I have been thinking recently about those people who are very depressed in deep winter and find that time seems to crawl by. Well, I’m not a great fan of winter myself. My favorite hobbies are things like gardening, bird-watching, trombone-playing, canoeing, and hiking. I like to throw in a couple rounds of golf and a trout fishing trip. As you can see, all but one are summer things and even the community band I’m in for playing trombone takes January off. So how can we make January go by faster and add a little joy in the process? Here are my suggestions.
1. Find a January-friendly hobby or two.
My wife and I start doing jigsaw puzzles after the Christmas rush and keep doing them until spring. With the help of folks who stop by, we may complete 10-15 of them before we quit and wait til the next January. We use mostly the same puzzles with just a couple new ones added that friends give us or we buy each year.
My wife took up a new musical instrument this year – folk harp. She had just a few lessons before playing a couple carols at our Christmas Eve service. Now she is using some of these cold January nights to improve her skill. They say learning a new instrument is great for brain development too.
2. Spend more time with those you love.
In addition to the puzzles, JoAnne and I try to spend some evenings playing board games (Sequence) during January. Once in a while I will watch an old Star Trek with her (she’s a real Trekie).
3. Invite feathered friends to your place.
Years ago I started feeding birds during the winter. Before that. I seldom even saw a bird in the winter. After I started putting out the black-oil sunflower seed, etc. I had many friends to watch. There’s nothing to brighten up a winter morning out your window like a pair of cardinals in your bushes. And the sound of the chickadees’ greeting will keep you wanting to feed them. Figuring out your own personal strategy for dealing with pesky squirrels makes a game of it too. My philosophy on them is – You win some, you lose some.
4. Help someone else.
I volunteered this year to teach at Burmese Bible School. I know January is a usually a little slower month for me so I volunteered now. It was most enjoyable and it made the month absolutely fly by. I made new friends and felt very useful in God’s kingdom too. Anytime we are involved in a face-to-face volunteer helping position, it will greatly increase our joy even as it helps someone else.
5. Read.
My wife and I still highly recommend reading. It is greatly neglected in this visual age. And it is a time-tested way to grow while passing time quickly as well. We use the library. JoAnne is reading Hannah’s List by the Debbie Macomber and I am reading The Railroad Never Sleeps edited by Brian Solomon, and Prayer that Brings Revival by David Yonggi Cho, pastor of the world’s largest church.
6. Complete a slow job to clear time during better weather.
My personal experience with this one is through preparing part of my taxes. I don’t exactly do it by choice, it’s related to one of Uncle Sam’s IRS deadlines, but I’m glad it is in January. If it were not now, I’d end up doing the work in April when I could be thinking about Easter, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, or possibly even trout fishing. So I’m glad to spend time now while the snow flies doing taxes.
7. Expand something you are already doing into January.
The last couple years, my model train hobby has crept all the way through January. By inviting children over to see my trains around the Christmas tree, I have an excuse to keep playing with the trains for a month more than I normally would. And inviting these young families into my life is a great injection of pure joy too.
My prayer is that you found a couple of these ideas that you can adapt to help you get through the winter with more joy too.