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How to Stay Motivated in the Winter

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Motivated in Winter

For many of us, it has felt like winter for a couple of months. Unfortunately, not everyone experiences a winter wonderland during the chilly months of the year. For many, winter is the most challenging time to stay motivated and productive. Regardless, work carries on as usual, and workers need to keep on top of their game no matter the season.

Staying motivated throughout the winter will take a little extra effort on your part. Luckily, winter only lasts so long. With the following tips, you should be able to maintain your productivity until spring without an issue:

Make Light a Priority

One of the biggest triggers of seasonal depression is the lack of sunshine. The presence of light subconsciously lifts up your spirits and boosts your motivation. Unfortunately, with fewer hours of sunlight in the winter, it’s more difficult for many people to remain positive and productive throughout the entire season.

To help yourself stay motivated in the winter, try to take advantage of those few hours of sunlight that are available. Pull back the drapes, face the window, and brave the cold for the occasional walk. Even a little bit of natural sunlight will make a massive difference in your winter motivation.

If getting natural sunlight proves to be difficult, try some artificial light. For example, you can purchase a small desk lamp that works as an artificial sun. It might not seem like much, but the additional light will help you start each day off on the right foot.

Manage Your Temperature

In addition to the amount of light you get during the winter, regulating your temperature is part of your environment you need to stay on top of. If your body is shivering in the cold, you’ll have a hard time focusing on your daily to-do list.  In addition, being cold has been proven to stunt productivity.

On the opposite end, being too warm can make you feel sluggish and work just as slowly as if you were battling the cold. So make sure that by keeping warm, you’re not so cozy that productivity is too far out of reach. Otherwise, you’re just replacing one extreme with the other.

Managing your temperature goes beyond adjusting the thermostat. For example, you might love cuddling up at your desk with a warm blanket, but is that making you feel productive or snoozy? You might need to opt for a nice sweater and some cozy socks to stay warm without falling into a trance.

Create Plans and Goals for Summer

If winter keeps bringing you down, create some plans and set some goals for the following summer. This will give you many exciting things to look forward to, which should boost your morale, even if only temporarily. Your summer plans will also make for a nice reward for making it through the winter to the best of your abilities.

Let’s use the classic example of summer vacation. To make this vacation happen, you need to save up money and build up your vacation hours to get the time off. This should give your work ethic a significant boost through the winter months as you dream of sunny beaches and piña coladas.

Schedule Time for What You Love

What are some activities that you just love to do? Use your Calendar to ensure you’re making time for them. Participating in your favorite activities is sure to reinvigorate you even after a long and cold week.

If you’re fighting the winter blues, it’s also unfortunately easy to lose motivation, even when it comes to your favorite hobbies and passions. Scheduling time for these activities will add to your to-do list and help you stop making excuses and procrastinating.

For example, you might love painting but have put away your easel in favor of wrapping yourself in multiple blankets while binge-watching TV throughout the afternoon. Add some time slots for painting in your Calendar to break out of your cocoon and do some painting. Even if it’s only for a few minutes a day, you’ll get the variation and enjoyment from doing something that actually interests you. Keeping up with your hobbies are a great way to stay motivated in the winter.

Remember to Exercise

Another activity you might lose motivation for during the winter is regular exercise. Not only is exercise good for perking you up, but it’s also a great way to stay warm. Exercise improves blood circulation and gets your heart pumping, allowing your body to regulate its temperature more effectively. Not to mention, a good sweat is bound to warm you up on even the coldest of days.

You don’t necessarily have to brave the cold to get your exercise in. Going to a local gym provides access to all kinds of indoor workouts, including stationery bikes, indoor tracks, and sometimes even a heated pool. You’ll build up healthy habits and warm up your body while only needing to walk to and from the parking lot.

If you don’t have access to a nice, friendly gym or simply don’t have the time, try some at-home workouts. You can accomplish a lot by following video guides using simple exercise methods. You don’t even need any equipment to get a good workout in; just follow the steps provided by your instructor and feel the burn.

Not all of us can say, “the cold never bothered me anyway.” However, that doesn’t mean that winter has to deprive you of all energy and enjoyment until you thaw out in the spring. Start making an effort to stay motivated by tackling winter head-on, and you won’t be bothered by the freezing temperatures even one bit.

Image Credit: Pixabay; Pexels; Thank you! 

7 Things to Have in Your Waiting Room This Winter

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Things to Have in Your Waiting Room This Winter

No one enjoys waiting. But the reality is, everyone has to wait from time to time. Even if an individual made an appointment and arrived on time, they’ll probably end up spending a few minutes in the waiting room filling out paperwork or waiting to be seen. This can be frustrating and might even cause anxiety.

While integrating some type of appointment software to reduce their wait times and streamline productivity is important, it shouldn’t be your only priority. Making the waiting room as comfortable as possible is a great way to make customers and clients feel at ease. In this article, we share what appointment-based businesses can provide to improve their waiting rooms and the customer experience:

1. Clean Waiting Room

Now more than ever, people want to feel safe while out in public. This is especially true when patients visit a healthcare or service provider. If your waiting room looks dirty, it’s going to deter patients and customers. On the other hand, if the waiting room is clean, people will probably feel less anxious. Make sure you’re regularly cleaning your waiting room throughout the day.

You should also have cleaning products and PPE in place like hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves. Due to COVID-19, masks are mandated in many localities. It’s a good idea to have them available for patients or customers in case they forget.

Your waiting room shouldn’t be the only area you keep spic and span. Make sure your entire office is clean and sanitized, from the interior offices to the bathrooms. If you own a salon, encourage stylists to keep their areas tidy and free of excess tools and equipment. Do you run an oil-change service center? Keeping the garage bays organized will make a good impression on guests.

2. Entertainment While Waiting

While people don’t go to doctor’s offices or service businesses to watch movies or play games, having entertainment options available can improve their experience. With that said, you don’t want to go overboard or over budget. You also want to make sure the entertainment is calming and not distracting. A few options include:

  • Soft music/nature sounds
  • TV turned to an arts and craft channel
  • Magazines and self-help books

3. Comfortable Furniture

Have you ever visited an office, only to spend what seemed like an hour sitting in a hard, plastic chair? After being uncomfortable for so long, you probably weren’t in a good mood for your appointment.

Comfortable seating can significantly improve the waiting experience. That doesn’t mean you need to spend a great deal of money on your seating, but keep patients and guests in mind. After all, some people might suffer from back pain or another condition that could be made worse with uncomfortable seating. Look for furnishings with soft but supportive cushions and fabrics that are easy to keep clean.

4. Personal Amenities

Waiting room amenities are a great way to improve the patient or customer experience. Think about it. When you go to a hotel, the first thing you probably look for are amenities like access to a gym, fancy shampoo and lotion, a fluffy robe, etc. While you wouldn’t be miserable without these things, they definitely add a nice touch.

Consider bringing personal amenities to your waiting room like snacks, coffee or tea, hand lotion, wrapped candy, etc. Many appointment-based businesses also provide small items like pens or sticky notes with their logo for customers to take home.

5. Wi-Fi

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine categorized Wi-Fi in hospitals and waiting rooms as a “developmental” standard. And while Wi-Fi in waiting rooms might not be mandatory, it’s something you should consider adding if you haven’t already.

If you decide to offer patients or customers Wi-Fi, opt for a public network (for security reasons) as opposed to giving people access to what your office uses. Display the Wi-Fi name and password somewhere they can be easily seen by guests, like by the sign-in sheet at the front desk.

Having access to the internet ensures visitors are able to go about their day as normal, even while waiting for an appointment. They can email their colleagues, work on cloud-based documents, scroll social media, and text with family or friends.

6. Food and Water

You might be hesitant to offer refreshments in the waiting room. And while there’s always the possibility something will spill, providing food and water can be helpful. This is especially true for healthcare provider waiting rooms, where patients may have to spend hours in the office between procedures or tests.

Keep in mind, we’re not suggesting you cater food every day. Instead, you could have a coffee station, a vending machine with snacks, or a refrigerator filled with water.

7. Real-Time Mobile Alerts

There are plenty of ways you can enhance the waiting room experience. But maybe one of the best ways is to integrate more technology.

For instance, you could have a digital board in the waiting room that shows the order of when people will be seen. This way, if there are four people in the waiting room, each person can clearly see their position without having to ask the receptionist.

Another option is to use real-time mobile alerts that tell patients when they’ll be seen. This is similar to the digital board, but it’ll be automatically sent to the patient’s phone. Some online appointment software offers this feature, so you don’t have to do it manually. This also allows people to wait outside or in their cars.

Providing excellent care should be the No. 1 priority for appointment-based businesses and service providers. That said, they should also consider the patient or customer experience. After all, if a patient or client doesn’t feel comfortable, they might not return for their next appointment. The tips above can help improve the waiting room experience so guests feel cared for and welcomed, no matter what kind of business they visit.

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