It is the start of November, and it is cold. Because of home renovations, we haven’t had any heating for a year now. Which is fine during the summer, but now I’m in my bathrobe at 3 PM as my breath forms clouds that obscure my screen.
And I don’t mind. I never have.
For years now, I’ve noticed that I am far more productive during these times. When it’s a bit colder, you feel more inclined to move and do stuff. It feels more natural to make things happen and to stay active. I’ve written several Wildebyte books already this autumn, finished a boatload of board games, and generally worked much faster than when it was hot outside.
And then, of course, at the end of the day, it’s really dark outside and really cold in the bedroom. So you crawl underneath the sheets and fall asleep instantly.
Ah. Nice.
This happens during Spring and Autumn. (I am going to capitalize the seasons in this article because it just feels right to me and helps highlight the terms. I know this is grammatically incorrect.)
During those months, I am most productive, I sleep well, I am able to stay active without much trouble. It has to do with the weather, yes, but I don’t think that’s it. More and more I realize it’s simply natural for humans to be active during those periods.
Recently, I’ve also discovered other articles and experts saying the same thing. It’s what prompted me to finally write this article on my free Friday night.
Many issues in our health and our lives come from ignoring the seasons. Many people are burned-out or overworked not because of the work perse, but because they are forced to keep working all year long. Even if our body signals the need to relax, even if the weather outside shifts, we’re still sitting inside doing the same exact work. And that’s just not natural. That is bound to make you either bored, restless or frustrated.
Instead, I believe the following is good advice.
Humans are supposed to follow the seasons. We are most productive in Spring and Autumn, while Summer is a time to play around and recreate, and Winter a time to retreat and recover.
Many animals do this. And we, of course, are also simply animals. Monkeys with a slight upgrade.
For the longest time, we planted our seeds in Spring and harvested our food in Autumn. Those seasons were filled with hard and crucial work. But our ancestors mostly horsed around and did whatever they wanted at other times :p
Even before we invented agriculture, hunters and gatherers actually had a lot of free time on their hands. Lots of evidence points at them making music, creating drawings, playing games, and generally recreating. They’ll have gathered food in Spring and Autumn, mostly hibernated in the Winter, and played around during Summer.
The weather merely helps us in that regard. A bit colder, but not too cold. It makes us move around, but doesn’t punish us for being outside. Yes, days are short, and there might be some storms, but it’s still perfectly possible to work. Winter and Summer are “extremes” in that regard, and our bodies and brains just don’t function well (for productivity) in those extremes.
As the holidays approach (Christmas, New Year’s Eve), many people work really hard. To finish their work before that moment. To get stuff done before they go and “hibernate” for a few weeks, either celebrating or just taking a break in general. It’s not uncommon for people to be their most productive (of that year) during the few weeks before Christmas. It’s also not uncommon to struggle and get out of that hibernation once we’re halfway January and you really need to pick things back up.
The same is true for myself. When I was in high school, the summer holidays were all I had. The rest of my time was mostly stolen by school, forcing me to do stuff I didn’t like, which robbed me of the time to be creative! Write books! Make games!
I planned all of that during the summer, every single year. I had these massive to-do lists. As the school year ended, I had this massive list of notes and hobbies I wanted to pick up.
Well, you can guess what happened to that. I barely did any of it. When summer came, my brain and body were like “let’s relax, play some soccer in the sun, don’t overwork yourself or you’ll start sweating”. All the discipline, good habits and motivation in the world could barely combat that. (And I do believe I have a lot of that, if you look at my output of work.)
Since then, I naturally did the opposite. Every year, I told myself “okay, let’s wind down, the year is coming to a close, let’s stop working so hard right until it’s Christmas and I have to visit family”. Guess what? Never happened. I planned to relax, I had nothing urgent, and I still worked really hard. I am always productive and have some great ideas around that time.
It just feels “natural” to do all of that during Spring and Autumn. It feels natural to do it because you know you’ll be slowing down during Summer and Winter.
You might not agree with me. You might say “well I am productive year round! My body is not so feeble as to be influenced by temperature changes!”
To which I would say: no you’re not :p
Many people truly miss this, because it’s a gradual change and sometimes quite subtle. But you work less hard in the winter, believe me. You might still be productive, sure, and you will get up each day and do stuff. But all of it is just at a slightly slower pace. You stay in bed just a little longer. You choose not to go outside and exercise just a bit more often.
The same is true for the Summer, but inverted. You are more likely to go outside instead of work. You are more likely to take the more relaxed option, or stop moving because it’s so hot. These can be small gradual changes, but when stretched over a season (2 or 3 months), they make a huge difference in productivity.
All I’ve seen leads me to believe that basically everyone is susceptible to this. Really, the only way to get around it is to emigrate to areas of the world that don’t have clearly defined seasons. But even those areas usually have a “rainy season” and “dry season” that obviously necessitates different work and daily activities.
And so, what are we to do with this information? What should you take away from this grand revelation I bestowed upon you?
Well, it’s simple.
- Work hard during Spring and Autumn.
- Allow yourself to relax during Summer and Winter.
Trust that you will naturally get more done in the busy bee months. Trust it enough to actually calm down and relax during other months.
Be fine with moving just a little slower, being just a little less productive, during the calmer months. It’s natural. Fighting that will just take more energy and likely not accomplish anything.
I am usually “most fit” during the busy months. You might think that Summer allows you to go outside and exercise more. But the temperature just isn’t helping, and with less of a need to stay disciplined and productive, my eating habits also get slightly worse.
Similarly, I usually eat a bit more and (maybe) get a small “belly” during the Winter :p It just feels natural. Not doing it feels like starving myself and makes me cold. Though our lack of heating, for years now, obviously plays a role.
This always reminds me of an article I read some time ago. People asked an expert if they “have to eat more during the Winter”, which was answered with a “No, that’s a myth”. You’ll be inside most of the time, with heating at a nice temperature, you sleep longer and naturally move less. So no, burning more calories is not happening.
That article COMPLETELY ASSUMED that people were rich enough to have functioning heating. And to be able to stay at home if they wanted, and sleep however long they liked. If you don’t have that, then you ABSOLUTELY need to eat more to keep yourself warm during the coldest parts of Winter!
I know, I know, it’s mostly the bosses and the managers that need to hear this. They stick to very strict routines. Believing that if you just force a human to sit behind a desk all day, they will also be productive and work all day. Obviously not true. One of the major downfalls of most companies.
If I force myself to work hard and finish something, then I am always too tired to work properly the next day. I know, from many years of experience, that the “downtime” is crucial. If I keep working until I go to bed, I can’t expect to get much work done the next day. If I don’t let myself slow down during the Winter, then I won’t be able to “start again at full speed” when Spring comes.
I hope managers slowly realize their workspace should follow seasons. I doubt they will, even though it demonstrably hurts themselves.
Still, if at all possible, incorporate this in your own life. Use this on the things that you do control.
You have a passion project? Maybe always wanted to write that book? Then put in the time during Spring and Autumn, after your day job. Don’t shove it to a Summer break or Winter break, as you’re simply far less inclined to actually do it. Use those seasons to actually relax and recharge, not to try and work more.
This is not a new idea. It’s not revolutionary in any way. It’s moreso a return to our obvious yearly cycle, which we’ve been forced to forget or ignore.
Another reason I write this article, for example, was a remark by someone that TV programs always follow natural seasons too. Most (big, popular, successful) TV shows have two seasons in a year: one during Spring and one during Autumn. This has been the gold standard ever since TV was invented.
People might complain about having “nothing to watch” during Winter, they might wish for their favorite show to continue—but that’s a case of “be careful what you wish for”. If your show was on television all year long, you’d likely get bored of it and zone out. It would never be fresh or special again, you’d never look forward to the next season. The quality of the show would also, likely, take a sharp dive. Even the best scriptwriters can’t ignore the influence of the seasons and stay productive all day every day.
So, don’t be mad at yourself for being sluggish during the Summer, or not getting that passion project done during the Winter. Realize those are our natural relaxation seasons. We will still do stuff, but it will all be at a slower pace, less urgent, more freeform. Then trust that during Spring and Autumn, you will be at your most productive and get shit done. You might not even realize it yourself—but if you were to objectively track it, I think you’d find you work longer days and are more active during those seasons.
And to really help out your body and brain, plan for this. Plan your biggest pile of work during the productive seasons. Plan whatever can move slowly or is less important during the other seasons.
Otherwise you get the worst feeling of all. At least, if you ask me. You get that feeling of unrest because you want to do stuff, and you want to be active, but you can’t choose what to do or don’t have a clear project to spend it on.
As you might have guessed, I actually wrote this article some weeks before Christmas. It was a very productive stint of article writing, as I finally warm up to the cold. So productive, in fact, that I had too many articles and had to plan them ahead. (It feels silly releasing 20 articles in a few days, then nothing for months.) That’s why it only releases now, in February.
But, as the prophecy of seasons foretold, it had already been a very productive Autumn until this point. Far more productive than Summer, but also a different kind of productivity.
For as long as I can, I will try to stay a freelance artist and keep the freedom to do this. To allow the seasons to move me. To use natural periods of more or less work how they were supposed to be used. Because, so far, it has revealed itself as a far better way to work. More productive and better health.
Tiamo