When Winter Feels Heavy

A Leadership Reset for the Season You’re In

There’s a particular kind of weight that can settle in this time of year.

The calendar flips, the bills arrive, the skies stay gray, routines get disrupted, and the world news can feel like a daily stress test. Add the lingering fatigue from “end-of-year everything,” and even strong, capable people can find themselves thinking:

“Why does this feel harder than it should?”

If that’s where you are, start here: this season is demanding more of your internal leadership. Not louder hustle. Not forced positivity. Better self-leadership, small, steady, intentional actions that bring you back to center.

Because here’s what winter often does: it shrinks our world. Less light. Less movement. Less spontaneity. Less connection. And then we try to solve it with more scrolling, more isolating, more self-criticism. That’s the trap.

This is your reminder: you don’t need a full life overhaul. You need a reset.

A Full Spectrum Leadership lens for the winter season.

Full Spectrum Leadership means responding to reality with balance: steadiness and action, empathy and accountability, perspective and practicality.

In winter, that looks like:

• acknowledging the strain without dramatizing it
• choosing a few priorities instead of reacting to everything
• making your next steps small enough to be doable and meaningful enough to matter

The Winter Reset: 7 small moves that work together

Pick two or three of these to start. Don’t try to do all seven perfectly. This is about momentum, not medals.

1) Win the morning by 10%

Winter mornings can feel like a wrestling match. Don’t aim for an “amazing” morning, aim for a slightly better one.

• Drink water.
• Open the blinds immediately.
• Stand outside for 2 minutes (yes, even if it’s gray).
• One stretch. One deep breath. One clear intention.

Result: you stop starting the day from behind.

2) Put finances back in a box (instead of in your head)

Holiday credit card stress becomes extra heavy when it’s vague and constant.
Try this:

• Write the number down.
• Make a simple plan: minimum payment + one extra action (even $25 matters).
• Schedule one 20-minute “money meeting” per week.

Result: anxiety becomes a plan, and a plan becomes relief.

3) Reduce your “doom exposure” without ignoring reality

You can care about the world and still protect your nervous system.

• Choose one time window to catch up on news.
• Turn off breaking-news notifications.
• Replace one scroll session with a walk, a call, or a short read.

Result: you regain mental bandwidth for the life you can actually influence today.

4) Move your body like it matters (because it does)

This isn’t about fitness. It’s about chemistry.

• 15 minutes of walking.
• A short home circuit.
• A bike ride, stairs, stretching, anything.

Result: movement is often the fastest way to change your internal weather.

5) Put connection on the calendar

Winter can quietly isolate people. Don’t wait until you “feel like it.”

• Send one text: “Thinking of you, free for a quick catch-up?”
• Book one coffee or one phone call.
• If you lead a team: start meetings with a 30-second check-in.

Result: your mood improves when your world contains people, not just problems.

6) Choose a “sense of priority” for the week

When everything feels heavy, the mind will try to carry everything at once.
Instead, pick one priority in each category:

• Health: one habit you’ll protect
• Home: one small task that reduces friction
• Work: one meaningful outcome
• People: one relationship investment

Result: focus replaces overwhelm.

7) Practice “one honest kindness” toward yourself daily

This isn’t self-indulgence. It’s self-leadership.

• “I’m doing my best in a tough season.”
• “I can take the next step without solving the whole year today.”
• “I don’t need to be perfect to be effective.”

Result: you stop making the season harder by fighting yourself.

A note on seasonal depression

A winter slump is common. But if you’re feeling persistently down, numb, anxious, or unable to function, please don’t “power through” alone. Talk to a professional, reach out to someone you trust, and get support. Strong leaders ask for help early.

A simple 3-day starter plan (copy/paste)

If you want something concrete, try this for the next 3 days:

• Day 1: 15-minute walk + 20-minute money meeting + early night
• Day 2: no news before noon + call one person + tidy one small area
• Day 3: write 3 priorities for the week + do the first one for 30 minutes

That’s it. Small. Real. Doable.

Closing

Winter can be a hard season, and also a clarifying one. It teaches us that leadership isn’t only what we do for others. It’s how we care for our own energy, focus, and steadiness so we can show up well.

You don’t need to feel perfect to move forward.

You just need the next right step.

Let’s Keep Talking!

Peter Comrie
Co-Founder and Human Capital Specialist at Full Spectrum Leadership Inc.
Reach out to me at peter@fullspectrumleadership.com

Or connect with me here to book a call!

Reach me on Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercomrie/

Tags: winter blues, seasonal depression support, leadership resilience, stress management, financial stress after holidays, winter reset routine