Dealing with the dark days

Now is the toughest time of year with really short days - it feels like we wake up and go to sleep in the dark, and combined with pandemic life confined to the house it can really affect your mood.

Things I've been trying to combat this:

• Surround myself with green plants - they have really improved the feel of my office (even a few fake ones).
• Get out for a walk at lunchtime in the daylight - making the most of the lockdown hour's exercise - the dog definitely appreciates this also.
• Work with the curtains open to see some light.
• Reduce my news intake first thing in the morning - doom scrolling is very much a thing, and if something is that bad it will filter through.
• Try and get enough sleep - I'm terrible at staying onling browsing when I should go to bed.
• Writing more in my notebook - I've found writing a little bit in the evening on how I was feeling in a given day helps, as well as writing about what one is thankful for. Sounds a bit hokey, but writing about gratitude, even if it's a really small thing actually works.
• Reduce my evening/late afternoon caffeine - I drink a lot of tea and coffee, and stopping at 4pm or so has helped my quality of sleep.
• Morning exercise - even if just 15 minutes stretching, but daily during the week. The key for me was to keep things really simple, and not push myself if I'm not feeling it, but do do something every day.
• Keep a sense of perspective - I know I'm really fortunate to work in an industry where I can work from home, and I know a bad day for me is often not that bad when put into perspective.
• Enforce time for fun - playing games on the playstation, board games with my wife, and also online with friends.

None of this is particularly life changing, and a lot quite obvious, but it all does add up and is keeping me sane in lockdown. What works for you? let me know on twitter.