November 11, 2025 • 24 mins
November can feel like an energy dip, but what if it’s actually a hidden gift? Let's reframe it as the perfect pause, an invitation to unwind, simplify routines and recharge before the busy festive weeks set in.
Discover how dialling back now helps you show up stronger, steadier, and more present for all that’s ahead.
Want to try The Organised Method app and find a gentle housekeeping routine that works for you? Head to www.theorganisedmethod.com
Discover how dialling back now helps you show up stronger, steadier, and more present for all that’s ahead.
Want to try The Organised Method app and find a gentle housekeeping routine that works for you? Head to www.theorganisedmethod.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, Welcome back to tom Extra Spin podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I hope you're all keeping really well.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I want to talk to today about something that has
been coming up a lot in messages and comments, and
that is something called the November dip. Now, if you
have never heard of this, what is Jenma talking about?
We're gonna explain.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
What it is. So November arrives.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Gently, I think in most cases, so we've had like September,
it's loud, back to school, getting back into routines, they're
October's here and like everything's like Halloween, and then November.
It's kind of like I like to think of it,
like it creeps in, almost like a gentle autumnal fog,
(00:47):
which is unnoticed at first, but its presence.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Can't be ignored.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
And nearly every year, homes, schools, offices up and down
the land experience the same ritual. The clocks change, the
light fades early, the night sets in, and as if
the two go hand in hand, motivation quietly slips away.
(01:12):
It's a familiar, albeit uncomfortable really, and one that I think.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Is so universal that it's a rival.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Has almost kind of felt like, oh yeah, this old thing,
psycho tradition it's part of the runop to Christmas. And
it's funny because Mike says to me every year, I
can't wait for Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's been a tough year. It's been a difficult year.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And he always says this around about the same time,
around that November dip. It's like a seasonal collective dropping energy,
a drop in drive, and also sometimes a drop in optimism.
And what's remarkable is how this dip seems sometimes to
strike over night, like one week. Things are moving along smoothly,
(01:58):
forms a filled project, a plan did as a cook,
children gently shepherded along the routines after school, and then
without warning, the fatigue and the fog can set in,
and even the smallest task can sometimes feel just that
little bit too heavy, and the whole house moves as
if it's through triuqal. And if you're not in a lung,
(02:19):
you will know exactly what I mean by this. And
for parents or busy families, or even if you don't
have kids, and you know this is you know this
time he is really really busy.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
For you, it just feels more difficult.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And if your kids are showing more reluctance towards school,
maybe your hobbies are waning.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It's dark, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Maybe you were going for a run every evening and
now that it's darker, you're like, oh, I don't really
fancy it tonight. I'd rather get get under my blanket
and watch traitors. How the hobbies weighing, and it just
gets a little bit harder and you will start to
search form that just simply isn't there.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's not there anymore. So why does this dip happen?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
I think it's really important to talk about it because
many of you might be questioning right now, what's happened?
Why did I start off September like really rare in
to go, everything was going great?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
What has happened?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So, in reality, the November dip is more than a
matter of willpower or discipline.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
This isn't you like failing or dropping the ball.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The core cause, I think is deeply biological and like
environmental as well, because as daylight hours shortened and the
weather just sharpens, gets that colder, it gets crisper, and
not always in a nice way, not always nice crisp
sunny autumn days like today when I'm recording this, it
(03:49):
is not stopped raining. We have had a deluge of rain.
So the weather that just feels negative, the weather's in
a bad mood. Our brains undergo like measurable changes. So
there's lower levels of sunlight, which can mean a drop
in serotonin.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And I don't like.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Erotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood, energy,
and appetite.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That is why I can't.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Start beating like that is why the crisp cupboard is
calling me. And that meanwhile, melotonin stays elevated during daylight hours,
leading to sleepiness and an urge to hibernate. This is
sounding familiar, and research shows that up to fifteen percent
of people experience like noticeable like winter blues, Like two
(04:37):
to six percent of people suffer from seasonal effective disorder,
and that is a much more intense form of mood disruption,
and that is over the winter, the colder, the darker months.
And if you add this to the mix of the
usual autumn pressures which we've spoken about in previous episodes,
like wrap up deadlines before Christmas, Like everyone has that
(04:58):
like rush, especially in November to get things done before December,
because December it's a little bit of a jolly month.
Isn't it the sorts of Christmas parties and everyone's just like, oh,
let's just get sounds like a January problem. So November
there's an urge to wrap up deadlines as family commitments.
There's increased life admin cultural pressures to finish the year strong,
(05:19):
and that can result in a natural just like slowing down,
even simple tasks can feel more difficult. It can take
more energy, and it is because we are designed to
downshift and keep our energy close, if that's makes sense,
guard our energy a little bit more when it's darker outside,
(05:43):
when it's colder. Our brains are telling us, like our
body is telling us do one thing, but society and
the modern world.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Is pushing us against that instinct.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
So if you have gotten in to wrap yourself up
in your dove, put your slippers on, and eat a
tub of bed and Jerry's maybe that's just me of
hark and does a sign note whatever happened to hargandaus
Bailey's ice cream? I mean, part of me is slightly
happy that they don't long to make it, But that
used to be my favorite thing of all times. So
(06:21):
if you are feeling like you want to hybrid eight
and eat a tub of ice cream and watch you know,
your favorite comfort show. It's not you, You're not broken.
It's just part of how we are designed and for children,
for teachers and families. This just like it isn't an
abstract concept that you know, Oh yeah, you know. We
feel a little bit slower in winter. It's a daily reality.
(06:44):
The school run feels longer. It is usually longer because
there's more people on the road because the weather's bad.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Therefore more people are taking the car.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Extra curricular activity seems a little bit more daunting because
it's darker, everyone has to get the coat back on,
get out into the car old. You know, playing football
in the cold, the damp and the wet is not
as appealing as playing it on a nice, warm day.
So even our beloved hobbies or traditions can kind of
like lose their sparkle. And we a lot of us,
(07:15):
I know, full victim of the like the saying to yourself,
just push through it, just push through it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But there can be harm in just pushing through.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So society we know this, don't we tends to like
big up toughness. Just push through, it's the dominant advice.
Sometimes it's a thread that goes through a lot of
the stuff we see like productivity hacks, motivational posts, strategies
that promise a path.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Out of a dip.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
If you work harder, if you do something different, if
you work harder, if you work smarter, if you work longer,
you know a hack.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
If you like hack the mornings or something, you.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Will somehow conquer and beat the dip. However, sometimes these work.
However they don't always. Sometimes they backfire because the body
at this time of year are homones. They're demanding rest.
The mind requires a break. We feel more tired, and
(08:20):
sometimes if we push too hard, the body in the
brain will just take what they need, which we know
results in burnout irritability, and then you're back to square one,
and that is not a good place to be. Burnout
is a place that none of us want to visit.
(08:41):
And I think it's really common if we are consistently
ignoring nature's call for us to slow down, even without
any knowledge of science. From a very practical and also
just logical point of view, we can't go at the
(09:04):
same speed all of the time. We know, don't we
that you could only do the very best of the
time and energy that you have. And we are not robots,
so we don't have exactly the same amount of energy
every day.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
We don't have the same.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Amount of hours of sunlight in the winter as we
do in the summer. And this punishing, like self punishing
cycle often breeds guilt. So everyone else seems to be coping,
why can't I kind of negative mindset that is going
around your brain. But a lot of people experience the
(09:37):
November dip. Some people are just better at pretending than others.
Some people just hide it better. I can't. I'm one
of those people that just if I feel something, my
face gives me away. I'm rubbish at pretending. Self judgment
rises when we start questioning and seeing how other people
(09:58):
are inadverted commas coping. And then when you start to
get into that, locked into that negative cycle, you judge yourself.
You're like, oh my goodness, why why aren't I coping?
Motivation dips and the cycle just becomes self fulfilling, self perpetual,
self perpetuating.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
So what actually helps?
Speaker 1 (10:19):
If you are feeling like this right now, maybe you
have noticed a dip, Maybe you feel a little bit
run down.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There's coughs and colds going around that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And everything just feels gloomy and harder to do.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So what actually helps, I say, and we say, don't.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We that you must always do the very best that
you can with the time and energy that you have.
And in the winter, we have less daylights, therefore less time.
And you might also feel, because of everything that we've
talked about so far, that you feel you have less
energy as well. So true recovery and true renewed energy
(11:06):
only happen when we embrace what our bodies and our
brains ask us for, when we give our brains and
our bodies what they need. And I think you can't
coax or force or trick motivation back, but you can
(11:26):
bring it back naturally, really slowly. And one of the
ways to do that is with a routine, but with
a sustainable, realistic, intentional routine. And this doesn't matter how simple.
So if you can think of something, if you feel
like everything has just gone out of the window, if
(11:47):
you can think of a structure or a scaffold, or
an intentional activity, no matter how small, that can help
anchor you just in all of this fog of this
seasonal lethargy can help just you weather the storm.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Really get through this dark, dull time of the year.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So scheduling little things like Friday coffee, family library trips,
or like a predictable movie night acts as like a
lighthouse sometimes in a dark, mundane week. And I want
you to hold onto these tips so when January and
February hit, because they will also help them. These routines
(12:31):
provide very small but very powerful boosts to energy and
motivation by offering predictable happiness and predictable connection. Because it
is also very tempting just to hide yourself away from
the world.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And I've not I recorded a real I don't think.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I don't think it'll have gone live yet by the
time you've listened to this episode. But I want you
to remember that there is a pause button as well
as a player stop, so we've got the play button
where we're all systems go on a routine. And I
likened it to like I've been on a weight loss
journey since the summer, and I've done really well and
(13:12):
I'm very nearly at my goal weight. But I've found
because and it's again no coincidence that I've found it
tricky as we shift into.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
The dark nights, you know, it's.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Not as easy to get your your trainers on and
go outside in the rain and do some exercises. It
is on a nice dry day, is it. The pause
button is very handy because it means that you can
just stay where.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
You are without sliding backwards.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So maybe you're trying to get into maybe it is
a fitness routine, maybe it is you're being a little
bit more intentional about your nutrition, or maybe it is housework,
whatever routine it is, if you just do enough to
maintain your current status so you're staying still but not
sliding backwards, there is so much power in that because
(14:03):
very often we just play stop, play, go stop, go stop,
and you stop, and then all of your hard work
can get undone and you will almost slide backwards and
then you have to start all over again from the
very very beginning.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
But if you.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Pause and just do the necessary to maintain your current location,
your current weight, your current like equilibrium with clutter if
you're if this applies to decluttering, and just do that
until you feel okay, yeah, I want to press play again.
Do not underestimate the power of pressing pause and one
(14:38):
of the like a really nice way that you can
do this with tom if you're following the organized method
cleaning routine is to stick to tom light. And so
tom light is where you just do fifteen minutes a
day instead of the thirteen minutes in the room of
that day, and it would just be fifteen minutes on
the absolute basics the priorities in that room. So how
(14:59):
keeping it small and keeping it really simple and not
over complicating it at this time of the year is
huge because there's so much going on, and this time
of the year is naturally complicated anyway, isn't it. Another
thing is thinking about getting outside.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
It is so so.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Important, even spending a few minutes outdoors, whether you know,
whatever the weather, even if it's raining, get yourself out
in natural daylight. I'm lucky they've got I've got the dogs.
They force me to get outside. I love walking the dogs.
But on those days where you just think, oh crikey,
I don't think that you know, the.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Dogs need to get out. And studies show that direct
light on the skin, even through cloud cover, is sometimes
just enough to give you that boost.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
And I always feel better after I've come in from
a walk. It helps me to reset my brain really
and I do no input. Walks, I don't listen to anything.
I don't have my headphones in, I don't listen to
even music. I just listen to whatever's happening nature, cars,
going past trains, going past planes, that sort of thing,
and encouraging the whole households. Guard for a brisk walk together,
(16:08):
just to quit running around the garden, or simply just
stand outside in the morning whilst you're drinking your coffee,
you know, dressing gown on, slippers on, you know, it
doesn't matter if the neighbors see you. Get out there,
get into nature, get into the light. So so important.
Do not underestimate that November, this time of the year,
(16:31):
it's not the time for grand plans or strict productivity challenges.
Just look for micro winds, small achievable, stackable tasks that
can offer satisfaction without additional pressure, which is one of
the reasons why Organize Christmas is so popular because it's slow.
It's thirteen weeks and people think Crike is dragging this out.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
It's that long for a reason. It's slow.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
It's small micro that stack up and give you that satisfaction,
that dopamine here that you've done something really productive without
putting you under too much pressure. So it could be
something like tidy and wandraw. Reading one chapter of a
book that you've been promising yourself that you were going
(17:19):
to read all year. Preparing tomorrow's breakfast can act as
a spark, and it can really it sounds really cliche,
it can really boosm around. If you're happy, someone's happy,
someone in a good mood. That stuff is contagious, right,
But but talk about being in a happy mood and
(17:40):
making other people happy. Manage your social energy.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
It is so.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Important to be very realistic, like what sort of person
are you? I have a small social battery that dims
even smaller.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
In the winter.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
So I have to be very intentional about what I
sign myself up for socially in the winter, because I
can burn out really really quickly. And like, don't forget
the whole idea of Tom Rocks and body doubling. Essentially
(18:14):
doing tasks in parallel with someone else, whether in person
or whether with me on a Rocks episode, like doing
a productivity session or folding some laundry.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
If you are sharing a routine.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Or a job, it not only helps to keep accountability
up but also adds a little bit of warmth to
really mundane tasks. Again, this is why the tom Rock
sessions are so popular. They're like on demand sessions essentially
put you get the app, you open it, like, what
do we need to do today?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
What don't what?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
I need to see laundry, but I don't feel like
doing it. I'm going to pop a laundry session on.
It just adds a little bit. It softens the edges,
and in a busy family, in a busy world, like
just doing something with someone else, even if it's virtually
on the app, or if you're like doing it with
your partner folding laundry together, world chatting or synchronizing homework
(19:01):
time with pair and admin sessions just to create a
working atmosphere rather than like doing it all isolated, because
this time that you can feel quite isolating. It can
just help to make it all feel a little bit easier.
Like when Ben is doing his homework. Very often I
will just do some work. Admin will be at the
(19:22):
kitchen island. I'll have my laptop, nothing really that I
have to concentrate loads on because he might have a
question about his homework, or he might be doing some
art and we'll have the radio on, just have some
classical music on and it it's just nice. It just
feels like a little warmer cocoon and just makes it
feel less harsh. Really, I think that's the best, the
(19:43):
best way of describing it. So being kind to yourself.
Household empathy is so important. Household empathy. I think if
I could bottle it and sell it, I'd be a
very rich person.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
It's very important.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It's like a psychological switch, just from judgment to understanding.
Like seasonal slumps are not an individual failing, They're a
biological and cultural thing.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
They're a thing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
So modeling like gentle self talk to yourself can also help,
you know, demonstrate that to kids and like other family members,
just checking in with each other, making sure that you're okay.
Maybe add a little bit of softness, like when it
feels a little bit feels a bit dull, a little
(20:30):
bit wintery, a little bit autumn like, even something really
simple like having a cop of hot chocolate and watching
a silly film. Ben and I watched babem with that
film like it's years old now, the Pig Babe the
other night and we had such a good giggle, And
then we watched babe Pig in the city and now
he wants to watch one hundred and one Dalmatians.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
And it just something really simple.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
It's like basically a free activity, and it's something that
we can do together and he can look forward to
it and I can look forward to it as well,
and it can just transform the household atmosphere from stressed
to supportive and collaborative, which you know we all want,
don't we.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
And just remember that you are part of a community.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
You're part of the top the TOM community, the Organized
Method community. If you're remember with the Facebook group, then
there is an off topic group that you can go
and have a chat about things like this.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
You know it's busy.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
The November dip often shows up with a subtle scramble.
So just have it in the back of your mind
that this can be happening. It might not be that
you've just suddenly lost your routine and it's something you've done,
you've not failed. Just a simple acknowledgment like, ah, we're
having a dip week, We're going to have a slow week.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Just break the cycle of guilt, use down time together
for laughter, for warmth rather than just Frenzy's attempts to
get back on track. So board games, simple meal times
or evening just listening to each other and just have
a little bit of a moan about your day. It
helps people to connect massively, and if you're living alone
(22:08):
or remote from family, remember digital connections. Like Tom is, obviously,
this is his first term in UNI, and I'm very
aware that this November dip might be hitting him right now.
Like the rush and the adrenaline of the fresh as
week and all that is probably probably a long distant memory.
The reality is biting of like budgeting, the amount of
(22:31):
work that you have to do at UNI, and maybe
like being away from family. The gloss is starting to
wear off and reality is setting in. So don't forget
digital connection. Rituals matter, like a weekly check in or
a shared visual activity of visual virtual activity. These moments
(22:51):
planned or spontaneous, they just help restore a sense of
connection and also of belonging as well. And finally it
also helps remember I think that November dip is cyclical.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
It ends, so don't think, oh my gosh, well this
is it now. It will end.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So if you think about like landmarks in the calendar,
such as the end of the year or start of.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
A new week.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
They naturally inspire fresh motivation. So we've got December's festive
mood coming up, we've got January's fresh start and springs
longer days. They act as like these natural remedies that
restore the confidence and drive, so.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You know they've got their play.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
So what about why don't we just make November just
a little bit slower, like just this is the cuddly month.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Think of it like that, this is the soft, cuddly
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Going to stress about it month, and just think of
it as cyclical as peaks and troughs. So if you
are finding yourself, or your family or your team in
the middle of a November dip this year, just pause.
Remember pause before you press, like press, play, break like globe.
Why can't look at it? Remember that pause buttons better
(24:02):
than press and stop. Think about small anchors, small rituals
instead of strict, rigid routines. Gou side, try and laugh
as much as you can, plan moments of connection and rest,
and more importantly, remember to offer yourself and others' kindness.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
The dip always ends and
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Energy will return, and sometimes the quiet seasons teachers more
than the loud ones ever could
Hello everybody, Welcome back to tom Extra Spin podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I hope you're all keeping really well.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I want to talk to today about something that has
been coming up a lot in messages and comments, and
that is something called the November dip. Now, if you
have never heard of this, what is Jenma talking about?
We're gonna explain.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
What it is. So November arrives.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Gently, I think in most cases, so we've had like September,
it's loud, back to school, getting back into routines, they're
October's here and like everything's like Halloween, and then November.
It's kind of like I like to think of it,
like it creeps in, almost like a gentle autumnal fog,
(00:47):
which is unnoticed at first, but its presence.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Can't be ignored.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
And nearly every year, homes, schools, offices up and down
the land experience the same ritual. The clocks change, the
light fades early, the night sets in, and as if
the two go hand in hand, motivation quietly slips away.
(01:12):
It's a familiar, albeit uncomfortable really, and one that I think.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Is so universal that it's a rival.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Has almost kind of felt like, oh yeah, this old thing,
psycho tradition it's part of the runop to Christmas. And
it's funny because Mike says to me every year, I
can't wait for Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's been a tough year. It's been a difficult year.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And he always says this around about the same time,
around that November dip. It's like a seasonal collective dropping energy,
a drop in drive, and also sometimes a drop in optimism.
And what's remarkable is how this dip seems sometimes to
strike over night, like one week. Things are moving along smoothly,
(01:58):
forms a filled project, a plan did as a cook,
children gently shepherded along the routines after school, and then
without warning, the fatigue and the fog can set in,
and even the smallest task can sometimes feel just that
little bit too heavy, and the whole house moves as
if it's through triuqal. And if you're not in a lung,
(02:19):
you will know exactly what I mean by this. And
for parents or busy families, or even if you don't
have kids, and you know this is you know this
time he is really really busy.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
For you, it just feels more difficult.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And if your kids are showing more reluctance towards school,
maybe your hobbies are waning.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It's dark, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Maybe you were going for a run every evening and
now that it's darker, you're like, oh, I don't really
fancy it tonight. I'd rather get get under my blanket
and watch traitors. How the hobbies weighing, and it just
gets a little bit harder and you will start to
search form that just simply isn't there.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's not there anymore. So why does this dip happen?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
I think it's really important to talk about it because
many of you might be questioning right now, what's happened?
Why did I start off September like really rare in
to go, everything was going great?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
What has happened?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So, in reality, the November dip is more than a
matter of willpower or discipline.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
This isn't you like failing or dropping the ball.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The core cause, I think is deeply biological and like
environmental as well, because as daylight hours shortened and the
weather just sharpens, gets that colder, it gets crisper, and
not always in a nice way, not always nice crisp
sunny autumn days like today when I'm recording this, it
(03:49):
is not stopped raining. We have had a deluge of rain.
So the weather that just feels negative, the weather's in
a bad mood. Our brains undergo like measurable changes. So
there's lower levels of sunlight, which can mean a drop
in serotonin.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And I don't like.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Erotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood, energy,
and appetite.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That is why I can't.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Start beating like that is why the crisp cupboard is
calling me. And that meanwhile, melotonin stays elevated during daylight hours,
leading to sleepiness and an urge to hibernate. This is
sounding familiar, and research shows that up to fifteen percent
of people experience like noticeable like winter blues, Like two
(04:37):
to six percent of people suffer from seasonal effective disorder,
and that is a much more intense form of mood disruption,
and that is over the winter, the colder, the darker months.
And if you add this to the mix of the
usual autumn pressures which we've spoken about in previous episodes,
like wrap up deadlines before Christmas, Like everyone has that
(04:58):
like rush, especially in November to get things done before December,
because December it's a little bit of a jolly month.
Isn't it the sorts of Christmas parties and everyone's just like, oh,
let's just get sounds like a January problem. So November
there's an urge to wrap up deadlines as family commitments.
There's increased life admin cultural pressures to finish the year strong,
(05:19):
and that can result in a natural just like slowing down,
even simple tasks can feel more difficult. It can take
more energy, and it is because we are designed to
downshift and keep our energy close, if that's makes sense,
guard our energy a little bit more when it's darker outside,
(05:43):
when it's colder. Our brains are telling us, like our
body is telling us do one thing, but society and
the modern world.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Is pushing us against that instinct.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
So if you have gotten in to wrap yourself up
in your dove, put your slippers on, and eat a
tub of bed and Jerry's maybe that's just me of
hark and does a sign note whatever happened to hargandaus
Bailey's ice cream? I mean, part of me is slightly
happy that they don't long to make it, But that
used to be my favorite thing of all times. So
(06:21):
if you are feeling like you want to hybrid eight
and eat a tub of ice cream and watch you know,
your favorite comfort show. It's not you, You're not broken.
It's just part of how we are designed and for children,
for teachers and families. This just like it isn't an
abstract concept that you know, Oh yeah, you know. We
feel a little bit slower in winter. It's a daily reality.
(06:44):
The school run feels longer. It is usually longer because
there's more people on the road because the weather's bad.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Therefore more people are taking the car.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Extra curricular activity seems a little bit more daunting because
it's darker, everyone has to get the coat back on,
get out into the car old. You know, playing football
in the cold, the damp and the wet is not
as appealing as playing it on a nice, warm day.
So even our beloved hobbies or traditions can kind of
like lose their sparkle. And we a lot of us,
(07:15):
I know, full victim of the like the saying to yourself,
just push through it, just push through it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But there can be harm in just pushing through.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So society we know this, don't we tends to like
big up toughness. Just push through, it's the dominant advice.
Sometimes it's a thread that goes through a lot of
the stuff we see like productivity hacks, motivational posts, strategies
that promise a path.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Out of a dip.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
If you work harder, if you do something different, if
you work harder, if you work smarter, if you work longer,
you know a hack.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
If you like hack the mornings or something, you.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Will somehow conquer and beat the dip. However, sometimes these work.
However they don't always. Sometimes they backfire because the body
at this time of year are homones. They're demanding rest.
The mind requires a break. We feel more tired, and
(08:20):
sometimes if we push too hard, the body in the
brain will just take what they need, which we know
results in burnout irritability, and then you're back to square one,
and that is not a good place to be. Burnout
is a place that none of us want to visit.
(08:41):
And I think it's really common if we are consistently
ignoring nature's call for us to slow down, even without
any knowledge of science. From a very practical and also
just logical point of view, we can't go at the
(09:04):
same speed all of the time. We know, don't we
that you could only do the very best of the
time and energy that you have. And we are not robots,
so we don't have exactly the same amount of energy
every day.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
We don't have the same.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Amount of hours of sunlight in the winter as we
do in the summer. And this punishing, like self punishing
cycle often breeds guilt. So everyone else seems to be coping,
why can't I kind of negative mindset that is going
around your brain. But a lot of people experience the
(09:37):
November dip. Some people are just better at pretending than others.
Some people just hide it better. I can't. I'm one
of those people that just if I feel something, my
face gives me away. I'm rubbish at pretending. Self judgment
rises when we start questioning and seeing how other people
(09:58):
are inadverted commas coping. And then when you start to
get into that, locked into that negative cycle, you judge yourself.
You're like, oh my goodness, why why aren't I coping?
Motivation dips and the cycle just becomes self fulfilling, self perpetual,
self perpetuating.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
So what actually helps?
Speaker 1 (10:19):
If you are feeling like this right now, maybe you
have noticed a dip, Maybe you feel a little bit
run down.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There's coughs and colds going around that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And everything just feels gloomy and harder to do.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So what actually helps, I say, and we say, don't.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
We that you must always do the very best that
you can with the time and energy that you have.
And in the winter, we have less daylights, therefore less time.
And you might also feel, because of everything that we've
talked about so far, that you feel you have less
energy as well. So true recovery and true renewed energy
(11:06):
only happen when we embrace what our bodies and our
brains ask us for, when we give our brains and
our bodies what they need. And I think you can't
coax or force or trick motivation back, but you can
(11:26):
bring it back naturally, really slowly. And one of the
ways to do that is with a routine, but with
a sustainable, realistic, intentional routine. And this doesn't matter how simple.
So if you can think of something, if you feel
like everything has just gone out of the window, if
(11:47):
you can think of a structure or a scaffold, or
an intentional activity, no matter how small, that can help
anchor you just in all of this fog of this
seasonal lethargy can help just you weather the storm.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Really get through this dark, dull time of the year.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So scheduling little things like Friday coffee, family library trips,
or like a predictable movie night acts as like a
lighthouse sometimes in a dark, mundane week. And I want
you to hold onto these tips so when January and
February hit, because they will also help them. These routines
(12:31):
provide very small but very powerful boosts to energy and
motivation by offering predictable happiness and predictable connection. Because it
is also very tempting just to hide yourself away from
the world.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And I've not I recorded a real I don't think.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I don't think it'll have gone live yet by the
time you've listened to this episode. But I want you
to remember that there is a pause button as well
as a player stop, so we've got the play button
where we're all systems go on a routine. And I
likened it to like I've been on a weight loss
journey since the summer, and I've done really well and
(13:12):
I'm very nearly at my goal weight. But I've found
because and it's again no coincidence that I've found it
tricky as we shift into.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
The dark nights, you know, it's.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Not as easy to get your your trainers on and
go outside in the rain and do some exercises. It
is on a nice dry day, is it. The pause
button is very handy because it means that you can
just stay where.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
You are without sliding backwards.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So maybe you're trying to get into maybe it is
a fitness routine, maybe it is you're being a little
bit more intentional about your nutrition, or maybe it is housework,
whatever routine it is, if you just do enough to
maintain your current status so you're staying still but not
sliding backwards, there is so much power in that because
(14:03):
very often we just play stop, play, go stop, go stop,
and you stop, and then all of your hard work
can get undone and you will almost slide backwards and
then you have to start all over again from the
very very beginning.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
But if you.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Pause and just do the necessary to maintain your current location,
your current weight, your current like equilibrium with clutter if
you're if this applies to decluttering, and just do that
until you feel okay, yeah, I want to press play again.
Do not underestimate the power of pressing pause and one
(14:38):
of the like a really nice way that you can
do this with tom if you're following the organized method
cleaning routine is to stick to tom light. And so
tom light is where you just do fifteen minutes a
day instead of the thirteen minutes in the room of
that day, and it would just be fifteen minutes on
the absolute basics the priorities in that room. So how
(14:59):
keeping it small and keeping it really simple and not
over complicating it at this time of the year is
huge because there's so much going on, and this time
of the year is naturally complicated anyway, isn't it. Another
thing is thinking about getting outside.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
It is so so.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Important, even spending a few minutes outdoors, whether you know,
whatever the weather, even if it's raining, get yourself out
in natural daylight. I'm lucky they've got I've got the dogs.
They force me to get outside. I love walking the dogs.
But on those days where you just think, oh crikey,
I don't think that you know, the.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Dogs need to get out. And studies show that direct
light on the skin, even through cloud cover, is sometimes
just enough to give you that boost.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
And I always feel better after I've come in from
a walk. It helps me to reset my brain really
and I do no input. Walks, I don't listen to anything.
I don't have my headphones in, I don't listen to
even music. I just listen to whatever's happening nature, cars,
going past trains, going past planes, that sort of thing,
and encouraging the whole households. Guard for a brisk walk together,
(16:08):
just to quit running around the garden, or simply just
stand outside in the morning whilst you're drinking your coffee,
you know, dressing gown on, slippers on, you know, it
doesn't matter if the neighbors see you. Get out there,
get into nature, get into the light. So so important.
Do not underestimate that November, this time of the year,
(16:31):
it's not the time for grand plans or strict productivity challenges.
Just look for micro winds, small achievable, stackable tasks that
can offer satisfaction without additional pressure, which is one of
the reasons why Organize Christmas is so popular because it's slow.
It's thirteen weeks and people think Crike is dragging this out.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
It's that long for a reason. It's slow.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
It's small micro that stack up and give you that satisfaction,
that dopamine here that you've done something really productive without
putting you under too much pressure. So it could be
something like tidy and wandraw. Reading one chapter of a
book that you've been promising yourself that you were going
(17:19):
to read all year. Preparing tomorrow's breakfast can act as
a spark, and it can really it sounds really cliche,
it can really boosm around. If you're happy, someone's happy,
someone in a good mood. That stuff is contagious, right,
But but talk about being in a happy mood and
(17:40):
making other people happy. Manage your social energy.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
It is so.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Important to be very realistic, like what sort of person
are you? I have a small social battery that dims
even smaller.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
In the winter.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
So I have to be very intentional about what I
sign myself up for socially in the winter, because I
can burn out really really quickly. And like, don't forget
the whole idea of Tom Rocks and body doubling. Essentially
(18:14):
doing tasks in parallel with someone else, whether in person
or whether with me on a Rocks episode, like doing
a productivity session or folding some laundry.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
If you are sharing a routine.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Or a job, it not only helps to keep accountability
up but also adds a little bit of warmth to
really mundane tasks. Again, this is why the tom Rock
sessions are so popular. They're like on demand sessions essentially
put you get the app, you open it, like, what
do we need to do today?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
What don't what?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
I need to see laundry, but I don't feel like
doing it. I'm going to pop a laundry session on.
It just adds a little bit. It softens the edges,
and in a busy family, in a busy world, like
just doing something with someone else, even if it's virtually
on the app, or if you're like doing it with
your partner folding laundry together, world chatting or synchronizing homework
(19:01):
time with pair and admin sessions just to create a
working atmosphere rather than like doing it all isolated, because
this time that you can feel quite isolating. It can
just help to make it all feel a little bit easier.
Like when Ben is doing his homework. Very often I
will just do some work. Admin will be at the
(19:22):
kitchen island. I'll have my laptop, nothing really that I
have to concentrate loads on because he might have a
question about his homework, or he might be doing some
art and we'll have the radio on, just have some
classical music on and it it's just nice. It just
feels like a little warmer cocoon and just makes it
feel less harsh. Really, I think that's the best, the
(19:43):
best way of describing it. So being kind to yourself.
Household empathy is so important. Household empathy. I think if
I could bottle it and sell it, I'd be a
very rich person.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
It's very important.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It's like a psychological switch, just from judgment to understanding.
Like seasonal slumps are not an individual failing, They're a
biological and cultural thing.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
They're a thing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
So modeling like gentle self talk to yourself can also help,
you know, demonstrate that to kids and like other family members,
just checking in with each other, making sure that you're okay.
Maybe add a little bit of softness, like when it
feels a little bit feels a bit dull, a little
(20:30):
bit wintery, a little bit autumn like, even something really
simple like having a cop of hot chocolate and watching
a silly film. Ben and I watched babem with that
film like it's years old now, the Pig Babe the
other night and we had such a good giggle, And
then we watched babe Pig in the city and now
he wants to watch one hundred and one Dalmatians.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
And it just something really simple.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
It's like basically a free activity, and it's something that
we can do together and he can look forward to
it and I can look forward to it as well,
and it can just transform the household atmosphere from stressed
to supportive and collaborative, which you know we all want,
don't we.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
And just remember that you are part of a community.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
You're part of the top the TOM community, the Organized
Method community. If you're remember with the Facebook group, then
there is an off topic group that you can go
and have a chat about things like this.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
You know it's busy.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
The November dip often shows up with a subtle scramble.
So just have it in the back of your mind
that this can be happening. It might not be that
you've just suddenly lost your routine and it's something you've done,
you've not failed. Just a simple acknowledgment like, ah, we're
having a dip week, We're going to have a slow week.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Just break the cycle of guilt, use down time together
for laughter, for warmth rather than just Frenzy's attempts to
get back on track. So board games, simple meal times
or evening just listening to each other and just have
a little bit of a moan about your day. It
helps people to connect massively, and if you're living alone
(22:08):
or remote from family, remember digital connections. Like Tom is, obviously,
this is his first term in UNI, and I'm very
aware that this November dip might be hitting him right now.
Like the rush and the adrenaline of the fresh as
week and all that is probably probably a long distant memory.
The reality is biting of like budgeting, the amount of
(22:31):
work that you have to do at UNI, and maybe
like being away from family. The gloss is starting to
wear off and reality is setting in. So don't forget
digital connection. Rituals matter, like a weekly check in or
a shared visual activity of visual virtual activity. These moments
(22:51):
planned or spontaneous, they just help restore a sense of
connection and also of belonging as well. And finally it
also helps remember I think that November dip is cyclical.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
It ends, so don't think, oh my gosh, well this
is it now. It will end.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So if you think about like landmarks in the calendar,
such as the end of the year or start of.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
A new week.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
They naturally inspire fresh motivation. So we've got December's festive
mood coming up, we've got January's fresh start and springs
longer days. They act as like these natural remedies that
restore the confidence and drive, so.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You know they've got their play.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
So what about why don't we just make November just
a little bit slower, like just this is the cuddly month.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Think of it like that, this is the soft, cuddly
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Going to stress about it month, and just think of
it as cyclical as peaks and troughs. So if you
are finding yourself, or your family or your team in
the middle of a November dip this year, just pause.
Remember pause before you press, like press, play, break like globe.
Why can't look at it? Remember that pause buttons better
(24:02):
than press and stop. Think about small anchors, small rituals
instead of strict, rigid routines. Gou side, try and laugh
as much as you can, plan moments of connection and rest,
and more importantly, remember to offer yourself and others' kindness.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
The dip always ends and
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Energy will return, and sometimes the quiet seasons teachers more
than the loud ones ever could
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