It started happening about the same time I quit going out to recess. In the dead of winter my mom would say to her pale-faced, dead-behind-the-eyes teenager,

“You need to go outside for awhile.”

I didn’t realize until I was an adult that the 45 minutes I would spend at recess jumping rope and swinging on the monkey bars during the winter months was keeping me out of the dumper or what is now known in scientific circles as Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I know I am not alone. Millions of people suffer from SAD, often without even realizing it. Seasonal Affective Disorder is recurrent winter depression characterized by oversleeping, overeating, and irritability, and is relieved by the arrival of spring or by light therapy.

Here are a few of the things I do to keep from being a SAD Sally in the winter months:

Dress from head to toe first thing in the morning
I took this advice from cleaning guru “The Flylady” of Flylady.net. Shuffling around in your slippers and bathrobe all morning won’t help you feel motivated to accomplish the tasks of the day. Flylady suggests dressing from head–to-toe each morning. Being completely dressed will help you feel ready to take on the tasks of a busy mommy and help you fight the urge to crawl back into that warm bed.

Set a timer for 15 minutes
I can do anything for 15 minutes, regardless of the unpleasantness of the task. Whenever I have a job I need to tackle, but can’t muster the motivation to get started, I set a timer for 15 minutes and get to work. When the timer goes off, I allow myself to stop what I am doing, even if I’m not finished. But, more often than not when the 15 minutes are up, I have hit my stride and I am willing to see my task to completion.

Using a timer is also a great motivator to help kids complete their chores. They love to try to “beat the clock.” My boys have cut their dishwasher unloading time down to an Olympic-worthy three minutes!

I believe in this advice so much that I actually give timers as gifts to friends and family.

Let the sun shine in
Even when the temperatures are cold, Colorado is blessed with lots of sunshine. Exposure to sunlight helps the body keep higher levels of serotonin, the chemical in the brain that helps a person have a sense of well being. So, open your blinds and drape and fill your home with natural light.

Don’t overcommit yourself
Don’t clean your garage. Don’t put yourself in charge of the book fair. Just like hibernation is a natural state, so is the renewal of energy that comes with spring. Save your big dreams and big jobs for when the bulbs bloom.

Focus on bathrooms and kitchens
If SAD has such a hold on you that you can only manage to do the bare minimum of household chores, focus on the bathroom and kitchen. Keeping these rooms clean will help you to stay healthy. The last thing you need on top of everything else is the flu.

Plan your vacation
Give yourself something to look forward to by planning your vacation. Perhaps looking at warm, sunny beach destinations on-line will not only help you beat the blues, but it may also help you renew your weight-loss resolutions and deter you from finishing off that calorie-laden seven layer dip left-over from your Super Bowl party.

Give your toes a treat
Take your tootsies from “looking Minnesota to feeling California.” It may not be flip-flop weather yet, but your toes don’t know that. Get a pedicure in bold and bright summer colors. Don’t worry about clashing with your winter wardrobe, nobody will see them under your woolen socks and boots, but you’ll know they’re there.

In the immortal words of the early 90’s icons Wilson Phillips, “…hold on for one more day…things will go your way.”

You may feel down, irritable and unmotivated now, but the very first whisperings of spring are literally just days away. Remember having 80-degree temps in Denver in February? It’s happened.

Don’t make any major decisions, don’t fire you employees, and don’t take on any big tasks. Just white- knuckle it through the last dark days of winter. Until then, get dressed, set your timer, and take freshly painted toes on a nice long walk in the Colorado sunshine.

Don’t forget your jump rope.

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