How to thrive in the “Ordinary” days of winter

There’s a song about the liturgical colors I sing with the little children in my Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium:

As we sang it the other day, I thought how funny it is to have “growing time” during the dark, cold days of winter. Here in icy Chicago, I tend to think of this season as “just survive” time.

But what if I embraced the invitation to this “growing time”? What if I took this time as a chance to set and achieve personal goals instead of just something to endure until warm days come again? 

If you’re also looking for ways to grow during this season, here are 3 things that are helping me right now.

In the summer, I can handle spending some time on Facebook or Instagram without getting too absorbed. But in the winter, without fresh air and sunlight to pull me back to reality, I find myself getting too caught up in online nonsense.

My solution? Cut it out completely. I gave up social media for Advent earlier this winter, and loved it so much that I just never went back on it. 

Besides clearing my mind and improving my focus, I’ve found myself suddenly able to make time for spiritual goals like prayer and Scripture reading. Amazing what can happen with less screen time!

It turns out I’m not the only one to notice big spiritual benefits from getting off social media. 

Not only is it on the list of ways to get an indulgence this Jubilee year, but also there’s a fantastic new book to walk you through it: Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ by Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, the National Director of Pauline Media Studies. 

Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ helps you assess your current media habits; develop a media fasting plan based on your personal goals; and grow in your relationship with Christ through six weeks of devotional readings, reflection questions, and prayer prompts. 

It has lots of helpful tips for cultivating virtue, practicing media mindfulness, and discovering powerful ways to pray for our media world and witness to Christ from within it. 

Reading it can help you revisit your approach to media and develop a Christ-centered strategy for your personal media use—one that leads to greater freedom and peace. 

Praying about this “ordinary time” feels like a call to revisit how I approach my “ordinary work” as a mother and homemaker. 

Folding laundry? Doing dishes? Chopping potatoes? Mopping floors? None of these activities sparks joy, but instead of groaning internally, I can offer up this work to Our Lord. Just a quick prayer such as “I offer up cleaning the kitchen for my mom” transforms the whole experience.

Suddenly the boring task becomes a blessing as I turn it into a prayer and sacrifice for someone I love. 

I’m naturally much more active in the summer, when it’s easy to head out for a walk or take the kids swimming. In the winter, I tend to shut down and hibernate a bit. While we love an occasional hibernation day, I don’t want to become too sedentary, or I’ll lose energy and enthusiasm.

My solution has been to sneak in a daily workout video at home with the free exercise app FitOn. When my body uses energy exercising, it gets the message that more energy is needed. By some mysterious alchemy, daily movement makes me a more calm, focused and present mom to my four young kids.

On days when I have more time to spare, I go to my local YMCA for a class, a run, or a swim. They offer childcare and I enjoy meeting up with friends there.

If you want to get started working out (here’s how I started), I suggest going with a friend. It’s much more fun and motivating with a buddy! And social connection is a huge mood booster during the winter. I’ve been trying to be more intentional about getting together with friends this winter, too.

I hope these ideas help you to feel like this winter’s Ordinary Time is a true “growing time” for you, too!