Monday, 1/29/24: Talking about adding delight to winter

Happy Monday!

It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter.

Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday and some positive thoughts to get your week started.

Three Steps to a Happier Monday

Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.  

Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend? 

Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?

Step 3: What is my intention for this week? 

GRATITUDE: I’m thankful for quality time with Matt, getting to try a new restaurant Saturday night and time to relax. 

TODAY: I have more meetings than normal this Monday, so I’m most excited to treat myself to a little afternoon pick-me-up today from a coffee shop on my street.  

INTENTION: My intention this week is to focus on adding delight to winter (more below!). 

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: Adding Delight to Winter 

There are some dates that inherently motivate us to do something. Whether it’s starting a new habit on New Year’s Day, reflecting on your birthday or thinking of someone on an anniversary, these temporal landmarks are immovable, always occur on the same day every year, and help us navigate and make sense of time.

There are other “landmarks” that happen throughout the year, but the timing is more subjective. You don’t know when they’ll occur, but they always do. They too help orient around the passing of time.. like my annual Winter Breaking Point™.

This year, it happened on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

I got up early for a yoga class and was excited since it was my first time going since being back in Chicago. However, as soon as I ventured out on my quick walk to the studio, I realized – mid slip-and-slide maneuver – the horrible combination that happened overnight. Slightly balmier temps + freezing rain + pre-existing layers of ice = walking on what felt like an ice rink… in the cold rain… way too early in the morning. UGH.

As I slipped-and-slid my way there and back, I thought, Yep, this is it. We’ve reached the Winter Breaking Point™.

The date of the Winter Breaking Point™ varies year to year, but the impact is always the same. The sparkle from the holiday season is long gone. You can’t remember the last time you saw the sun. And, unfortunately, you know there are a couple more months of this ahead of you.

I know winter comes with the territory of living in Chicago. And I also realize how lucky I am… I have a warm, cozy apartment that I don’t have to leave often (I work from home most of the week, I have no pets to take out or kids to get to school).

But still – winter gets to me. I dislike how long it takes to bundle up before going outside. I miss my runs along the lakefront. The lack of sun messes with my mood.

In a way, I’m thankful for my annual Winter Breaking Point™. Every year, it’s a cue to myself that I need to pay a little more attention to my winter routines and rhythms and find ways to lift my spirit.

Said another way – and with a nod to my word of year – it makes me think, how can I bring a little more DELIGHT to this winter?   

So, that’s what I want to share today – five small ways I’m adding delight to winter right now. I hope the below is helpful, case you are feeling similarly or in case it prompts you to think about the season you’re uniquely in and ways you can add delight to your days too.

Five Ways I’m Adding Delight to Winter

1) Deciding not to fight against winter.   

I haven’t read Wintering by Katherine May, but there a quote that is often referenced. I think it is such a good reminder:

“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. The perform extra-ordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is the time of withdrawing from the world, maximising scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.

Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order.”

Acknowledging and accepting winter for what it is instead of comparing it to different seasons helps to shift my perspective, and dare I say, even find some beauty in the season. When I adjust my expectations, I’m able to lean into the cozy and find ways to take advantage of this unique time.

2) Making it easier to go to bed.

My experience with winter involves two scenarios: 1) the sun does not come out or 2) the sun comes out for a few hours and sets ridiculously early. In either case, I find myself craving getting into bed even earlier than usual (before 9 p.m., ha).

However, in the spirit of ‘not fighting winter,’ I’ve decided to embrace the early-early bedtime. Now, I know various patterns laid out for us might not make going to bed early possible every night, but, what I want to focus on are small things that make the ‘going to bed’ part easier. You see, I find that I often put off going to bed because I’m too tired to do all the pre-bedtime things, like wash my face, brush my teeth and get changed.

So, my plan is to start doing these things earlier – maybe even as my transition from work to non-work time. That way, when I start yawning and dozing off, I can be more likely to get into bed earlier and read, relax or fall asleep, embracing a sleepier winter.

3) Using this time to reflect, clean out, pare down.

Maybe it is because we are indoors more, but I am finding so much satisfaction in cleaning out various closets and cabinets, auditing various systems and reflecting on what I hope the rest of the year brings.

January, February and March are great months to lay the foundation for an intentional and meaningful year, and I know I’ll be glad I had this time to plan and plot in the coming months.

4) Making plans to look forward to.

Speaking of planning and plotting – getting a few things on the calendar for later in the year really lifts my spirit. So far, I’ve booked two trips to see friends, a time for my mom and Matt’s mom to come to Chicago (wedding dress shopping!!!!) and a trip back home. Looking forward to these things gives me something to get excited about, plan for, and savor the current downtime more. 

5) Finding little things to make the everyday more enjoyable.

Having big things to look forward to is great, but I also like to find small things to delight in right here, right now. This might look like brewing the good coffee or lighting a candle or treating yourself to a new book.

Personally, I love to “theme” my  days. It adds such an element of delight and helps to break up the monotony of days running together. Right now, I’m loving “Feel Good Friday” and “Slow Sunday” (too cheesy?? don’t knock it til you’ve tried it!). 

I wanted Friday to stand out in a fun way, so a few Fridays ago I decided to do my hair (always feel my best with clean, dry hair) and put on a bright sweater that made me smile. Just these two small things lifted my mood so much that I’ve kept the tradition of doing things that make me feel good on Fridays.

Likewise, Matt and I have dubbed winter Sundays “Slow Sunday.” We don’t set alarms and instead let the day unfold slowly, which usually means enjoying multiple cups of coffee while reading (me) or watching SportsCenter (Matt), followed by an easy errand or outing, and then some kind or soup or stew for an early dinner. I feel like Sundays in the summer are used for travel, unpacking, re-packing or other to-dos, so savoring these slow days has made me appreciate winter even more.

There you go! Five ways I’m trying to add delight to my winter. 

What about you? How do you add delight to your winter or whatever season you’re in now? I would love to know!

Picture of the Week

That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this! 

Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan