready to attack the day.

Plan for tomorrow’s wins

I talked about setting yourself up for success each morning, and the same is just as applicable in the evening. Help ‘tomorrow’s you’ and give yourself a head start. Plan the little tasks and goals that you know you can hit before work tomorrow and maybe make a start on them now. Simple example again, prep your breakfast, pack your gym bag etc.

Reward the daily wins by having something planned in the evening

This can be something small you enjoy as simple as sitting down and watching tv for an hour or reading a book. BUT you should only reward yourself if you hit what you needed that day. Otherwise, you keep going until you do – simple as that. If you give in and sit down to watch TV knowing there’s two or three tasks left you planned to do, you’re rewarding failure and laziness. And as a reward for that you’ll be left with lingering guilt and anxiety. So, whatever it is, get it done and reward yourself afterwards.

Elliot Wise is the founder of Limitless Mentoring – an entrepreneurial skills programme for aspiring business leaders.

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