Winter: three months mixed with holiday activities, red Starbucks cups, and oversized sweaters. Sounds cozy right? For some… not so much.

Although the winter season technically begins December 1st and ends March 20th, many of us residing far away from the equator spend most of their year in this never-ending season. 

In Canada snow can begin falling as early as September, and sometimes can last until the month of May. (If that doesn’t scare you… once it snowed in June. This is not a scam.)

This chilly weather often brings grey skies that just never seem to go away. As those mid-February feels kick in, many of us are feeling a lack of inspiration and happiness as the grey days never seem to go away.

So we decided enough is enough! We dove into the Toronto music scene to find out how local musicians are beating the winter blues.

Here are 9 ways you can conquer creativity in the gloomy winter months!

#1 “No matter what, get some time outside every day. Going outside, even in foul weather, is always good for creativity.” – Lindsay Clark  (https://www.inmycoma.com/)

#2 “Put on some good tunes and have a dance party. I recently got a vinyl player and have been digging in the crates listening to some classics. That’s been feeling good also!” – Denise Deion (https://www.facebook.com/denisedeionmusic/

#3 “Restorative Yoga poses and long baths help me out on grey days… I’ll leave a beat I’m trying to write to on loop in the background while I do these activities. I find it helps 1) Get through the day 2) Keep me creative.” – Sadia Mokri

#4 “I try to set aside specific times during the week to be creative, even if it just means sitting in front of an empty notebook page for an hour. I also always try to budget for at least one week away in the winter. Get a little sun, or if that’s not in the cards, a new setting that isn’t the city. Sometimes a new setting is all my brain needs to reset itself.” – Leah Allyce Canali  (http://www.leahcanali.com/

#5 “Have a shower and get dressed, even if you aren’t going anywhere. If you have work to do at home, don’t do it from where you sleep. Light some candles, listen to good music, open a window. Do one creative thing a day, even if it’s strumming one chord on a guitar. Chances are, you’ll play more. It’s picking it up that’s the hard part! Try to keep a streak going day to day. Also love watching live performances of my fave artists on youtube. Always gets me into it.” – Erica Schiopu (https://www.instagram.com/ericaschiopu/?hl=en

#6 “Any type of creativity is “good” creativity. In the winter, I often draw a lot more than play music, because I can do it alone indoors in my pjs. It keeps my brain going, so that when i get the urge to pick up a guitar later, well I find I’m still an artist.” – Hanorah (https://hanorah.bandcamp.com/releases)

#7 February is for FAWM (http://fawm.org/).  It’s tough not to be inspired when surrounded by a wonderful online community of songwriters without even leaving the comfort of home.”- Chagall Sierra (http://www.chagallsierra.com/)

#8 I learn about other creative people and their processes, and get inspired.” – Krashka Burns (https://kashkamusic.com/

#9 I try to see live music that stands a good chance of inspiring me and filling my heart chakra.” – Tamara Kater (Artist Manager at https://mavensmusic.ca/