6 ms·

I live in a region where winter days are very short. I go to work and it's dark, I leave work and it's dark. I don't understand why we have decided to go sit in

I live in a region where winter days are very short. I go to work and it's dark, I leave work and it's dark. I don't understand why we have decided to go sit in buildings during daylight hours. Even with a 40-hour week, I would love if the work day was shifted to allow one to get sunlight for a few hours each day.

a1exyz 9y ago
go outside during lunch mang.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- CodeCube 9y ago
  This right here ... so many people eat lunch at their desk. I find that I feel so much better when I take a break, both from being inside, and being in front of my computer where my work cannot escape my brain.
  - nicksalt 9y ago
    Agreed.I try to run strict pomodoros. Also, when ever I start to feel lethargic, I do a few squats or push ups until failure and then I always go outside for some real air (day or night). It makes me a productivity machine.
- kawfey 9y ago
  But it's 14 degrees out there.
  - lightbyte 9y ago
    If it's too cold for you to go outside surely you can't complain about having to be inside at work. OP's comment was about not being able to get outside during daylight hours.
  - colechristensen 9y ago
    If that bothers you, you simply aren't wearing proper clothing. The difference between a refreshing chill and a harrowing cold can just be an extra sweater under your coat and a good attitude. As long as it isn't very windy, it's easy to make 14 comfortable.
    - bovermyer 9y ago
      As someone who lives in Minnesota (and has lived in the upper Midwest for the last 14 years)... no, it's not just "proper clothing ...and a good attitude." Below a certain temperature, it hurts to be outside for any nontrivial amount of time. That is a strong disincentive to go outside, no matter how many sweaters you're wearing.
      - cc81 9y ago
        That is pretty rare though. I live in Sweden (not the northern part) and at my previous job I liked to take walks at lunch and as long as it is not snowing, raining or being too windy it is pretty nice even at colder temperatures. Now I'm usually talking about over -10C (14F) but a lot of people seem to think even that is too cold but just don't wear proper clothing.
      - jessaustin 9y ago
        I think that "certain temperature" varies for different people, or even over time for any particular person. When I was a child the cold killed me. A few weeks ago, the highs were in the mid-teens all week around here, and I found myself completely comfortable in jeans, a sweater, hat, gloves, and a coat while outside doing farm work. The big problem at those temperatures is working up a sweat when wearing clothes that don't immediately wick it away from the body. That gets very cold quickly.
      - bomb199 9y ago
        I feel like he's thinking of 14 Celsius, not Fahrenheit
    - davehtaylor 9y ago
      > As long as it isn't very windy, it's easy to make 14 comfortable. No, no it is not. And I say this as someone who enjoys the cold. No matter what, if it's 14 degrees outside, I'm only going out if I absolutely must. There's no hanging out in the parking lot during lunch in that kind of weather.
  - ff_ 9y ago
    Then probably sunlight is not your biggest worry. Here in Helsinki lunch walks are a must to catch that small amount of light we get, even if it's -10 or -20.
- deleted 9y ago
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- patchorang 9y ago
  I have started going for lunch walks this winter. The effect has been dramatic. If you have low energy levels in the winter or experience SAD, definitely try lunch walks.
ryanchants 9y ago
My current job allows me to get to work some time between 8 and 10. As winter has gone on, I've definitely pushed closer and closer to 10 to get some daylight in the morning.
krylon 9y ago
> I live in a region where winter days are very short. I go to work and it's dark, I leave work and it's dark. I have had that experience for years. It can be quite disheartening to see the sun set while you are on your way home. I do not mind the cold in the winter, but the darkness can literally be depressing. Last year, after some health issues, my boss surprised me (in a good way), when he offered me to reduce my working hours to 30 hours a week. That went along, of course, with a proportionate cut in my salary, but I was surprised to find it is actually worth it. I start working at the same time as before, which means I still have to get up at 05:30[1] in the morning, and in winter it is still dark when I arrive at the office. But I get to leave at 14:00 now, and even in the deepest winter, the sun is still up when I get home. I also am less exhausted when I get home, so keeping up with housework is much less of a chore now. I could shift my work time to start later and finish later, but having the afternoon to myself is worth getting up early to me. In summer, it is much easier anyway, because the sun is already rising or up when I get up. And in spring and fall, I get to watch some gorgeous sunrises, which is not a big deal in the greater scheme of things, but amazing nevertheless. Also, at this point, imagine me ranting about DST, which gives me an hour's worth of jet lag without traveling, twice a year.
- kylec 9y ago
  I have had that experience for years. It can be quite disheartening to see the sun set while you are on your way home. Try watching the sun set from work, then glancing at the clock and seeing that you won't leave for another hour
  - weej 9y ago
    At least you see the sun. The pacific northwest is brutal this time of year. I have a massive UV lamp on my work desk. S.A.D.
    - balthamael 9y ago
      Not to brag here but I think brutal is a bit of an overstatement. From what I can tell Seattle gets like 9,5 hours of sunlight now. That's almost two hours more than Stockholm, depending on the day. I have friends living in Luleå and two weeks ago they had less than 5 hours of sun. Now that's brutal. The shitty thing about living in the north isn't the cold, it's the combination of cold and dark, but mostly it's the dark...
Consultant32452 9y ago
I work a completely remote position out of Phoenix, but live in the Eastern time zone. So I'm 2-3 hours off my team depending on whether daylight savings is in or not. I've considered options like taking extended vacations to Europe. I could wake up at 9am UK, do some sight seeing. Start my 8 hour PHX work day at 3pm UK time. Work until 11pm UK time, got to sleep. Rinse, repeat. The only thing stopping me is kids in school.
whatyoucantsay 9y ago
Forgive my ignorance, but aren't such places bitterly cold outside?
- collyw 9y ago
  Scotland has pretty short days during winter, but it doesn't usually get "bitterly cold" because of the gulf stream. Though I guess it depends on your definition of "bitterly cold" - it will snow but it tends to be mushy and wet because it rarely stays below zero for long.
mclightning 9y ago
+1, from Malmö, Sweden... moved here from Istanbul, Turkey. Dark winters are killing me!

a1exyz 9y ago

go outside during lunch mang.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
CodeCube 9y ago
This right here ... so many people eat lunch at their desk. I find that I feel so much better when I take a break, both from being inside, and being in front of my computer where my work cannot escape my brain.
- nicksalt 9y ago
  Agreed.I try to run strict pomodoros. Also, when ever I start to feel lethargic, I do a few squats or push ups until failure and then I always go outside for some real air (day or night). It makes me a productivity machine.
kawfey 9y ago
But it's 14 degrees out there.
- lightbyte 9y ago
  If it's too cold for you to go outside surely you can't complain about having to be inside at work. OP's comment was about not being able to get outside during daylight hours.
- colechristensen 9y ago
  If that bothers you, you simply aren't wearing proper clothing. The difference between a refreshing chill and a harrowing cold can just be an extra sweater under your coat and a good attitude. As long as it isn't very windy, it's easy to make 14 comfortable.
  - bovermyer 9y ago
    As someone who lives in Minnesota (and has lived in the upper Midwest for the last 14 years)... no, it's not just "proper clothing ...and a good attitude." Below a certain temperature, it hurts to be outside for any nontrivial amount of time. That is a strong disincentive to go outside, no matter how many sweaters you're wearing.
    - cc81 9y ago
      That is pretty rare though. I live in Sweden (not the northern part) and at my previous job I liked to take walks at lunch and as long as it is not snowing, raining or being too windy it is pretty nice even at colder temperatures. Now I'm usually talking about over -10C (14F) but a lot of people seem to think even that is too cold but just don't wear proper clothing.
    - jessaustin 9y ago
      I think that "certain temperature" varies for different people, or even over time for any particular person. When I was a child the cold killed me. A few weeks ago, the highs were in the mid-teens all week around here, and I found myself completely comfortable in jeans, a sweater, hat, gloves, and a coat while outside doing farm work. The big problem at those temperatures is working up a sweat when wearing clothes that don't immediately wick it away from the body. That gets very cold quickly.
    - bomb199 9y ago
      I feel like he's thinking of 14 Celsius, not Fahrenheit
  - davehtaylor 9y ago
    > As long as it isn't very windy, it's easy to make 14 comfortable. No, no it is not. And I say this as someone who enjoys the cold. No matter what, if it's 14 degrees outside, I'm only going out if I absolutely must. There's no hanging out in the parking lot during lunch in that kind of weather.
- ff_ 9y ago
  Then probably sunlight is not your biggest worry. Here in Helsinki lunch walks are a must to catch that small amount of light we get, even if it's -10 or -20.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
patchorang 9y ago
I have started going for lunch walks this winter. The effect has been dramatic. If you have low energy levels in the winter or experience SAD, definitely try lunch walks.

ryanchants 9y ago

My current job allows me to get to work some time between 8 and 10. As winter has gone on, I've definitely pushed closer and closer to 10 to get some daylight in the morning.

krylon 9y ago

> I live in a region where winter days are very short. I go to work and it's dark, I leave work and it's dark. I have had that experience for years. It can be quite disheartening to see the sun set while you are on your way home. I do not mind the cold in the winter, but the darkness can literally be depressing. Last year, after some health issues, my boss surprised me (in a good way), when he offered me to reduce my working hours to 30 hours a week. That went along, of course, with a proportionate cut in my salary, but I was surprised to find it is actually worth it. I start working at the same time as before, which means I still have to get up at 05:30[1] in the morning, and in winter it is still dark when I arrive at the office. But I get to leave at 14:00 now, and even in the deepest winter, the sun is still up when I get home. I also am less exhausted when I get home, so keeping up with housework is much less of a chore now. I could shift my work time to start later and finish later, but having the afternoon to myself is worth getting up early to me. In summer, it is much easier anyway, because the sun is already rising or up when I get up. And in spring and fall, I get to watch some gorgeous sunrises, which is not a big deal in the greater scheme of things, but amazing nevertheless. Also, at this point, imagine me ranting about DST, which gives me an hour's worth of jet lag without traveling, twice a year.

kylec 9y ago
I have had that experience for years. It can be quite disheartening to see the sun set while you are on your way home. Try watching the sun set from work, then glancing at the clock and seeing that you won't leave for another hour
- weej 9y ago
  At least you see the sun. The pacific northwest is brutal this time of year. I have a massive UV lamp on my work desk. S.A.D.
  - balthamael 9y ago
    Not to brag here but I think brutal is a bit of an overstatement. From what I can tell Seattle gets like 9,5 hours of sunlight now. That's almost two hours more than Stockholm, depending on the day. I have friends living in Luleå and two weeks ago they had less than 5 hours of sun. Now that's brutal. The shitty thing about living in the north isn't the cold, it's the combination of cold and dark, but mostly it's the dark...

Consultant32452 9y ago

I work a completely remote position out of Phoenix, but live in the Eastern time zone. So I'm 2-3 hours off my team depending on whether daylight savings is in or not. I've considered options like taking extended vacations to Europe. I could wake up at 9am UK, do some sight seeing. Start my 8 hour PHX work day at 3pm UK time. Work until 11pm UK time, got to sleep. Rinse, repeat. The only thing stopping me is kids in school.

whatyoucantsay 9y ago

Forgive my ignorance, but aren't such places bitterly cold outside?

collyw 9y ago
Scotland has pretty short days during winter, but it doesn't usually get "bitterly cold" because of the gulf stream. Though I guess it depends on your definition of "bitterly cold" - it will snow but it tends to be mushy and wet because it rarely stays below zero for long.

mclightning 9y ago

+1, from Malmö, Sweden... moved here from Istanbul, Turkey. Dark winters are killing me!