Frieda Schweky
The summer was busy, busy, busy. For many of us, summer isn’t the time to organize the toy area, clean out the front closet, or finally start designing the website. All those housekeeping tasks that demand so much of our time and attention can wait until the weather turns brisk – when you don’t have FOMO over missing out on all the fun events and good-weather hangouts.
I have a lot on my plate both at home and for my business this winter. I’m going to actually have to sit down and decide the when and how of what awaits me, which is exactly what this list of tips is about.
I’m sure you can come up with a long list of things around your home and work that are begging for some TLC. That’s the funny thing about the colder months – the very weather that keeps us indoors more also hands us the perfect opportunity to finally deal with things we’ve been avoiding for months. So, to help, I put together a few tips and tricks to check these big and small tasks off your list, at home or at work.
Pick One Task, Not Five
We all fall into the New Year’s resolution trap – the list of ten things we’re suddenly going to tackle the second it gets cold. The closet, the garage, the diet, the budget, the website, all starting on the same Monday. This plan never works, and by the second week most of it quietly falls apart. One project, actually finished, beats five that are half-started and haunting you every time you walk past them. Before you make your winter list, be honest with yourself and cross off everything except the one or two things that would genuinely make a difference if they actually got done.
Attach It to a Date
“I’ll do the closet when I feel motivated,” is a sentence that will still be true in April. Motivation is unreliable – it shows up for about ten minutes and then disappears the second something more comfortable comes along, like the couch, or more interesting, like the paper. A date on the calendar is different. It is purposeful. Instead of waiting to feel ready, pick an actual day and write it where you’ll see it. “I’ll tackle the closet the Sunday after Hanukah,” is a plan. “When I get around to it,” is a wish, and wishes don’t empty out closets.
Make the First Step Small
The goal isn’t “organize the whole playroom” – it’s “clear off one shelf.” The goal shouldn’t be “get in shape,” – but rather, “put on sneakers and walk to the corner.”
Big projects feel impossible before they even start because we picture the whole mountain instead of the first step in front of us. The trick is making that first step so small there’s no real excuse not to do it. Once you’re moving, even a little, momentum tends to carry you further than you expected.
Tell One Person, Not Everyone
Announcing a goal to the whole world can actually kill your follow-through, because talking about it starts to feel like doing it, and the momentum fizzles out right there before you’ve made any real progress. Instead, tell one person you trust – a spouse, a sister, a friend – and let them be the one who checks in on you. One person holding you accountable, actually asking, “How’s the closet coming?” is often more effective than a hundred people liking a post and then never thinking about it again.
Keep Two Lists
One for today, one for the month. Whether it’s a notebook on your counter or a notes app on your phone, whatever you’ll actually use – make one list of what needs to get done today, and a separate list of the bigger things you want to get done by the end of the month. The daily list keeps you on top of the small stuff so nothing slips through the cracks, and the monthly list holds all those bigger projects that don’t fit neatly into one afternoon. Then, when you find yourself with an unexpected pocket of time in your day – the kids fell asleep early, a meeting got cancelled, whatever it is – drag one of those bigger items onto your today list and chip away at it right then. It keeps the big stuff from getting buried under the daily noise, and it turns “someday” into something with an actual entry point instead of a vague goal floating in the back of your mind.
Reward Yourself
We’re so quick to move straight from one task to the next that we skip the part where we actually acknowledge we did the thing. There’s no pause, no little moment of, “Okay, that’s done,” just straight on to the next item, which can make the whole list feel endless even when you’re actually making real progress. Build in a small reward for yourself when a task is complete – a coffee out, ten quiet minutes with your phone off, whatever feels like a treat to you. It doesn’t need to be big, it just needs to happen, so your brain starts associating “finishing” with something good, instead of just bracing for the next item on the list.
Give Yourself a “Done Enough” Line
Perfectionism kills more winter projects than laziness ever does. It’s easy to keep pushing a project off because it won’t be perfect yet, and “not perfect yet,” can stretch on for months. Decide in advance what “finished” actually looks like for you, so you’re not still fussing over it in March because it isn’t quite Pinterest-perfect. My website doesn’t need to be flawless to launch – it needs to be good enough to represent me and what I do, and I can keep improving it from there once it’s live and working for me instead of sitting in draft form.
Winter has a way of giving us exactly what summer doesn’t: quiet, indoor hours with nowhere else we’re supposed to be. It’s the season when the to-do list finally gets some real attention instead of getting shoved to “later,” when there’s no pool day or barbecue pulling us away from the things we keep promising ourselves we’ll get to. Between the closets, the website, the reels sitting untouched in my camera roll, and the course I keep meaning to promote, I’ve got my own two lists started already, my today list and my month list, both on my phone, and I’m not above bribing myself with a coffee run when I finally cross something off.
So, whether your winter project is a closet, a website, a workout routine, or finally sending out those family photos you’ve been meaning to print since July – pick one thing, put a date on it, and take that small first step. The future-you, standing in an organized closet or scrolling through a finished website, will thank you. I’ll let you know how it all turns out for me!
Wishing everyone a sweet and productive new year!
Until next month,
Frieda Schweky
Frieda Schweky is a community photographer, videographer, and writer. For photography & video inquiries or article topic suggestions, email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @friedaschwekyphoto.