The Worst Time of Year

Okay, Now What? Seasonal Affective Disorder 🥲

Surprise! You get an extra edition this week. I figured I had things to say, so I might as well say them to you. You’re welcome.

I am generally a happy person. I don’t often wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I regularly remind myself that I don’t have much to complain about when I think about all the problems in the world. But jesus christ, this time of year is the WORST. No matter how many walks I go on or how much saccharine early 00s music I listen to while doing work, I can’t help but wish time would hurry up and move on.

Everyone I’ve talked to lately is in a seasonal affective funk. The excitement of a new year has worn off, and the reality of this post-holiday, pre-spring winter has set in. Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow this year? (I Googled spelling on this, but couldn’t be bothered to find out if the groundhog thinks winter is going to be longer or not).

As someone who tends to feel guilty in stasis (and guilty complaining about my life in general), I’ve spent the past couple of days thinking about ways to better this awful time of year and thought I’d share my ideas with you all.

Some ideas on ways to improve this time of year/the month of February:

• Remind yourself it’s a short month.

  • The Gregorian calendar makes less sense the more you think about it, but even they knew February should be a short month.

• Take comfort in the fact that most people probably say something to the effect of “feb-roo-ary” when trying to spell the month out (I love shared spelling and language afflictions).

• Make plans!

  • Been meaning to go to a gallery? Go.

  • Been wanting to try a new restaurant? Make a reservation.

  • Been trying to be a couch potato? Now’s your chance.

  • I have booked a lot of random dinners/gallery openings/drinks this month, and it turns out having something to look forward to makes the season affective slump more manageable.

• People watch on Valentine’s Day.

  • It’s a cheesy holiday - don’t get me wrong - but it’s good for the human spirit to celebrate love every once in a while.

    

    Me seeing people on the tube with bouquets of flowers

• More on love: Remind your friends how much you love them!

  • Platonic love is love, too! (If you haven’t read Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love - this is my official endorsement).

• Watch your favorite rom-com/rom-dram (are people using this word? and if not can this Substack be proof I coined it) might I suggest:

  • Pride & Prejudice

  • Notting Hill (beware: you might find yourself living in London if you watch this too many times 🙈)

  • Before Sunrise (train propaganda)

  • Love Story (you will sob)

  • About Time (you will sob but in a British accent)

  • How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

• If you want to watch anything but a rom-com, might I suggest:

  • Super Bad (I strongly believe this is one of the greatest movies of all time)

  • Succession (the only thing this show romanticizes is helicopter travel)

  • Good Time (at your own risk)

  • Great British Bake Off

  • Dead Poet’s Society (not a romcom, but you will sob)

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Okay, Now What? A new section!! May I present: Weekly Reccos:

• What to read: What If You Just Didn’t Clean That Up? by

  Kathryn Jezer-Morton

• What to listen to:

  As You Are
  launched a podcast, and the first episode is amazing. 🎧💓

• What to watch: Admittedly, the only thing I’ve watched recently has been Love Island, so you may need to wait for the next edition for a watch recommendation.

• Where to eat: Straker’s London (I need to think about how to do this for my ~international~ reader base).

• What to do: Find something that makes you excited for this month. My friends and I are going to see Magic Mike’s Last Dance for Galentines. 🎟

Til next time! Happy Valentines Day! I love you all!