I came to California as a kid during a drought. When the drought finally broke and the rains came, we used to run outside at recess and dance in all the wet water. I loved splashing in the puddles and getting wet hair in my eyes. Since then, we’ve had intermittent drought seasons here and rain always felt special.
But this winter, it’s been raining in Southern California a lot; we’ve had massive thunderstorms (usually quite rare here.) I’m starting to feel tired of the grey skies and wet and the lack of sun saps my energy. I have to work extra hard to be productive and creative after a couple of days of rainy skies. These are what work for me, and maybe, if you’re experiencing similar feelings, they’ll work for you too.
- Suit up and go for a walk. I know your instinct is to stay inside (it’s certainly mine!) But often it’s not as bad out there as you think and getting a deep breath of fresh rainy mud and leaf smell can be invigorating, even if it’s only for five or ten minutes.
- Get out the mat and do some yoga and stretching. This helps in all kinds of situations. If you’ve got the time to spare, then do a 20-minute yoga routine to get the blood flowing. I like Yoga with Adriene for her laid-back, non-judgey sequences.
- Take a hot shower. Hot running water is surely one of the most miraculous inventions of the human race.
- Make yourself a cup of tea. Man, just having this little routine can help make me feel like I’ve got my shit together and I can sit down and get to work with the comfort of that warm little cup at my side.
- Listen to music that makes you feel good. Whatever that may be. And really listen to it. Take a few minutes to stop whatever you’re doing and close your eyes and maybe move your body and just get into it for a little while.
- Interact with a couple of people who have your back. I’m on a Discord channel with some writer friends and sometimes it’s enough to check in for a couple of minutes and exchange a few jokes, sympathize with each other that WRITING IS HARD, because it is, and then get back to work with renewed focus.
- Cuddle an animal or watch animal videos. This never fails me.
Good luck out there, friends!