It’s that time of year here in good ol’ Minnesota. The days are nearing their shortest, the weather is getting cooler, and my work schedule is such that the sun has barely risen when I leave in the morning and is just setting when I walk out the door of my office (building, I mean, I don’t have an office). To add to that, our neighbor suggested to us today that we put plastic over our windows because our apartment building gets unbearably cold in the winter (we just moved in this past summer). Perfect.
To cheer myself up, I’ve begun the practice of throwing off my productivity stats by taking a walk around the building in the afternoon. I worry that taking an extra ten minute break will hurt my performance, but I can’t bear to be cooped up all day without once seeing the sun. I need my vitamin D, and I think that getting out into the cool air for awhile and clearing my head allows me to focus better afterwards.
Keeping a stash of favorite teas at work is another great comfort, and the best way to warm up ever.
One other thing I’ve been thinking about doing to make being inside more bearable is putting up cubicle “wallpaper,” i.e. hanging fabric panels in my workspace, which is more like a half-cubicle. I’m hoping to find a sufficiently cheery and sufficiently inexpensive yellow fabric, as well as a sneaky way of measuring my cubicle walls so that nobody asks me what the hell I’m doing.
The great thing is, it’s almost Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays. I am off Wednesday through Friday to Chicago to spend time with family. And after Thanksgiving, it will be almost Christmas, which is another one of my favorite holidays. Go figure.
