We are currently in the middle of the winter and overcoming the winter blues feels like a common topic right now. I’ve been seeing it float around on social media and I wanted to address it from my perspective. I’ve dealt with winter depression before and overcoming the winter blues was key to making the “off-season” time as a photographer much easier each year!

How can you (easily and inexpensive) overcome this? Here’s 4 ideas that were game changing for me!

Meet up with a friend

This may take some effort on your end if you’re the one that needs to reach out to someone. Grab a friend (it could be someone new each time!) and get together with them. You could turn it into a work day where you take your laptops and meet at each other’s house or just go and spend time chatting and sipping coffee on their couch. It’s easy, uplifting and inexpensive!

I grew closer with a girl named Olivia, whom is also another photographer and friend and we’ve started doing work days once a week. Even though it’s as little as one day per week, it still always gives me something to look forward and change out of my leggings! Now, the productivity of our work days is not what is most important (haha!). Simply by making this change, we now have continued this tradition for over a year and its so much fun!

Go to a coffee shop or Panera Bread.

Oh man, this was another game changer for me. In my way of thinking, I could never justify traveling to a coffee shop, to spend money on food (like breakfast or lunch) and to use their restrooms when I have those exact staples at my house. But what I wasn’t realizing was the atmosphere and social aspect to it. I didn’t have that at my house. Not only that, but I wasn’t required to always eat my meals at a coffee shop. If I did some planning, I could eat before I went and just spend a few hours there, allowing myself to get just a cup of coffee. I didn’t have to make my solo coffee dates expensive!

Also, I was putting myself in a situation to get out of house and get dressed up and be around other people! I recently just went to Panera Bread to work and I was there for 5 hours and was able to plan out a whole month of social media before! I’ve never completed that when I was at home! Sometimes a change of atmosphere and a cup of coffee is all you need!

Go on a walk & listen to a podcast

This is definitely one of my favorite things that I’ve learned to come to love. I know that maybe not everyone who reads this will have the opportunity to walk outside depending where you live. (We live in a quiet development that is pretty large with many roads to safely walk on!). It’s the perfect and most inexpensive way to overcome the winter blues. Not to mention, you’re also getting in some exercise, “me” time and some fresh winter air.

I love getting bundled up, throwing my air pods in and tuning into a podcast episode to focus on and forget everything else for a little. A few favorite podcasts I love listening to are: The Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher, Life with Amy & Jordan and Work and Play with Nancy Ray. A little mixture of business and life; my favorite! If you’re not into podcasts, you could also listen to an audio book or music!

Get off Instagram

Saving the best for last; Get off Instagram. Imagine this: In the winter, you you’re struggling with being alone inside due to the cold weather and spending time by yourself. And then you hop on Instagram and see everyone’s highlight-reel and how they’re cranking through their goals for the year, losing those 10 extra pounds, and have more likes on a selfie post than something you’ve carefully curated. You compare it to your life and you start spiraling in a negative endless direction, feeling the comparison monster get the best of you. I get it; I’ve been there.

Recently something I’ve done within the last few months was moving the Instagram App from my home page over a few pages on my iphone. When I open my phone to my home page, I won’t see the Instagram app and it wont be at the top of my mind. I have to purposely think of it and scroll my way over to the app in order to access it. It’s not as easy to accidentally” gain access to the app.

If you’re like me and need to use Instagram for your business, and want to be more intentional about it, then use your computer! I’ve found that I’m almost 9x more likely to hop on Instagram on my computer, complete my task and be off within 10-15 minutes. What is the difference?? MINDLESS SCROLLING. It’s not as easy as an Iphone because it’s not a pattern of habit that I’m used to! Trying out these simple ideas could be the light-bulb moment you need for overcoming the winter blues this year!

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