Even with saving commuting time I seem to spend more time working and with fewer breaks. Been worse during winter where spend whole day sitting at my desk which leaves me feeling cold and lacking in energy.

This here may be causal, and something you can fix.

In an office it’s easy enough to work through lunch at work, or just stop for ten minutes to grab a sandwich. It is perilously easy to do it when WFH.

Make a point of switching off for half an hour or an hour. Go out for a walk or even just change rooms and watch crap telly for a bit. Take breaks. Set alarms if you need to.

visit the neighbours to have sex

FTFY 😉

TV doesn’t have to be mindless. There’s a lot of brilliant intelligent content out there, if you are prepared to look for it and apply intelligence to watching it.

Don’t let other people tell you what’s not worthwhile.

It doesn’t have to be worthwhile either. There should be no shame in unhooking your brain for an hour.

WFH? Acoustic guitar close to hand. 2 mins working on something new between the on line meetings.

One other thing that hasn’t been mentioned on here – take a cold shower in the morning.
Seriously, it works. Start off with you’re normal shower then when you’re done turn the temp down a bit and stay for ten seconds, then down a bit more and another ten seconds, then turn it properly cold and stay for another ten seconds.
Each day hold the cold blast for a bit longer and try to relax your reaction and breathing. It does get easier as you get used to it.
I’m on about day 12 now and reckon I’m managing about a minute. It seriously wakes you up and I feel miles better for it.
and yes I have been reading a Wim Hof book and watched a couple of documentaries.

It doesn’t have to be worthwhile either.

Indeed. I would strongly recommend spending half an hour every day learning to ride a unicycle.

visit the neighbours to have sex

It doesn’t have to be worthwhile either. There should be no shame in unhooking your brain for an hour.

An hour might be pushing it, but you make a great point.

take a cold shower in the morning.

My old boss did this.

He said it was quite a mood booster – because at least he knew the rest of the day couldn’t get any worse.

visit the neighbours and have sex

There’s a term for that.

Fun?

Depending on the specifics of the neighbours of course.

Like so many others have mentioned, a daily thing for me is a nice cup of coffee. There is something very relaxing about the process of making it, then sitting down and getting lost in the drinking of it.

In terms of fighting winter blues, I used to suffer from this quite a lot but I’m not so bad since getting older. I don’t know if that’s just age, or just that I have improved my winter routine. I tend to always take Vit D through winter and this made a big difference. I also don’t fight the desire to sleep so much. I’ve accepted I just have to hibernate a lot during winter. Finally, I’ve accepted I’m skinny and feel the cold so I wear far more clothes than is fashionable.

Coffee does really help me, it’s my favourite thing to cheer me up even more than sweet treats. But the problem is that I can only drink so much, and I need a lot of cheering up during the day. I had a delicious strong one at 8am now it’s 11am and I want another.

It doesn’t have to be worthwhile either. There should be no shame in unhooking your brain for an hour.

You need to do this. But for me, my brain needs things to do that aren’t boring work. So a bit (or a lot) of really good thoughtful but joyful telly is what I need. Other things can calm my mind like say, playing a skill-based video game or cycling, but they are different.

Learn about yourself, learn what you need and learn how to get it. It’s not always easy – I need wilderness and mountains, but that takes planning and is harder to do during the work day 🙂

Coffee does really help me, it’s my favourite thing to cheer me up even more than sweet treats. But the problem is that I can only drink so much, and I need a lot of cheering up during the day. I had a delicious strong one at 8am now it’s 11am and I want another.

Really good decaf is the solution. 200 Degrees near me do one called Mellow Slinky which I love

I would strongly recommend spending half an hour every day learning to ride a unicycle.

I was quite disappointed to find that it was a skill that I soon lost without regular practice, unlike riding a normal bicycle

I was quite disappointed to find that it was a skill that I soon lost without regular practice, unlike riding a normal bicycle

Which is why it’s ideal for this purpose, as you can spend 30 minutes a day learning to ride it almost indefinitely. In first lockdown, when I still had a job, I spent 30 minutes a day trying to idle on the unicycle. Never really managed it and gave up when I got made redundant and no longer had to cheer myself up. It’s still on my list of things to do in retirement, but fairly low down so I don’t think I’ll get around to it before I become physically incapable.

Really good decaf is the solution.

Caffeine isn’t the only stimulant or alkaloid in coffee, so decaf still affects me adversely just not as much.

Running, every day, it clears the mind and keeps the weight of.
The dog, a goofy, loveable bundle of fun.
Avoid the news and have a well calibrated news feed on your socials.
Ice cold sparkling water with loads of lemon.

Cleaning footwear, especially after a visit to the neighbours.

Oh, excellent. I’ll bring you round a bagful of my trainers.

I’ve found I get really bored with the same routine. Has got worse due to WFH. So I like to go into the office randomly just to chat shit.

Also mix it up a bit, do stuff with family and the wife, see friends, ride my bike and go out for a run.

But I do struggle when the days are short, so getting out of the house is a massive help for me, which the dog makes sure I do.

but the problem is that I can only drink so much, and I need a lot of cheering up during the day

Our hopper is now always 50:50 normal:decaf beans… means three coffees through the day instead of two, while also having slightly less not more caffeine. Would never go back.

Speak with people, ideally whilst doing an activity like walking or cycling, but a phone call can work.
Try to speak to friends regularly, ideally at least once a week.
Get as much sunlight as possible (hard this time of year)
Eat properly (lots of green stuff)
Get 8 hours sleep and get up a bit earlier than you need to so you can enjoy your breakfast at a leisurely pace
Drink more water, just a glass full with every meal
Take a walk everyday, ideally at lunchtime so you actually get to see the sun
Don’t eat bread for lunch, it really makes me drowsy in the afternoons
Talk with the family during meal times
Cook with the kids at the weekends
Don’t drink on a school night
Block out your lunch hour in your calendar and make sure you take it
Have a cup of tea and a biscuit in the afternoons
Ride your bike…… as much as possible even for an hour

Right, i’m finished for the day, off to see a neighbour…

… and a new STW meme was born.

Walk to the park find a tree branch to hang on – using your hands – and relax into it. Swing about a bit. Hold yourself up in top pull up position. Or do the same on climbing frame. And or hold yourself up, feet off the ground, by hands with straight arms. Do some handstands. Walk back.

Remembered that last year when I went for a lunch time walk I would try to look out for things to balance on one footed and then record myself for 30s. was going to make a montage of these clips. Never did for some reason!

I think you are on the right track, may I lead you in over this way 🙂

booking a holiday as something to look forward

The problem with that is you are setting a condition to your happiness…. “I’ll be happy when I’m on Hols”

So you are right to look for smaller daily things that are NOT (edit) “far” off in the future.

I’ve very much enjoyed practicing, Gratitude.

And I really mean that as a practice or exercise (daily, hourly, whenever you feel like it) Practice being Grateful.

You’ve said you haven’t anything to MOAN about, take that one step further….. be Grateful for them, let them fill you with happiness and joy.

But it doesn’t have to be “big” things like wife, kids, dog, warm/dry house … it can and maybe should be the small things … bird song, warm socks, nice cuppa….. As you enjoy them, have gratitude for them.

It’s working wonders for me

Look luck, have fun

I pop on here for half an hour and stay clear of the politics threads 😂

Dog…Just makes life more pleasurable overall.

Until he empties his stomach all over the mat by the backdoor having travelled there specially avoiding all the solid surface flooring on the way. Other than that he’s a constant delight, lifter of spirits and a demonstrator of being in the moment.

(I’ll take a hard pass on the throwing up though).

C&H

Country & Hwestern?

Definitely try and get out for a walk at lunchtime if you work from home or are in an office.

When I used to be based in Ripon I’d wander along the river and chat to the same old boys who were fishing about how their day had gone and what they’d caught. That led to some great ‘…the ones that got away stories’ including the hunt for the big pike in the canal.

Buy a Big Issue when you see a seller then chat to them and ask them how there day has been.

Make an effort to contact an old friend you’ve not heard from for a while.

Bring your neighbours bins in one day.

If you a kid(s) at school or college who are doing well or enjoying it email their teacher and thank them for their hard work. I did that last week and my daughter said her teacher almost cried when she read my email as she’d been having a bad day.

dab

Stop watching the news

This, can’t stress that enough, rolling news, engaging with gobshites on Twitter or wherever, constantly streaming lies/misery/bad news from any sort of media, social or otherwise is a recipe for stress and misery that may be pissing you off without you even being conscious of it

Cooking (esp trying new stuff), reading, watching films, go for a walk or a swim or whatever you can fit into an hour or two.

I’m with your wife, having a holiday to look forward to is a great thing, but day to day, just a mixture of exercise (well, activity at least), pleasant relaxation and making an effort to enjoy and elevate food are the three main things I do, just to get away from the drudgery.

I’m not a January person either. I’ve had a good month on the bike, mainly commuting. I find planning stuff to do, or an event/concert etc to go to. We’ve got a comedy show to attend this weekend, and even though it’s in the city 9 miles from where we live, we’ve got a cheap travel inn deal for the sunday night, and will just roll into work (both work on outskirts of the city). We’ve planned sunday lunch at a decent spot, then drop bags off, then maybe go play crazy golf, crazy pool or shuffleboard, then drinks, then off to the show.

I also tend to do some sort of project between Christmas and new year running into early January. Started with making an Arcade cabinet a few years back, refurbishing one of my vintage road bikes, and this year refurbishing my old 90’s MTB.

I’m with your wife,

Are you neighbours?

Late response, but I try and:

1) make the routine better – so as previous posts. Drink and eat better, don’t have a limp cheese sarnie for lunch. I have to commute, so I get off a stop early so I can have a nicer walk to the office by the river.
2) break the routine. Schlepping into London is a ball-ache so I try and do something after work from time-to-time. Exhibitions, talks/lectures, meeting mates for a pint. Anything to break up the routine.

Oh…and get outside, even if its brief.

In a work context I set myself achievable daily targets relating to my job that only I’m responsible for holding myself to, will often call some of my team up just for a chinwag as well which helps with rapport so I’m not just only ever speaking to them when things need doing, we can have a whinge or a laugh which can help with stressful days, when I’m not in meetings I’ll stick the Alexa on full whack and listen to music, I like a wide variety so can always find a song I love I’ve not listened to in years or pick up the guitar for a bit, if I get chance I’ll take time out to tinker with the bike or other things in the house, sometimes play with the dog if she’s not flat out asleep, the pros of WFH I guess!

I always make the cut off from work by taking the dog for a walk, I live 5 mins walk from the beach so often go down there if its been a stressful day for a bit of vitamin sea so I’m not carrying work into the evening, usually then me and the wife will either find a good film/series or cook together and sometimes do things like play some board games, xbox, go for a pint and a game of cards , anything that we both enjoy really, no kids so don’t have to worry about that!

Weekends for cafes, pub crawl in the village, meals out, bike rides, pizza nights, hikes with the wife and dog, city breaks, camping in the summer etc, will also do a lot of gardening and growing between spring and autumn, cant also forget buying goodies for the bike or things for little projects DIY, bike resto, work on the car etc
I think it’s important to always have things to look forward to, immediate things and long term things. Theres always gonna be chores to do cleaning tidying food shopping etc etc
I notice with myself, the less I do and the less active I am, even if I CBA I still have to crack on and keep busy otherwise I start getting miserable, I also take a few supplements and notice my mood drops if I slack off on them, found some wacky mushroom complex’s with lions mane cordyceps and a few others which I feels either a placebo or has a slight impact on elevated mood 😀

More info please, We had chillie plants from garden centre last year which we were still harvesting in December, absolutely ace. Seeds ? indoors ? chillies all year round? the holy grail

@stgeorge for super hots like habenaros sow in January in a heated propagator. Other milder chillis can be started later. The earlier you start the earlier you can get a harvest. I actually use a grow light for my seedlings to get a better start. There’s a good Facebook group for all things chilli. UK chilli growers. I’ve got habenaros, lemon drop and biquino on the go

Remind myself of the worst days of my previous career. Instantly makes my day better.

That and remind myself to openly acknowledge that I beat that clock and to not take that for granted.

Simple, but effective. Life affirming shit fosho.

I beat that clock

Respect 👍