Here are 11 winter routine ideas that will bring structure, coziness, and self-care into cold days.
I am a winter lover through and through, and I believe it’s a season that was created so that humans could slow down and rest.
But I also know how easy it is to get too comfortable during this season.
You stop going outside as much, barely drink any water because you don’t feel thirsty, and your blanket becomes your primary residence.
This is why I think having a winter-specific routine is a very good (and important) idea.
Your winter routine doesn’t need to be planned down to the minute.
It just needs a few habits and rituals you can repeat throughout the season to keep yourself feeling cozy, healthy, and connected to winter.
If you like the sound of that, then I’ve got 11 winter routine ideas for you today.
You can take whatever works from this list and use it to build your own winter routine.
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Here are 10 winter routine ideas I think are perfect for the season.
11 Winter Routine Ideas To Add To Your Season
1. Give yourself 20 slow minutes in the morning
Getting out of bed on a cold winter morning is already an achievement, so you don’t think you need to add an intense workout to it.
Just try to wake up twenty minutes earlier than you actually need to and give yourself a slow start.
Put on your warmest socks, open the curtains, make yourself a hot drink, and sit somewhere comfortable while the house is still quiet.
You can read a few pages of your book, write in your journal, stretch your body, or drink your coffee without looking at your phone.
I especially love reading during winter mornings. Give me a fantasy book and coffee with a cookie, and I am a happy morning gal.
Your day will get busy soon enough. But the first twenty minutes of morning should just be yours.
2. Have a warm and filling breakfast
Winter is when you naturally start craving warmer meals, so I think breakfast should get a seasonal upgrade too.
Instead of grabbing whatever is quickest every morning, eat something warm and filling that makes you feel properly fueled for the day.
You can make oatmeal, eggs and toast, pancakes, or whatever breakfast you can prepare.
Keep two or three easy winter breakfasts in rotation and stock your kitchen accordingly. Definitely keep berries and other fruit in stock.
This will make it much easier to eat well without turning breakfast into a chore.
Also, if you’re going to leave your warm bed, there should at least be good food waiting for you.
3. Get some daylight before noon
Winter makes you want to stay indoors all day, but that’s exactly why stepping outside should become part of your routine.
Try to get at least ten or fifteen minutes of daylight sometime in the morning.
You can drink your coffee on the balcony, walk to get something from a nearby shop, take your dog outside, or go for a short walk around your neighborhood.
And if you work from home, this becomes even more important because it is way too easy to sit down at your laptop in the morning and stay there till it’s dark.
So, step outside while there’s daylight, let the cold air wake you up, and then happily return to your warm house.
4. Keep a bottle of water where you can see it
My desire to drink water drops low when the second summer ends.
I don’t feel thirsty as often; I’m drinking more tea and coffee, and hours can pass before I realize I haven’t had actual water.
So, during winter, I like the idea of making hydration almost impossible to forget.
Fill a large bottle in the morning and keep it wherever you spend most of your day.
If you work at a desk, the bottle can stay on the desk. If you’re moving around the house, you can carry it with you.
You can also add warm water, herbal teas, lemon water, or other non-caffeinated drinks to your day if cold water doesn’t sound that great.
There is no need to track every sip. Just don’t reach 7 pm and realize that your body has been surviving entirely on coffee and optimism.
5. Take a midday winter walk
If early winter mornings are too cold for you and evenings get dark very fast, move your walk to the warmest part of the day.
A twenty- or thirty-minute walk sometime around noon or afternoon is such a nice winter routine.
Put on a sweatshirt or coat, play your favorite playlist or podcast, and head outside while the sun is still around.
You’ll get some movement, break up a long workday, and actually experience the season instead of admiring winter through your window.
I also find winter walks strangely energizing.
You leave the house feeling sleepy and comfortable, the cold air hits your face, and ten minutes later you feel like a functioning human being again. A complete win for your health, mind, and energy!
6. Make your lunch warm, colorful, and nourishing
Lunch can become one of those meals you barely think about, especially on busy weekdays.
But winter is actually a lovely time to make your meals more comforting.
You should build your lunch around something warm and nourishing, and add some seasonal produce whenever you can.
Go for soups, rice bowls, roasted vegetables, curries, warm sandwiches, or whatever works with the food you normally eat.
Just make sure you’re eating proper meals instead of always snacking because it’s cold and you’re working.
A warm lunch in the middle of a chilly day is one of those very ordinary things that can make winter feel super nice.
7. Have a 4 pm warm-drink break
Every winter routine needs at least one unnecessary ritual that you follow purely because it makes you happy.
Let this be yours.
Sometime around 4 pm, stop whatever you’re doing and make yourself a warm drink.
It can be coffee, hot chocolate, green tea, cinnamon tea, or a drink you only make during winter.
Grab a small snack if you’re hungry and sit down for ten minutes without working through the break.
This is especially nice during winter because 4 pm is around the time the day starts changing.
The sunlight gets softer, the temperature drops, and evening doesn’t feel very far away.
So, instead of letting that part of the day disappear into work, turn it into something you look forward to.
8. Read for 30 minutes every day
If there is ever a season to become a reader, it’s winter.
Pick thirty minutes somewhere in your day and make reading part of your winter routine.
It can be with your morning coffee, during the gap between work and dinner, or tucked into bed at night when you’re done talking to the world.
And while you can obviously read whatever you want, I highly recommend picking at least one book that feels magical during this season.
Fantasy books are my personal weakness here. Give me a strange magical world, a warm drink, a blanket, and nowhere to be for the next hour, and I am set.
You can even make yourself a winter reading list at the beginning of the season and slowly work your way through it.
Your me-time will be so cozy!
9. Do a ‘lights on, work off’ winter reset
One thing I don’t love about winter is how the early darkness can completely mess with your sense of time.
It gets dark, and your brain either thinks it’s bedtime or somehow keeps working because you never properly transitioned out of the day.
So, for this, you need to create an evening reset routine.
Once you’re finished with your main work for the day, close your laptop and spend ten or fifteen minutes resetting yourself and your space.
Change into comfortable clothes, wash your face, put away anything lying around, close the curtains, and turn on your lamps or fairy lights.
You can light a candle, put on some music, and make your home feel cozy for the evening.
It’s a simple way of telling yourself that the productive part of the day is over. Now you get to be a person again.
10. Do a hobby in your free time
Free time in winter doesn’t have to mean watching TV.
This is the perfect season to have a cozy hobby that you naturally return to after dinner or whenever you have free time.
You can:
- Read a novel
- Work on a puzzle
- Crochet
- Journal
- Color
- Paint
- Play a cozy game
- Learn something out of interest
You can even leave whatever you’re working on somewhere visible so that reaching for it becomes easier than reaching for your phone.
I love the idea of finishing winter with something that reminds you of the season — a stack of books you’ve read, a completed journal, a scarf you made, a sketchbook you’ve filled.
It makes all those free hours at home feel like they belonged to something.
See: 14 Winter Hobbies to Make Your Free Time Extra Cozy and Fun
11. Start winding down an hour before bed
Winter nights are practically designed for a slow bedtime routine.
So, don’t scroll until the exact second you’re supposed to sleep; start winding down about an hour earlier.
Take a warm shower, do your skincare, put on clean pajamas, make your room comfortable, and get everything ready for the next morning.
Then let the last part of your day be quiet.
You can read in bed, journal about your day, listen to calm music, or stretch for a few minutes.
There is no need to squeeze productivity into every corner of your routine.
Your winter night routine should make you feel like the day is gently closing, not like you’re completing a final checklist before you’re allowed to sleep.
Create your own winter routine
So, those are my 11 winter routine ideas!
You don’t need to wake up tomorrow and start doing every single one.
Pick the routines that make sense for your life and leave the rest.
The whole point is to create a winter rhythm that helps you take care of yourself and enjoy winter while it’s here.
Because this season always feels wonderfully long at the beginning.
But then one day, the evenings are brighter, your sweaters are getting pushed to the back of your wardrobe, and you’re wondering how the season disappeared so quickly.
So, build a routine that lets you actually live it while it’s here. Your body, mind, and soul will love you for this.
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