6. Adopt an animal.
This is a real commitment and not everyone can adopt a pet or is ready to. I wouldn’t say you should necessarily just do this for the sake of getting that pet you always wanted, but it if you were looking to get a new pet, now may be a good time to train an animal or get acquainted with it. This could be better than doing it in the summer where people are heading somewhere new left and right and you don’t want to stay indoors potty training your new pup.
7. Cook your dinners and try new recipes.
Cooking is a much more time consuming than ordering Lo Mein from your favorite Chinese place – and it’s usually healthier too. You can experiment with all sorts of proteins, veggies, spices, and pasta. You can use the rest for dinner and in time you can start to create your own recipes. If you’re eating poorly, your mental health will also slip into the danger zone. It’s important to get your nutrients in and cooking can be the perfect way to ensure that.
8. And if you don’t know how to cook, take a cooking course.
Check it out on Groupon. There are so many places that offer classes that teach people how to cook different cuisines and how to use different ingredients. You’ll be a semi-pro in no time.
9. Invite friends over and bake.
Besides cooking, baking is definitely a go-to of mine during the winter. I love inviting my girlfriends over for some wine and baking up cookies or brownies or some random smores recipe we find. It’s low-key and it gives you a chance to reconnect with friends who might be on their own schedules too.
10. Visit your family.
I hate when I hear that people don’t reconnect with their family besides on holidays. And while I get it – we often will travel miles or states to be with the person we love or friends who we went to college with – so why don’t we do it with our family? I recently made my grandmother block out a whole Saturday with her sister to teach me and my friend how to make one of their old Greek recipes. Its a day I’ll cherish forever.