Yep, that’s the question. How are we all doing? For me, November is one of the tougher months to get through, so I figured I’d do a check-in. Drop something in the comments if you’re feeling it too. Honestly, I think November might be a harder month than the usual poster child for feeling down: February.
February gets all the blame for being grey, miserable, and never-ending, but November quietly sneaks in with its own brand of heaviness. The days get shorter in a way you can actually feel. One day you’re having dinner in daylight, and the next you’d swear midnight starts at 5:07 p.m. You step outside, and the air has that sharp edge that reminds you winter is auditioning. The first snow shows up uninvited, wet and clingy, just to remind you what’s coming.
And then there’s the yearly “corporate cost-cutting season,” when mass layoffs hit the news cycle like clockwork. Even if you’re not personally affected, it sets a tone. Everyone gets a little quieter, a little more cautious. It becomes the background noise of November, whispering that nothing is as stable as it feels.
On top of that, holiday anxiety starts its warm-up routine. Those first gentle nudges about gifts and gatherings turn into the mental version of a browser with fifteen tabs open. Who needs what? How much travel is involved? Are the closets full of decorations or did you donate everything during that ambitious June decluttering spree?
And right as you’re juggling that, the first school report cards show up. A lovely reminder that your kids are somehow simultaneously great, struggling, thriving, behind, brilliant, distracted, motivated, and absolutely not motivated. It’s a roller coaster contained in a PDF.
I could go on. This doesn’t even touch the big one: how everything feels more expensive every time you blink. Groceries, gas, utilities, insurance, pick a category. All of it seems to have decided to climb the ladder just to see how high it can go. Even the “cheap” items no longer feel cheap. Half the time, you leave the grocery store wondering if you accidentally bought a small yacht.
So yes, November hits differently.
At the same time, I think that’s exactly why it’s worth talking about. We tend to drag ourselves through November with a weird combination of grumbling and denial, as if we’re all supposed to act like everything’s fine because the fun holidays are right around the corner. But maybe the most human thing we can do is admit this month is tough and that many of us feel the weight of it.
The interesting thing about November is that it’s a limbo month. It’s not the fresh start of September. It’s not the full freeze of January. It’s the middle space where life slows just enough for you to notice the things you’ve been ignoring, but not enough to give you a break from them. You’re still doing the regular routines, but with more darkness, more noise, more pressure.
And yet, there’s something grounding about this month, too. November forces us to take a breath. It’s the moment right before the chaos of December, where you get a chance to check in with yourself. A moment to ask: How am I doing, really? Am I burned out? Am I overwhelmed? Am I quietly thriving in ways I didn’t even notice?
Sometimes just asking the question is the relief.
Because maybe November isn’t just hard. Maybe it’s clarifying. It’s the month that reminds you that mood ebbs and flows, and that it’s perfectly normal to feel a dip when the world dims a bit earlier each day. It’s normal to feel stretched when work gets weird, when the calendar fills up, when money feels tight. None of that means you’re doing something wrong. It just means you’re human, living in a month that demands more energy than it gives back.
So here’s my check-in: I’m feeling the November drag, but I’m trying to push through. For the sake of my family keeping me around, I am trying not to be grumpy/touchy/moody/crusty. Yes, I’m noticing the heaviness (hence the blog post), but I am also paying attention to what helps cut through it. A good walk. Cooking a fun dinner. A TV show that doesn’t require too many brain cells (The Last Frontier, for example). A conversation or text thread with a real human that reminds me that other people are feeling the exact same thing.
So here’s where I’ve landed: November is heavy, and pretending otherwise doesn’t make it lighter. But noticing it helps. Saying it out loud helps. Checking in with people who get it definitely helps.
If this month is wearing on you, you’re not off your game. You’re not behind. You’re just dealing with a month that asks a lot and gives back very little. There’s no prize for powering through in silence.
So take whatever small wins you can get. A slow morning. A decent coffee. Ten minutes where no one needs anything from you. The tiny stuff matters more than it looks.
For me, I find that if I do some tidying up or a reset, as TikTok would say, I feel better. It could be raking the leaves, sweeping the sidewalk, or just knocking off basic errands you have been ignoring.
This is not groundbreaking advice by any means, but sometimes you just have to break it down to the simplest things. Then we can all be ready for the good times of December (hopefully).
Seriously, let me know how things are going. Leave a comment below.
Bonus List to Kick the Blues
What I am reading – The Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I am starting book 7 – The Scarred Woman.
What I am watching – Pluribus (Apple), The Last Frontier (Apple), Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+)
What has me intrigued – After taking a while to care thanks to the great Blue Jays run, the Toronto Raptors might be good.
What I am looking forward to – The smell of a Christmas tree in our living room.
What is making me laugh – Randomly coming across a woman whose name is Katie Schrock.
