Okay, so I feel like Daylight Savings Times gets a lot of flak. When we spring forward, an hour is lost and life seems to get thrown off. But, as someone who can’t function before 9 a.m., for me, the Standard Time shift is a death sentence. I get so much less productive because I have far fewer light hours in my day.
Standard Time Shift: Stay Active
When the days get shorter, I try to find ways to stay active as much as possible. I do wake up a little bit earlier, but what I schedule to tackle in the morning has to be pretty mundane. I might wake up to throw in a load of laundry and wipe down kitchen counters.
Even though I, of course, go out after dark, I still find myself going to bed a bit earlier in the winter. When 5 p.m. feels like 8, 8 feels like 11. Because of this, I typically try to tackle the gym on my lunch break when I feel most alert. Sometimes this happens, sometimes it doesn’t.
One of the best purchases I made when I moved to Chicago was this miniature elliptical type machine. It lives under my desk, but I can pull it out on nights when it’s too cold or too late to leave the house. It doesn’t quite work up a sweat the same way a treadmill (or a real elliptical) would, but it’s nice to keep moving if you don’t have space for a full home gym.
Standard Time Shift: Get Some Sun
The best advice I got from my mom before I moved to Chicago was to get outside every single day. It sounds obvious, but when it gets dark at 4:45 and the temps are in the single digits, going outside sometimes feels unnecessary. No matter what, I make a point to get outside for blood flow and fresh air.
On my wish list for this winter is an LED light that simulates the sun. They’re supposed to help fight seasonal depression, and while I have no idea if they actually work, I think it would be worth a try!
Standard Time Shift: Stay Sharp
I don’t exactly know why, but I tend to get lazier in the winter. Curling up in bed and watching mindless TV sounds way better than doing anything productive. This winter, I’m going to try and keep on a book list and make sure to set up outings with friends on weeknights as I would in the summer.
Evenings will also be a great time to meditate, cook healthy dinners at home, or post-up in a Starbucks to work on the blog.
Do you have any other tips to help the non-morning people of the world handle the standard time shift? And are you team Standard Time or team Daylight Savings?
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