Keep Upbeat During Winter

26 January 2011

Top tip 1: Exercise

During the winter months, it is often difficult to motivate yourself to do exercise - all you want to do is hibernate. To stay fit and healthy during the long cold winter, why not do your exercises at home?

Look at the types of exercises you can do within the realms of your living room. Use weights while watching a film and do sit ups or leg raises. Or why not buy or rent a fitness DVD - there are some excellent yoga and aerobics DVDs on the market.

Or if you don’t want to spend money, there are some excellent fitness routines online as well. All of which can give you a good work out which will release endorphins (or 'happy chemicals') making you feel better and keeping you fit.

When happy chemicals are released they naturally make you feel good, they lift your mood and give you more energy. When you have energy your metabolism also speeds up and this helps you digest your food quicker and burn fat, leaving you feeling amazing and looking great.

Additionally, when you release endorphins your mindset becomes a lot more positive - you see things through an optimistic lens making you more motivated and energetic.

Top tip 2: Cooking

With the holiday season behind us, January and February bring resolutions to set right all the indulgences of the festivities of the past month.

There are some really good cooking master classes online where you can watch cooking tutorials and learn how to cook new recipes. Why not take these skills and embrace the winter months and learn to cook dishes with ingredients that are readily available at this time of year?

This helps you enjoy the produce of the season and eat vegetables that have been grown naturally without any artificial fertilisers or chemicals.

You’ll also benefit from seasonal goodness and vitamins that you can only get from the winter vegetables. Hearty stews, cooked with meat and root vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, are perfect for this time of year, as are baked goods, made from scratch, such as cakes and apple pies.

Invite your nearest and dearest over for a dinner party and let them enjoy your culinary efforts. Not only will you develop your cooking skills, you will also get a chance to catch up with close friends.

Connecting with friends and family can reduce levels of stress and anxiety and improve overall levels of energy and well being, whether it’s in person or via the internet.

Taking time out to invest in your friends will help strengthen your relationships and will make you feel great as a result. As human beings, we all have an inherent need to be seen, heard and recognised.

When we are around friends and family we feel a sense of connection and recognition. This helps us feel better about ourselves.

Top tip 3: Connecting with the outside world

It is very easy to feel isolated in the winter months as we don’t like to venture out in the cold. But don’t hide away. Keep connected to the outside world through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Chat with friends over Logitech Vid or Skype and make plans to meet up - you’ll feel better once you have plans in the diary.

Make sure you do this in comfort using a Logitech Lapdesk, a handy portable device that enables you to use your laptop anywhere.

Top tip 4: Relaxing routine

With the nights drawing in, followed by cold, dark mornings, sleep patterns are often interrupted and you can be left feeling groggy and sluggish throughout the day.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day: this will help regulate your sleep patterns. This can help you feel calm and relaxed rather than anxious. When your body is working to a rhythm you are more productive, mentally sharper and emotionally balanced. You also have an abundance of energy all day long.

The quality of your bedroom environment also makes a huge difference in how well you sleep. Create a haven in your bedroom -surround yourself with calming neutral colours and light a candle to help soothe you. Watch a calming scene on your laptop and look at images of beaches and sunsets as these can really relax your mind.

Plug in your speakers for a rich and soothing sound and play soft music. When your mind is less stimulated, you are more open to falling asleep faster and experiencing a deeper sleep.

Top tip 5: Money saver

January is a perfect time to sort out your finances. Use the time to save some money, sort out a budget and even make some money of your own. When your finances are in check you feel a sense of lightness and relief.

Rather than carrying around anxious thoughts about unpaid bills etc., wipe the anxiety away by clearing the mental financial clutter and getting your finances organised. Nip anxious thoughts in the bud by taking the time in January to get your personal books in order.

Consider setting up online banking as this makes it much easier to keep track of your money and expenses, as well as letting you know exactly where you are with your finances, at the click of a mouse. Also, consider playing fun or calming music when you are sorting out your finances - this will make the task seem less daunting.

Top tip 6: Your environment

Make time for yourself. Escape to your bedroom, or relax on the sofa. Install natural mood lifters, flowers and natural light lamps, to help you feel better during the cold winter evenings. Surround yourself with things you like. This always helps lift your mood.

Often we live chaotic lives and have one engagement after another and we can feel burnt out and tired at the end of the day. This can have a negative impact on our general morale and well being.

When you take time out for yourself and have well deserved ‘me’ time, you conserve your energy and focus for the most important person - you. This helps you to pay attention and thought to the things that are important to you and also enables you to relax and recharge.

Use this relaxation time to clear your head. Perhaps you have dreams and aspirations you have always wanted to achieve - think about these and consider what you can do to make them happen.

Top tip 7: Taking up a hobby

Don’t waste your evenings sitting in front of the TV - take up a hobby such as knitting, sewing, painting, crafts (such as making your own birthday cards) or even blogging. Blogging is a great way to organise your thoughts, get feelings out in the open and it allows you to share your views with people who want to read them.

In winter, people often feel trapped inside their homes: blogging can give you a sense of freedom. Try using the Logitech MK605 laptop stand on your desk or kitchen table to make the whole experience of using the laptop, when not on your lap, all the more easier!

If blogging isn’t for you, log onto forums that interest you - there are so many hobbyist forums where you can share experience, gain knowledge and chat with like-minded people.

Top tip 8: New Year, New You

Think about how you are going to be at your best in 2011. Create a bullet point summary of how you want to be known, recognised and valued, then gather images that represent exactly what you want.

Whether it’s a new fashion style, attitude or approach, by having an image summary will remind you of what you want to achieve and keep you on track to reach your aspirations.

Top tip 9: Future

Create a backward plan of where you see yourself in December 2011 and then work month-by-month to determine the milestones that you will need to achieve to get you closer to your goals.

Set a goal and a deadline of what you want to achieve and when. Then work a month by month plan of all the activities that you need to be doing that will get you to your desired position.

For example, if you wanted to learn how to cook in three months, you could say in the first month you will go to a cookery class, buy some cook books and read recipes online and in the second month you will practice your newly acquired skills, bake cakes for your friends and families, take a dish to a dinner party and by the third month you will hold a dinner party to show off your new skills. Before you know it, you could be achieving your dreams.

Another good way to ensure you stick to your goals is to share these online and create video blogs of your successes to share with friends. Why not install a Logitech HD webcam - the HD Pro C910 is perfect for making videos and uploading to Facebook and You Tube.

Top tip 10: Embracing winter

Winter weather may be dull and drab, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. If you change what you tell yourself about winter you can then have an influence on your overall attitude.

If you start to see the beauty of the season and get excited about winter then you will naturally become a happier and more positive person. This feeling will make you and those around you feel great.

In terms of physical changes, embracing winter rather than avoiding it is the key. One way to do this is to accessorise your outfit with bright colours, such as a coloured scarf.

Go online and check out the fashions for this time of year. Many sites offer video fashion shows so you can see what clothes are on-trend and what the garment could look like on you.