How to Keep Working When the Evenings Get Darker

Use the lighter part of the day

Try to spend some time outside during the morning or around lunchtime. Even a short walk gives you natural daylight and a clear break from your screen.

If leaving the house is difficult, open your curtains as soon as you wake and work near natural light where possible. Current NHS guidance recommends morning daylight as one way to support a regular daily rhythm.

Do demanding work earlier

Notice when your concentration is usually strongest. If you lose momentum as the afternoon becomes darker, reserve the morning for writing, planning, analysis or other tasks requiring sustained attention.

Routine administration, emails and smaller actions can wait until later. This is less about creating a perfect schedule and more about matching the work to the energy you have available.

Keep one priority visible

A long task list can feel heavier during a low-energy afternoon. Choose one result that would make the working day worthwhile and write down the first action needed to reach it.

For example, replace ‘work on the proposal’ with ‘draft the opening section and outline the costs’. A specific result makes it easier to begin and easier to recognise progress.

Create a proper finish

Working from home can make it difficult to separate work from the rest of the evening. Before closing your laptop, record what you completed, what remains and the first action for tomorrow.

Then put your equipment away where possible. A short finishing routine signals that the working day is over, even when your workplace and home share the same room.

Change location when home stops helping

You do not need to abandon home working. An occasional change of location can help when the darker season makes your usual space feel distracting or too closely connected with rest.

A workspace day gives an important task a clearer beginning and end. You arrive with something to complete, work alongside other people and leave with a defined stopping point.

LOCKED IN offers hosted Birmingham workspace days and online focus sessions for people who need time, structure and a suitable place to make progress. Visit twosc.xyz to see the current options.