The Winter Blahs

Late January to early March is without a doubt my least favorite time of year.  The excitement from the holidays is over, New Year's resolutions have generally been broken or given up on, the flu tends to be going around, and there is an overall negative feeling in the air.  

I call this time of year "the Winter blahs."

It's persistent, frustrating, and feels impossible to shake off.  I have no motivation to do my work, it's harder than usual to wake up in the morning, and I don't get excited for things that I usually do, like having a good workout at the gym or an interesting speaker coming to campus.

Everything feels like a chore, and no matter what I'm doing it seems like curling up in bed and watching Gilmore Girls would be a much better option.   

It doesn't help that I've been feeling under the weather for the past two weeks and never seem to get the good night's sleep that I need.  But I almost never get the optimal eight hours a night and usually can keep up with my usual schedule even when I have a cold.  

I have even complained about writing this blog post, and am finding it difficult to put together coherent thoughts or even have the desire to finish it...

So how can you combat the winter blahs?

Slowing down a hectic schedule and getting a good night's sleep can be a good starting point.  I also made a point to not worry about the pile of work I have and took advantage of National Frozen Yogurt day, which did cheer me up a bit.  

At least for me, though, the winter blahs will only truly be over when the temperature gets to 60 degrees and I can sit on the front lawn in between classes and afternoons are spent at barbecues.  

For now I'll bide my time, combating the winter blahs with maybe a little more sleep and remembering not to let everything pile up so I feel overwhelmed.