How do you stay motivated and productive during the dark days? 🍂🌧️

Fall is here again and soon winter will be upon us. It is the time of warm drinks, blankets and candles. But not everyone is happy with the dark days; in fact, many people suffer from winter blues. They have trouble getting out of bed, have little energy and sometimes can even be gloomy. Do you recognize this and are you also struggling to get through the working days? We will help you beat your winter dip!

Productivity tips:

• Get up earlier. We know, this sounds like a terrible tip. But snoozing has been proven to be counterproductive and if you have more time in the morning, you can slow down. Or on the contrary, you start nice and early at work, when hardly anyone is still there. Then you can take a moment for yourself at the office.
• Structure your day or week and stick to it. Marijke already said it: make a schedule. If necessary, a to-do list. Did you know that you can use vPlan very well for a personal to do list? The Kanban view or calendar view is perfect for this. Constantly changing your schedule actually creates anxiety, so block out moments in your calendar to frame your time.
• Schedule some fun stuff so you have something to look forward to. That provides perspective and outlook. For example, have you already planned the Christmas party? 🎄 Or maybe you have a nice winter sports vacation planned. At vPlan, we also go on a winter vacation with colleagues every year. We find every year that this gives our colleagues a huge boost.
• Don't be too hard on yourself. Are you looking forward to the work day? Make sure you have things to look forward to. A pleasant temperature makes a big difference. Prepare a healthy lunch and snacks in advance, get your favorite tea flavors and enjoy a good cappuccino. A good playlist to listen to while working also works wonders.
• Seek (sun) light. The reason people suffer from winter blues is that they get up in the dark and go home in the dark. So make sure you go outside for a while during your break. A lighted office also helps.
• Keep moving. Even if you tend to crawl under a blanket on the couch right after work, it really helps to get some fresh air and go for a walk. If you're at a loss for words at work, going outside can help as a short break.
• Eat healthy. The holidays will be here soon, so there will be plenty of times to eat lots and lots of delicious food. But that won't help you in terms of mood or energy. So make sure you have healthy meals that make you feel energized and healthy. That always gives you a boost!
• Instead of looking ahead and planning, take a look back: what are the results of last year, how did we do with our productivity, what went well and what can be improved? Make an overview of this and based on this make a plan for next year. For this you can use the analysis of vPlan very well. This way you start the new year well!

Winter blues tips from our vPlan colleagues
Admittedly, the dark days can be very cozy. But when it's so cold in the morning that you'd rather turn back under the warm blankets, it's hard to start your day cheerfully and energetically. And if it only rains for the rest of the day, your good mood doesn't really get a boost either.

Wondering how our colleagues start their day, even when the rain is pounding against the windows? For example, our consultant Esmee puts on some nice music and makes a delicious cappuccino. This way she has a nice, quiet start to her work day. There is an important lesson in this: be kind to yourself on a down day.

Developer Boes takes extra vitamin D and fellow developer Lieke puts on disco classics while she gets ready. And she makes sure she has something to look forward to when she gets home: "Every winter I bring in new, super thick Christmas socks."

Energetic and productive at work
Of course, everyone has their own way of turning a rough start into a good day. If you can hardly move forward in the morning, how do you make sure you can still work energetically and productively?

Marketer Marijke makes a schedule for the week on Fridays. "That way you can start your day quietly on the dark Monday morning and you don't have to think about what you have to do the following week. You already have the overview by then. This gives peace of mind!" That way you have time to thoroughly enjoy that delicious cappuccino Esmee made for you.

With these tips your winter blues will be over in no time and you will go to work full of energy!