We all have things that are important to us outside of work, but as the winter days shorten, the green diminishes, and the night turns cold our motivation to partake in hobbies or complete to-do lists weakens. I know I should exercise when I get home, but watching Netflix on the couch sounds much better than working out after a long day, right? Well, we might be wrong. Research has found that for some, engaging in television as a way to decompress actually produces feelings of guilt and failure rather than the intended feelings of enjoyment. Dr. Leonard Reinecke of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz refers to this as ‘ego-depletion’ or ‘feelings of reduced self-control, a concept with which we all battle on a daily basis.

So, how do we combat this temptation? Everyone has different ways to find enjoyment, but here are some tips to keeping the productivity alive and battle the feelings of self-guilt, procrastination, and failure post-work.

• Self-reflect

A professor once told me, “How you conduct yourself is your character”. If I spent every waking after-work moment as a couch potato, what would that mean for me as a human being? Does that make me lazy? Boring? Unmotivated? Perhaps. Once I became aware that my after-work laziness was the root of my feelings of dissatisfaction, I realized that my intentions conflicted with my behaviors. That was enough motivation to elicit change in my life. I want to be smart, productive, and happy. The TV does not promote any of those things, so I began to seek other avenues that would.

• Commit to time AND Yourself

As you’re going about your day and thinking about all the things you’d like to do, keep up the momentum by writing them down. Write down the things that excite you and are meaningful to you. Decide which activity is most feasible and schedule it in as if it were a dinner date with a friend. Your activity is your friend and you cannot back out of a commitment! For the more spontaneous folks, keep each idea in a jar, pull something from that jar each day, and DO IT. The only thing holding you back is yourself, and when you challenge this internal force you are empowering your self-regulation skills.

• Know your triggers

Speaking of self-regulation, know what factors will get in the way of achieving your goals. For me, if I sit on the couch once I get home its game over. Once you can identify your triggers, it will be easier to attain those other important goals.

• Get motivation from others around you

Chances are that at least one person in your office is extremely active. We have twenty people in our office, and at least three exercise every night. We are social beings and it’s natural to feel motivated when others around you can generate the same enthusiasm. Ask a co-worker if you can join them at the gym. Or if exercise isn’t really your thing, create a pact with others to do a weekly activity together (i.e. a book club, salsa dancing, building computers). Whatever it is, you are playing an active role of finding well-being for yourself outside of work.

• Slow and steady

There’s a reason why the gym is not first on my list of activities. When I was in a neurotic stage of indulging on all things healthy, I went to the gym every day. Needless to say, I burnt myself out enough to avoid the gym for 6 months. Productive activities will not stick for long if you force them into your life all at once. Integrate an activity slowly and consistently into your evenings. In time, new habits become a part of your lifestyle and you won’t need to exert as much self-control to keep them up.

This is not to say watching TV is horrible and it is not to discourage you from taking nights to rest. Rather, this is about tackling that nagging feeling of regret and a desire to do more with your time on the weeknights. If you can reflect on how you’d rather spend your time and making effortful moves to introduce those new habits, your post work hours will be much more happier and healthier in the long run!