I’m no scientist or philosopher, I am just an observant person. This is my explanation for the January slump. This being the whole idea that January goes on forever.
In my books, I believe that Jan 15th to Feb 15th are just the worst time of the year. It’s low-moods, feelings or burnout and all the bad thoughts and feelings generally surface at this point. I’ve noticed it consistently in my life, people around me notice it as well. It’s pretty much epitomised in the blue Monday idea we find ourselves talking about.
I’m not scientific enough to claim that S.A.D. doesn’t exist, and I’m sure there’s pretty compelling evidence to prove it’s a pattern that gains some merit. However, I have my own understanding of why this time of year is just so god-awful, and it’s related to common patterns we see everywhere.
Indulge me as I write about this and offer one man’s observations on a pretty poor time of year. No research has gone into this, I guess you can say this is just vibes.
The Cycle of a New Project
When I started year 10 at school, I distinctly said to myself “these next two years of my education matter, public exams are the cornerstone of my future.” Hindsight is a brilliant thing.
I wasn’t academically gifted, but I knew if I worked hard and applied myself I would get the most out of this year and set-up my future.
So I did my homework, made notes in class, and took the time after school to make sure everything I did was to the best of my ability and punctual. The grades reflected that, and for the first half of term I was pretty confident in my results. But it only lasted for so long.
Soon before that half-term ended, I remember one Friday night being super stressed because I had three pieces of homework to do for the next morning, and I was paralysed by the fear of it all. I did what I could and just made sure they were over the line. I don’t remember exactly, but they definitely weren’t good results from those bits of work.
I can’t provide a more detailed timeline, I probably could but I won’t, but I think this is exemplary to me of the kind of time line that comes along with a “fresh-start.”
You have your plan and you stick to it, you do a good job and you see the results in front of you. From that you gain the confidence and feel the empowerment, you are living and breathing your fresh start. But feelings don’t last forever and the work needs to continue.
You continue your routine as it was, but things slow down, everything feels more laboured and it’s somewhat exhausting to keep up with the schedule. If you want to succeed, however, it’s about honouring that commitment you made to yourself at the start.
You find yourself left with two options, continue to cross the line and eventually the steam will pick back up, or stop and slip back to those old ways. Either way you choose, the accomplishment and good feeling goes away. You are left feeling either burned out, or disappointed in yourself. You fall into a slump and it’s inevitable.
This is January, EVERY YEAR. You might not believe in the concept of “new year, new me,” but realistically it’s the most unavoidable concept in all of human-existence.
You would be a big fat liar were you to say that, after a break that concludes with the final month of the year, and having watched a billion fireworks go off around the world while everyone says “happy new year,” that you don’t feel any sense of renewal.
That will naturally bring a new sense of a fresh-start, whether that’s entirely conscious or subconscious.
And so when we reach the third week of January, especially when the skies in the Northern Hemisphere are dark and England in particular gets hit by storms left-right-and-centre, that burnout is going to come and slap you around the cheek.
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What’s the Answer?
Sadly, I don’t have it. My only conclusion would be to carry on, and provide yourself some self-compassion. Personally, I’m meant to be making two new LinkedIn posts a week and uploading video content. I have done 4 weeks successfully, but this week massively underperformed.
Yes it could be that it just didn’t register so well on the radar, or that people just aren’t seeing my content. However, I am very aware that making that video and writing that post this week felt god-awful in comparison to the excitement and nerves that propelled the first posts.
I have a fifth week, where posts are unwritten and videos are not yet finished in the edit. They currently feel like herculean tasks, despite the fact that they are just part of my regular job.
On Monday it felt like a looming crisis. Today? Well I’ll do them if I have the time and energy. If not, I’ll push back a week. It’s procrastination in one sense of course, but at the other time giving myself a break might be exactly what I require at this moment. If nothing gets posted, the world still spins and I still breathe.
I haven’t undone the last few weeks of “fresh-start” work, I’ve just reached a roadblock. So long as I know I need to get back on track, surely this one week won’t derail the whole experience.
Or maybe it will, and this week is the pivotal moment that ended my career in a great ball of flames. Maybe dreams died this week?
I need to trust myself that won’t happen.
So Come on What’s the Point?
I’ll remind you I’m no scientist or philosopher, I’m just an observant man.
To me this part of the “fresh-start” journey is natural, and it’s going to be in some way painful. You just have to choose what you feel would be the best course. Do you want to burn yourself away to cross the line, or do you want to briefly pause the momentum to recalibrate.
There’s no answer to this, because either choice has benefits and setbacks that are readily apparent. Though I would currently err on the side of self-compassion because it’s easier, and you deserve something of a break.
I welcome any discussion that can evolve from this, if I didn’t have this blog to write into, I would likely have the urge to explain this to a stranger on the train or to one of the staff in the office or at my part-time job.
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