Why Did January Feel Like Forever, and February Felt Like 10 Days?

Newsflash: The second month of the year is about to end.

Before you can even say, “That fast?”, we’ve already gathered three possible explanations to help shed light on why February felt like a snap of a finger and January felt forever:

January started on a Monday – a brand new month and a brand new year on a brand new week.

Despite January 1 being a holiday, it made you feel torn between enjoying the break and thinking about going back to work or school, which resumed that same week. This made the first week feel already long enough.

Add to this the fact that January has 31 days, making five Mondays for the month. Many dread Mondays, and a fifth one for the first month did feel like a lot to you, didn’t it?

Meanwhile, sneaky February started on a Thursday, making its “first week” end in three days. Its four Mondays came as an absolute relief from the seemingly never-ending January.

Have you ever felt like the trip to your destination took longer than your return trip, even if you took the same route? You’re not alone. This is called the “Return Trip Effect.”

According to researchers, there are many reasons for this, and two of them are: First, you always have a set time to arrive at your destination, which is not necessarily the case for going back home. Second, you become familiar with the landmarks on the way home that contribute to the illusion of the return trip being much faster.

So what does this have to do with January and February?

You were eager to leave 2023 behind and embark on a new journey that is 2024. As you travel to your new “destination,” you anticipate acting on bigger goals, starting newer ventures, and taking on heavier challenges. You mark your milestones in detail day after day and week after week, contributing to the reasons why January felt long.

By the time February came, you’ve taken a taste of what 2024 is like, and you’ve found your way to your own rhythm and routine. “The familiarity of the landmarks” of everyday life may have made your February feel so much faster.

2024 is a leap year, which means February gets a plus one day. Intuitively, February should feel longer.

But juxtaposing it to a long January still makes it feel short. Well, February is literally still two days shorter than January, but based on the previous points, the issue on these two months feeling long and short is not only about its number of days.

February came with events and holidays that made it so packed compared with January. Chinese New Year, for instance, fell on February 10, Friday (which was declared a holiday), and Valentine’s Day was of course celebrated on the 14th. Coincidentally, it was also the beginning of Lent for this year, as Ash Wednesday was commemorated on the day.

There was just so much going on in February that you didn’t notice time passing.

Now, you’re not sure of how slow or fast the next months will go. At the rate February went, you’ll find yourself saying hello to the -ber months in no time. With only 10 months remaining to the end of the year, you don’t want to end the year empty-handed.

With the relative passing of time, here’s what you should take note of:

Being consistent. Whether time goes by fast or slow for you, consistency will get you to where you envisioned yourself to be. One hour of moving a day, one chapter a day, or one messy drawer a day will get you to the fitness goal, reading goal, or deep cleaning goal you set at the beginning of the year.
Practicing self-control. You can’t control time – or any other external factors at that – but you have the power to control yourself. Self-control will help you stay on top of all your pending tasks and to continue the healthy habits you’ve started this year.
Staying committed. This is plain and simple, but not necessarily easy. With only a limited amount of time in your hands, only commit to activities aligned with your goals so you won’t feel like your time is wasted.
Being present. If you’re a parent, you should know how being present with your kids makes their day. If you’re a child, you should know how being present with your parents means the world to them. Working and studying are essential parts of your week, but know when not to overextend yourself at work or in school in exchange for time with your family.
Taking a break. Time doesn’t need to be slow nor fast for you to realize how necessary breaks are. A five-minute walk away from the screen or a water break can do wonders to your creativity and self-efficacy. Take longer breaks if you must, for you deserve to rest and recharge for the work you do towards your goals everyday.

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