Why January felt like the longest month ever — and it's finally almost over

Dubai: It's January 30th. We made it. Almost.

If this month felt like it lasted approximately 473 days, you're not alone. Across social media, group chats and office conversations, everyone is asking the same question: why does January feel so impossibly long?

Turns out, there's actual science behind this collective misery.

Ms Asra Sarwar, Clinical Psychologist at Aster Clinic, explains that January's endless vibe starts with what came before it.

"December is emotionally packed with social gatherings, celebrations, disrupted routines, and frequent changes in pace," she says. "When life suddenly becomes quieter and more predictable in January, time feels slower."

Think about it. December throws parties, family gatherings, holiday meals, last-minute shopping with Christmas and New Year both cushioning the month. Your calendar is chaotic. Your routine is nonexistent. Every day feels different.

Then January hits. You're back at your desk. Same commute. Same lunch. Same evening routine. Your brain has nothing exciting to latch onto.

Here's where it gets interesting. Our perception of time isn't actually based on the calendar.

"We experience time through engagement and memory," Sarwar explains. "When days look and feel similar, the brain forms fewer distinct memory markers."

A study published in ScienceDirect in 2024, shows that periods with fewer memorable events feel longer in the moment, even though they're objectively the same length as any other month.

So while you were living through December in a blur of events, your brain was forming tons of distinct memories. And in January? Your brain is basically on autopilot, which makes every day blend together into one long, grey stretch.

Personally, I realized this week that I couldn't tell you what I did last Tuesday versus the Tuesday before. They're all the same Tuesday.

January also comes loaded with psychological baggage. It's framed as a fresh start, a reset, a chance to become the perfect version of yourself.

"It brings heightened self-evaluation around goals, habits and productivity," Sarwar notes. "When change does not happen as quickly as expected, attention turns inward, increasing awareness of time passing."

Translation: You set ambitious goals on January 1st. By January 15th, you've already broken most of them. Now you're hyper-aware of every day passing without the transformation you promised yourself.

That internal focus makes time crawl. When you're constantly checking whether you're doing enough, being enough, achieving enough, every hour feels longer.

Let's not forget the actual weather. Shorter hours during the day and colder temperatures don't help.

"Environmental factors can reduce energy and novelty, further slowing subjective time," Sarwar says, a fact also cited by National Library of Medicine in 2024.

When it gets dark at 6pm and going outside requires three layers, you're less likely to do anything interesting. Which brings us back to the memory problem. Fewer experiences equal slower perceived time.

The January slump definitely affects how we work, but not always negatively.

"For some people, the drawn-out feeling reduces momentum, particularly when goals are ambitious or poorly defined," Sarwar explains. "Motivation tends to dip when expectations are high but early progress feels slow."

That's the procrastination trap. You wanted to completely reinvent yourself, but week one didn't go perfectly, so now you're scrolling instead of working.

But here's the twist: January's slower pace can actually support better productivity.

"This slower rhythm creates the mental space needed for planning, prioritising and setting realistic routines," Sarwar notes.

Instead of treating January like a sprint, she suggests approaching it as "a month of alignment and recalibration, rather than a test of performance or perfection."

Sarwar's advice for next year is to break goals into smaller, achievable steps. Add structure without pressure. Introduce small sources of novelty.

"Treating January as a gradual return to pace helps stabilise motivation and energy levels," she says.

Create short-term milestones instead of massive life overhauls. Go somewhere new for lunch. Take a different route home. Anything to give your brain fresh memory markers.

Tomorrow is January 31st. We survived.

February might be short, but at least it won't feel like an entire year. Valentine's Day provides a midpoint marker. The weather starts improving. Spring is visible on the horizon. Although we might not be as excited for the summer and the heat it brings.

Until next January rolls around and we all collectively forget how long this month feels and set impossible resolutions all over again.

But for now, pat yourself on the back. We made it. Almost.

Areeba Hashmi is a trainee at Gulf News.