Winter Blues

This is not my favourite time of year. Between adjusting to the time change, going home in the dark and the colder temperatures (especially up here in Canada Brrr!) it can be a pretty dreary time.

I am finding I am tired and that is being reflected at work. It is hard to get motivated to do the filing (which is a boring but necessary part of our job), but even more so at this time of year.

What can we do to get our energy levels up?

Some things I have found helpful are:

• Get plenty of rest. Especially with the time change, our bodies need time to adjust.
• Try to get some exercise during the lunch hour. Just getting outside for a walk is refreshing as the sun is usually shining at that time of day and it is a good thing to get away from your desk and have a change of scenery and change of pace. I like to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day at the gym, but a good brisk walk is great too.
• Try to eat healthy. I have seen some people with some pretty yummy looking homemade soups for lunch.
• Eat more fruits. We need the Vitamin C in the winter.
• Get the flu shot. Some offices have a doctor attend at the office to administer the shots which makes it very convenient.

We had our first snowfall today. Even though winter is not my favourite season, I have to admit it was very beautiful and peaceful looking when I looked out this morning with all that fluffly snow that had fallen.

Christmas is around the corner!

The other night I went to a fundraising event that IAAP[1] were participating in for our local childrens' hospital called Trees of Hope. Some of our chapter members were busy decorating a tree. There was a group singing carols. I on the other hand was eating bread pudding and other Christmas goodies and just wandering around looking at all the creative ways the different groups were decorating their trees.

IAAP's tree was decorated with things like CDs, pens, large paperclips. Files were laid out under the tree with to-do lists here and there. They did a really good job decorating. It was a great way to support a charity and to be visible in the community.

[1] International Association of Administrative Professionals, http://www.iaap-hq.org/