Feeling Unproductive? How to Combat Spring Fever

After a long, cold winter I sometimes suffer from spring fever.

While waiting for the warm weather, I find myself daydreaming about the beach! I’d rather play than work. Normally, I am an industrious person, so why am I feeling blue, overwhelmed and so unproductive? I must be have ‘Spring Fever’.

• In the dictionary, the definition of spring fever is: “A feeling of restlessness, excitement, or laziness brought on by the coming of spring.

Long days of rain or snow and the lack of outdoor activities can make us feel restless. Artists also have the added challenge of working alone most of the time. No wonder we want to stare out of our studio or office window on a beautiful sunny day instead of work!

• Medical research has attributed the phenomenon of spring fever in humans to seasonal changes.
• This is caused by the realignment of the body’s chemistry with sunlight.
• Changes during spring can readjust body chemistry, specifically the internal body clock that responds to sunlight.
• Statistically, at least half of the people who live in the northern latitudes of USA and Canada experience the symptoms of Spring fever more intensely.
• Longer sunny days seem to have a direct impact on people’s psychological and physiological responses to the passage of the seasons.
• Spring fever is not just in the head. It is caused by an adjustment in body chemistry and seasonal biology.

Here are some ideas to help combat Spring Fever:

• Put all that day dreaming to good use! Use this time to create in your head
• Give yourself permission to take a break. Most artists are workaholics and don’t know when to stop
• Sign up for a workshop. This is a great way to expand your artistic knowledge. I love workshops!
• Another way to meet and network with other like minded people
• Try Social Media & find out why artists need it! Twitter and Facebook are easy ways to meet other artists and promote your art or business.
• Read a good book
• Take a trip
• Get out in the sunshine and get some much needed Vitamin D.Science proves we all need fresh air and sun
• Take time and enjoy the last bit of winter –Take a walk
• Try skiing
• Reconnect with friends
• Being an artist doesn’t have to be a ‘solitary confinement’ sentence!
• Try a new hobby other than the work you do. Example: I knitted a scarf
• Plant a garden
• Spring clean your studio! This is important! A messy, cluttered studio or office adds to the feeling of dread a clean workspace makes for better productivity!
• Check Your Work Habits! This is a good time to re-think and refine your work habits

The above list is helping me and I am feeling productive again. I have taken some much needed breaks, cleaned my studio and even went downhill skiing. Now I am ready to get back to painting.

If you find yourself feeling blue or overwhelmed and unproductive, don’t forget that social connections are one of the best deterrents to depression, anxiety, and even disease. Study after study proves that people with strong social connections live longer and are happier along the way. No wonder why Twitter and Facebook are so popular for artists.

To read more about Spring Fever visit, Suite101: What is Spring Fever?: Body Chemistry and Seasonal Biology