Enter your winter arc. This is your time to work on yourself, get ahead, and focus on your growth to achieve your goals for the last three months of the year. The best time to start is now.

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Welcome to the fourth quarter, when the air is colder and the nights are longer! This is the time of year when most people start slowing down, lose their motivation due to weather or holiday distractions, and fall into a seasonal slump or depression.

Most people also fall into hibernation mode during the last three months of the year and wait until the new year to start working on their goals and resolutions. But you are not going to be like most people.

The winter arc is the perfect time for you to get a head start, focus on your goals, and set yourself up now for success to become the best version of yourself. It’s time to put your head down and get things done despite winter’s mental and physical challenges.

This is your time to work on you.

Read on to discover how to maximize the winter arc’s potential for personal growth, goal setting, and self-care during the coldest, darkest months of the year.

Here’s your ultimate guide to a successful winter arc and leveling up before the new year!

What is the winter arc?

The winter arc is the ultimate challenge of discipline, where individuals take advantage of the coldest and darkest part of the year to create momentum for growth and transformation. During the last three months of the year, the winter arc is the time to build the best and strongest version of yourself by becoming disciplined, staying consistent, and achieving your goals.

Most people start slowing down and wait until the following year to work on their goals and resolutions. This may be due to multiple reasons, such as feeling burnt out from the year and mentally checked out due to all the distractions they face from the busyness of the holidays and the challenges of the winter weather.

But for us wellness girlies striving to become the best versions of ourselves, the winter arc is a concept that you can take advantage of other’s hibernation mode and use this time to really dive into yourself entirely and focus on your growth, goals, personal development, and habits. It’s the perfect opportunity to accelerate into your dream life and finish the year strong.

When does winter arc start?

The winter arc refers to the last ninety days of the year, beginning on October 1st. You have 90 days to work on your goals, stay disciplined during this challenging time, and emerge as a different version of yourself as the person you want to become by the end of the year.

For the winter arc, October 1st is the new January 1st. But even if you don’t start exactly on October 1st, it’s not too late to start today! Use whatever is left of the year to get ahead of the new year.

Whether you start your winter arc on October 1st or November 1st, you will still be ahead of the person who decided to snooze throughout the winter. It’s not too late to jump on the winter arc challenge, lock in on your goals, and work on yourself.

Today is a great day to take the first step!

Winter Arc Goals

If you stay disciplined, grind in silence, and remain focused by limiting distractions, you can change your life in three months. Picture yourself reaching your goals and achieving things you never thought possible. It’s all within your reach if you stay focused on your goals.

You have the potential to transform your life entirely during the next three months, so why wait any longer? Start today by downloading the free Winter Arc Goals Workbook to help create your habits, goal-setting, and winter arc rules.

I created this 20-page workbook to help you take the first step and write down the goals you want to achieve to change your life in the next 90 days.

The Winter Arc Goals Workbook has free printable worksheets that include:

• A monthly goal overview
• Action plans for your winter arc goals
• Monthly habit trackers for the next three months
• Winter arc to do list
• Winter arc goals worksheet

10 Best Tips For The Winter Arc Challenge

The winter arc is you versus you. These last three months, we will push ourselves to the limit. The following tips can help you have a successful and productive winter arc. Show up for yourself because you have the power to change your life.

Here are the top ten productivity tips to help you make the most out of your winter arc:

1. Simplify your winter goals

The easiest way to fail at the winter arc is to overwhelm yourself by trying to complete a long list of extravagant goals in a short period of time. You already have a long to-do list for the holidays that you need to complete, so be realistic when planning out your goals for the next 90 days.

By focusing on a few goals at a time, you will be more successful in completing them. The truth about goals is that if you have too much on your list, you will burn out quickly, and it will be harder to stay committed.

Stick to a max of 5 goals, or a list of 10 rules, for maybe the first month and put all your energy into those goals. Then, when November comes, reevaluate where you are with your goals and adjust as necessary. If you completed one of your goals for the first month, you can build upon that goal or pick a new one to focus on for the new month.

Another way to simplify your goals is to pick three main categories that you want to focus on for the winter arc and choose your top two to three goals in each category. Under each goal, you will want to create daily sustainable habits to push you towards completing it.

Your goals will differ from those of the next person as everybody prioritizes things differently. One person might want to focus on achieving educational goals for their winter arc, while another might want to focus on improving their health.

Most goals will fall into one of these categories:

• Health goals: Examples of physical health goals are setting a lifting or weight loss target, increasing weekly exercise frequency, or trying out a new winter sport or activity. Eating healthier and tracking protein and water intake are also part of healthy goals.
• Mental health goals: The winter blues are real. Prioritize mental health through stress management, wellness habits, self-care activities, or seeking professional help if you need it. Meditating daily or practicing mindfulness by practicing gratitude are also great mental health goals to try to achieve.
• Professional development goals: Professional goals focus on setting career advancement objectives, improving or learning new work skills, and increasing productivity at work.
• Personal growth goals: Personal growth goals include learning a new hobby or skill, building personal relationships, or setting new milestone goals. Life should be a balance between work and play, so don’t neglect your fun goals that fill up your cup.
• Financial goals: This is for the money goals you want to achieve. Financial goals can include saving up a certain amount for your emergency funds, starting that side hustle you always wanted to start, or finally being able to send money to your Roth IRA investments.

What do you want to achieve in your life right now? Figure out what you want to work on so that by the end of the year, you are one step closer to becoming the person you want to be. Prioritize your goals based on your values and interests.

2. Winter mindset shifts

It’s easy to fall into a winter slump during the cold season because of the weather and other overstimulating factors. But to have a successful winter arc, we must train our minds to build willpower and discipline even in the most challenging and uncomfortable times. Push through to train your mind to do the difficult things, cut out all the noise and distractions, and see what you can focus on during the last three months.

If you want to level up in life during this time, rely more on your self-disciple rather than your motivation and do the hard things you’ve been avoiding. Growth is only achieved by stepping out of our comfort bubbles and pushing through those uncomfortable or challenging moments.

Get into the mindset shift that will keep you locked into your goals and push you to achieve what you want for your life, even when it’s tough. Know that you are capable of the hard things and make it so you can do anything you set your mind to. It’s about sacrificing comfort now for massive gains later.

3. Prioritize daily movement even when it’s cold

The winter arc was initially geared towards individuals in the gym community who wanted to continue reaching their fitness goals and personal records in the gym during the winter months when it is harder for people to find the motivation to work out. It was a way to challenge people not to slack off during the coldest and darkest months of the year.

There’s a reason why the winter arc was based on maintaining exercise and fitness goals: daily movement has countless benefits for our physical and mental health.

Moving our bodies regularly keeps us healthy and strong and is the key to maintaining optimal health. For mental benefits, daily movement improves cognitive function, boosts our overall mood, and helps reduce stress and anxiety, which is tremendously beneficial in combatting winter depression.

Find an exercise that you enjoy, and you will be more likely to stick to it. Low-impact exercises, such as pilates, yoga, and even walking, are also beneficial to our bodies.

Thirty-minute daily walks outside work wonders for our health, but sometimes, the weather can make it challenging to get in our daily movement. To stay on top of my step goals, this walking pad has been the most beneficial way for me to get my low-impact exercise in. I’ll also lay this walking pad in front of the TV and catch up on the latest episodes of any new shows I want to watch instead of just sitting down on the couch.

I honestly can’t recommend it enough because it helps me achieve my step goal in the comfort of my home. You can choose from three incline levels for a more efficient workout. It’s also portable, so it’s easy to move from room to room.

MOM HACK: Watching your shows or listening to an inspirational podcast on the walking pad can easily turn into an hour of walking, and just like that, you’ve completed your 10,000-step goal for the day. But sometimes, we don’t have a continuous hour to stay on the walking pad, so instead, walk for only ten minutes after every meal to help your food digest. Those ten minutes added up equal the recommended thirty minutes you need for daily movement!

4. Establish strong routines

The two most important routines you need for the day are your morning and night routines. Creating a strong morning routine helps you thrive for the rest of the day, and having a night routine gets you physically and mentally ready for the following day and ensures you get the proper rest for optimal performance.

Mastering your morning and night routines is crucial for achieving your goals. Without a solid routine, you will fall back into your bad habits.

To succeed during this winter arc, rely on discipline and the healthy habits you establish in your routines. These can really make or break this journey to bettering ourselves. Focus on building better habits and better systems so that these habits become sustainable after your winter arc.

5. Plan out the next three months

To build upon creating strong daily routines, plan how you will achieve your goals and what your days and weeks will look like. I personally love using a mixture of Google Calendar and Todoist to plan out my goals and routines.

I schedule any events I may have going on, such as work commitments, family events, or doctor’s appointments, on my Google Calendar. The type A side of my personality loves a color-coordinated Google Calendar with emojis!

I also have my time blocks on my Google Calendar to know when to fit specific tasks during my day. The time blocks I currently have on my Google Calendar are (in order):

• Morning routine
• Workout of the day
• Midday block
• Work block
• After school block
• Dinner block
• Nightly tidy
• Bedtime routine (for the kids)
• My night routine

For my individual goals and tasks, I use Todoist to create projects for the things I am currently working on. I have my to-do lists, grocery lists, work lists, and goals lists all on Todoist. The best part is that you can integrate Todoist and Google Calendar so that I can see my Todoist tasks on my Google Calendar.

Planning out your routines and goals can help you break them down into actionable steps you can take daily. I also use a physical planner on top of my digital planner because writing out your goals on paper can remind you what you are working towards and help you track your progress.

I’ve used many planners over the years, but I’ve always gone back to The Day Designer Planners because they include monthly calendars, daily schedules, and to-do lists for the ultimate goal-setting productivity and organization.

The Day Designer Planners can get quite expensive, so for a budget-friendly version that also works great for daily organization and planning, consider the Blue Sky Planners.

6. Optimize your environment

Set yourself up for success by optimizing your environment because your environment is crucial when it comes to changing your life. Make your environment work for you, not against you, by identifying any friction that puts a barrier between you and the goals you want to achieve. You can only grow as much as your environment will let you.

For example, if you want to start hitting your protein goals, make protein-rich snacks accessible in your fridge and pantry and meal plan protein-packed meals that are easy to grab, heat up, and eat.

Another example is setting yourself up for success the night before if you want to wake up early to go to the gym. That means having your gym bag packed and ready to go, laying out your gym clothes and shoes by the door all prepared the night before so that when the morning comes, your brain doesn’t have to think about anything else but just going to the gym.

You can’t use not having your gym bag packed as an excuse not to go to the gym early the following day because you know your brain will make up all kinds of excuses to stay comfortable in bed.

If your goal is to avoid spending time scrolling social media as soon as you wake up, use a separate alarm clock from your phone so you don’t pick up your phone in the morning and be tempted to scroll. As a night shift nurse, I swear by this alarm clock to keep my mornings on track when I switch my schedule from night shift to day shift on my days off.

7. Limit or delete social media

At the start of every year, I go on a social media detox, deleting the apps on my phone to focus more on my New Year’s resolutions and be more present in my life. I have more time to work on my goals, spend time with family, and improve myself.

Social media can also put you in a toxic spiral if you aren’t careful and can be a huge time suck, which is counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve during your winter arc.

You know how your relationship with social media is, so either limit your consumption or delete it entirely for only these three months so that you have more time and focus to keep that ball moving forward.

8. Protect your mind and energy

In addition to a social media detox, protect your mind and energy during your winter arc. Limit distractions by cutting out people or things that bring you down or bring that negative energy into your life—and that counts for who you follow on social media apps.

Instead, consume positive and motivational content that will push your mind toward your goal of being your best self. Feed your mind with knowledge, dedicate time to mastering something new, and pour into yourself with love by practicing gratitude.

You’ll be so focused on bettering yourself and leveling up during this winter arc that your energy will be limited. Your energy is a valuable asset to your success. Be selective with how you spend your energy and actively use it in ways that better you, not drain you.

9. Take care of yourself

During the winter, we not only slack off on our progress towards our goals, but we also tend to slack off on taking care of ourselves.

I know I’ve been guilty in the past of layering up in cozy crewnecks and pajamas all day indoors, hair tangled up in a clip, with my face and lips all dry and crusty all winter because I’m deep in my winter blues stage.

I love the winter, but I get so unmotivated and drained from all the social events and the cold weather that I push taking care of myself to the side, and I eventually start not feeling good about myself.

One way to combat this is to prioritize self-care by ensuring you get enough rest, feed your body with nutritious food, and focus on inward reflection. It doesn’t always have to be grind and hustle 24/7 during the winter arc. You don’t want to burn out before the end of the year.

Make yourself a priority, make time for yourself and for things you love, and take care of your mind and body. Do things that bring you joy so you can feel your best when it is time to hustle.

10. Consistency over perfection

Lastly and most importantly, show up for yourself every day and watch how your life transforms. Consistency in your life will create habits that lead to progress and growth because consistency builds momentum, leading to change.

It is the ultimate key to achieving your goals, reaching your full potential, and becoming the best version of yourself.

Think about where your progress will be on January 1st and how much you’ve transformed your life by just sticking with your habits, working on your goals, and showing up for yourself every day.

You don’t have to be perfect every day of the winter arc; you just have to show up consistently. It’s about the small wins every day because any amount of progress is still progress.

Keep pushing forward during this winter arc, and watch how your hard work in the next three months pays off in ways you never imagined possible.

Remember that you are capable of great things, and you deserve to achieve everything that you set out to achieve as long as you stay consistent, stay committed to your growth, and keep moving forward toward your goals.

Your Winter Arc Meaning

Everyone else will start their resolutions and work on their goals on January 1st, but you will be ahead of the game if you lock into your winter arc. If you stay consistent from now until the end of the year, you will already make so much progress and be on a different level when the new year hits.

Use our free goal and habit trackers, which you can print out and download, to ensure that you are on track to reaching all of your goals. The printable easily prints on standard letter-size paper.

Finish the year strong to carry that same energy and momentum into the next year and set yourself up for the best, most productive, and most successful start to the new year. The winter arc sets the tone for the next year, so this is your sign to lock in and become the best version of yourself starting today.

This is exactly how to have a productive and successful winter arc.

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