Make Hay while the Rain Pours

I sit here typing this as southern England experiences one of the dullest and wettest periods of winter weather on record. The rain continues to fall outside — not pouring, but steady and relentless. Enough to keep you cold, damp, and just a little unmotivated. At the University of Reading (my alma mater), rain has fallen for 26 consecutive days up to today, the longest spell of unbroken rainfall on record.

But here’s the question: how do you stay productive on rainy days like this?

It’s easy to see bad weather as a write-off – a time to slow down, scroll, and wait for better conditions. But what if these gloomy days were actually an opportunity? A chance to focus, build, and quietly move your life forward while the world outside hits pause.

How to stay productive on rainy days

You can stay productive on rainy days by:

Focusing on indoor activities that support your long-term goals. This includes:

Working on personal development,

Exercising indoors (or outdoors if you’re okay with getting wet!)

Building skills and learning

Working on side projects.

Rainy weather removes distractions, making it an ideal time to focus and make meaningful progress.

Rain, rain, keep falling every day.

Well okay, maybe not every day. We all like to see Mr Blue Sky every now and then. But between the months of November and March, I’m generally fine if the weather is gloomy. It means I can be productive indoors through building my intentional life and improving myself by 1% every day. I don’t feel guilty about staying in and working when the weather is crap outside. These days are my time to be productive.

How often do you feel sad when you’re stuck in the office and it’s a beautiful day outside? The office where I work is beside a major hiking trail, so I can actually see the hikers and bikers. To be fair, it usually motivates me to get my work done faster so I can finish earlier and get outside.

The opposite is certainly true during a period of miserable weather in the winter. I’m sure there are many people who work outside in the winter and wish they had a nice, comfortable and warm office space to work in. It’s all relative. We can use this psychological behaviour to improve our lives when the weather is bad.

I’m more productive when indoors

This is probably true for you as well. Think about what you do in an average week and where you spend most of your time. For me, my paid work is in a warm, comfortable office. My side hustle (building this website) is undertaken from my warm and comfortable home office, I get my groceries from a supermarket, and any other shopping is either done online or in shops with roofs, walls and heating. I go to the gym 3-4 times per week and go for 2-3 long runs outside. So it’s only really my running which keeps me outside for longish periods of time during the winter – and I could relegate to indoor running on a treadmill if the weather was particularly dire.

In the winter, when it’s cold, dark and raining outside, we adjust our lives to spend more time indoors. Beer gardens and actual gardens are not used, as people migrate to the sofa or dining table instead. Major outdoor sporting events and music festivals are put on hold until the spring and summer, and holiday towns on the coast go into winter hibernation.

Looking for an excuse to spend time outside

Maybe it’s because I’m a meteorologist, maybe it’s because there’s relatively little sunshine in the UK – but I will look for any excuse to spend time outside when the Sun is shining. I want to soak it up, as I’m sure you do too. But how often do you do the opposite of the office worker on a nice day – guilt-trip yourself into believing that you need to be doing something more productive when instead you’re outside enjoying the Sun?

Make hay when the rain pours… so you can make hay when the Sun shines

Okay, I know it’s only a metaphor, but I’m not taking a literal translation here. To be clear, there are two different types of hay we can make depending on the weather:

We can make the hay of personal development when the weather is bad. This is when you can really develop yourself and your skillset. If you have a free weekend and the weather is bad (or even a free evening), use it for your own self-development. Get to the gym, learn things online, build a business or a side hustle. The possibilities are endless.
We can make the hay of wellbeing when the Sun is shining. This is when we can spend time (guilt-free) outdoors, our bodies making vitamin D and soaking up the warm sunlight radiating onto our faces. Socialise more often (outside, in beer gardens), enjoy time with family in the great outdoors, hit the trails, hike the mountains, drive the roads, explore the world.

Rainy days are for building. Sunny days are for living.

These two different types of hay-making complement one another. They are two different sides of the same coin – building your relationship with the world, and they determine how you see and interact with it. By staying in and practising self-development when the weather is bad, you need not feel guilty when you go out for drinks with friends on a warm summer’s evening. Of course, you don’t want to weigh yourself too heavily to one side of the coin or the other – there has to be balance.

Navigating the storms of life

We all know the meaning of the metaphor Make hay while the Sun shines – make the most of a favourable situation while it lasts.

But there’s a metaphorical meaning to my version too. Make hay while the rain pours – make the best out of an unfavourable situation.

Go on a journey of self-discovery. What caused this unfavourable situation to arise? Was it bad luck or did you fan the flames? Who can you speak to, to resolve the situation? What can you learn from it? How can you become a better person following this event? Can you turn the situation to your advantage?

The outlook is positive

What this post is really about is positivity – trying to make the most out of any situation life throws at you. Life isn’t always a box of chocolates – so how do we enjoy the spoiled ones as well? Making your life intentional is key; utilising every moment whether it’s literally raining or shining or whether the storms of life really are swirling all around you.

Not everything in life will go your way. Not every choice you make will be the right one. The regular person experiences negative emotions at the first sign that things aren’t going right. The Slow Down and Saver makes actionable steps on how to improve their life after a failure. Failure lasts as long as you want it to – but a winning mindset quickly turns failure back into success.

So, whenever it’s raining – both literally and metaphorically, rejoice, as there is time for you to learn new things, to learn from your mistakes and make them right again. Time to improve by 1%. Time to become the best version of yourself. Rainy days are your opportunity to focus, to improve, and to quietly build a better version of yourself. Then, when the Sun does return, you can step outside without guilt – knowing you’ve already done the work.

FAQ

What should I do on rainy days at home?

Rainy days are ideal for activities like exercising indoors, reading, learning new skills, working on side projects, or organising your life. These tasks often get neglected during busy or sunny periods, making bad weather a perfect opportunity to focus on long-term self-improvement.

How can I stay motivated in bad weather?

Shift your mindset by seeing bad weather as an advantage rather than a limitation. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, focus on what becomes easier – fewer distractions, more quiet time, and a chance to make meaningful progress without interruption.

Why are rainy days good for productivity?

With fewer distractions and less temptation to go outside, it becomes easier to focus on meaningful work. Whether it’s learning, exercising, or building something long-term, bad weather creates the perfect conditions for deep, uninterrupted progress.

*Apologies if you’re reading this from a sunnier climate. If this is the case, you might actually have to stay inside, being a productive badass, when the sun is shining. If you’re that person, lucky you – be thankful you don’t have to take vitamin D tablets in the winter because the sun doesn’t shine for five months.

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