‘I’m not letting my mind spiral imagining what life will be like next summer’

Gretchen Rubin, author of ‘The Happiness Project’

When the pandemic first hit, the days were getting longer and warmer, and there was at least a sense that things were getting lighter, even if we were mainly cooped up indoors. The prospect of being in lockdown during the winter is a greater challenge. I live in the US, where schools still have not gone back, so my youngest daughter is at home with us though our eldest has returned to university to do remote learning from her bedroom.

I’m kicking off a winter indoors by finally doing some of the things at home that I put off in the spring. I’m buying those bits and pieces that will make working from home easier, clearing the stacks of books that have been staring at me and generally doing small things to make me feel calmer about the idea of hunkering down here for the winter.

I’m also trying to think in terms of the next three months, rather than letting my mind spiral, imagining what life will be like if we’re still here next summer. The end of the year is in sight. By January, what will you wish you’d done? Will you wish you’d learned a new skill or got into meditation? What do you want to feel good about by the end of the year?

It’s energising and diverting to get into a project. It means you might be able to turn around in December, and say yes I lost out on a bunch of things but I gained some things, too. I spent time with my family and learned to make my grandmother’s coffee cake recipe. Those are things I’ll have for the rest of my life.