As soon as the weather turns, I just want to snuggle up with a big chair, my favorite throw and my laptop. Anyone else like this? Our instincts to spend more time indoors, to create more, to fill our lives with warmth is 100% natural. However, come January you may have turned into a scrapping (or knitting or sewing or TV-watching) hermit.
There was a great discussion over in the Sweet Shoppe forums with this question: is it possible to scrap too much? My answer is yes. It’s all about balance and the chilly days can upset that harmony you’ve spent all year creating. Are you eating the right things? Are you getting enough exercise? Are you spending enough time having fun with your family?
This post will offer 8 tips for making sure you stay healthy and sane throughout the fall and winter.
1. Get outside. I don’t care how cold it is. You have a jacket and a hat and a scarf and some gloves right? Dress til your warm and stock up on that Vitamin D.
2. Exercise regularly. Before it gets too nippy, use the crisp fall evenings to do some raking or plant those fall bulbs. Get the family involved too.
3. Bring your camera. Are your fall and winter photos limited to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas? Buck that trend by toting your camera along on your everyday adventures.
4. Limit your online time. If I have a deadline, I’ll do everything I can to meet it, doing only what is necessary to get there. Self-impose limits to your online time so you don’t get lost in the Web.
5. Scrap offline. Keep your forum-discussing, gallery-commenting, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking and online shopping time separate from your scrapping. Make your creative time a special retreat by disconnecting from the outside world.
6. Turn off the TV. If creative time is important to you, but you’re falling short on the hours, take stock of where your minutes go. Can you DVR a favorite show and watch it later? Can you turn off a show that doesn’t feed your soul?
7. Slow down. While that crafty energy is at its peak, slow down in other areas to make it all work. Use the slow cooker more often and schedule padding time for every activity.
8. Reduce your expectations. At the end of the year, its easy to feel compelled to catch up. Scrap one story at a time and remember, you’re never behind.
These are just a few ways to make sure your shorter days are filling up in just the right way. It’s all about finding that sweet spot of cozy fulfillment and productive energy. How do you shift gears this time of year?
I’ve taken some of my best photographs during the fall as I think I do tend to slow down a little and appreciate the outdoors. Do miss the New England colors though – it’s justnot the same in TN.
Stan at Scrappers Workshop
In Australia, it’s the middle of Summer, but the tendancy to hermit can still be there. It’s 37.4 degrees Celcius (that’s 99.32 F) outside right now and about to storm, so the family is all in our living area, enjoying our newly installed air conditioner. I hate the extreme heat and burn easily so I would love to hole up in my scrap room with the air-con on for a few days or even weeks until the weather cools down. However, this morning we went to our local library for Star Wars Day activities and this evening if it’s not raining, we’ll go for a short walk after dinner, when hopefully it’s a bit cooler.