Why Does 6 P.M. Feel So Late in November?

Every fall when it’s time to turn the clocks back to standard time, there’s one thing I actually look forward to. That extra hour we get on Saturday night.

I’ll gladly take another hour added to my weekend. For one night, the whole arrangement seems like a pretty good deal. But by Monday evening, I’m already remembering why I dislike this time of year so much.

Here we are in the first week of November, and the conversations are about the same as they’ve been every year. Somebody at work mentions how the time change has messed up their sleep. Somebody else complains about how early it’s getting dark. I usually have something to add to that conversation myself.

Of course, not everybody lives somewhere that changes the clocks, but the shorter days of fall are something most of us deal with one way or another.

I’m 56 years old, and I’ve been through plenty of these seasonal changes. I’ve survived every one of them, and I’m pretty sure I’ll make it through this one too. But I still hate losing that evening daylight.

Watching the Day Come and Go

This time of year, I get to watch the sky begin lighting up during my morning commute. The sun is coming up, another day is getting started, and I pull into the parking lot, get out of my car, and head into a building where I’ll spend the next eight hours.

I do get a little break from being indoors. There’s a hill where I spend thirty minutes during lunch when the weather cooperates. I enjoy sitting out there under the trees, getting some fresh air, and just watching what’s going on around me.

But when work is over, the sun is already getting ready to call it a day.

Just a couple of months ago, I could come home, eat supper, and still have plenty of daylight left. There was grass to cut, container gardening to tend to, or something I wanted to work on outside. Sometimes I’d take a walk, and other evenings I might not do much of anything.

Even when I didn’t have plans, it was nice looking outside and seeing the sun still shining. There was something about knowing I had all that daylight left, whether I did anything with it or not.

Now it’s November, and things feel completely different. You get home, take care of a few things, and before you know it, you’re looking out the window at darkness. The clock might say 6:30, but it sure doesn’t feel like 6:30.

There’s Just Something About the Darkness

By seven o’clock now, it’s been dark for a while, the neighborhood has quieted down, and getting comfortable in your favorite chair sounds pretty appealing. Once you’re settled in, the thought of getting back up and going somewhere doesn’t seem nearly as inviting.

I’ve been reading a little about how daylight affects our internal clocks and how our bodies respond to light and darkness. Most of that is pretty much what you’d expect. But it got me thinking about how easily our habits change with the seasons.

During the warmer months, there’s always something drawing me outside. When the days get shorter, a lot of those activities disappear from my evenings, and I tend to settle into the same routine without giving it much thought.

The other night, I mentioned to my wife how this time change was going to interfere with my walks.

“You have a treadmill,” she said.

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

And I still say it isn’t. I don’t walk outside just to get exercise. I enjoy looking around, noticing things, and having time to think. Some of my best ideas have come from those walks, just turning something over in my head without a bunch of distractions. I don’t get that same feeling walking on a treadmill.

But my wife did have a point. I have another way to get some walking in, even if it’s not my favorite. It made me wonder what else I might be overlooking during these darker months.

A Few Things I’m Thinking About Trying

Usually, I just complain about the earlier darkness for a while and go on about my business. This year, I’ve been thinking about doing a few things differently.

One idea I’ve been reading about is making plans for things you enjoy before the time comes to actually do them. Instead of waiting until you feel like getting out and doing something, you decide ahead of time. That makes sense when I think about my own evenings.

By the time I’ve gotten home, talked with my wife, eaten supper, and caught up on a few things on my laptop, I’m usually pretty comfortable right where I am. It would take a pretty good reason to get me back out of the house at that point.

But suppose my wife and I had already decided earlier in the day that we were going somewhere that evening. Maybe out to eat or just getting out for a while. I’d probably look at the evening a little differently because we already had something to do.

I don’t want every evening planned out, and I certainly don’t want to turn my free time into another job. But I can see where making an occasional plan might keep the weeknights from all running together.

Another thing I’m considering is making better use of the daylight I do have. I already enjoy my thirty minutes on the hill at lunch, and maybe I’ll work a little more walking into that time when the weather is nice.

Weekends are another possibility. I can’t do much about being inside at work during the week, but I can make a little more effort to get outside on Saturdays and Sundays while there’s still daylight. That doesn’t mean filling the weekend with chores. I just want to make room for the outdoor things I enjoy.

And I suppose I should give that treadmill another chance. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, but I do have one sitting there. It won’t replace my outdoor walks, but it doesn’t have to be an exact replacement to be worth using.

I don’t know how much difference any of these ideas will make. They seem worth trying instead of doing the same thing I do every winter.

Making Something of These Darker Evenings

I know some people actually enjoy this time of year. They like the cooler weather and those quiet evenings at home. After a busy summer, having fewer things to do outside might be exactly what they’re looking forward to.

I can understand that. There’s nothing wrong with sitting around the house and enjoying a little peace and quiet. I do plenty of that myself. But if you’re like me and find yourself getting restless with the same winter routine, maybe there’s something you’d enjoy doing differently once in a while.

It’s worth asking whether you’re actually enjoying your evenings or you’ve just gotten into the habit of spending them the same way.

As for me, I still prefer those long summer evenings. I like having the sun shining above the trees when I get home and knowing there’s enough daylight left to do whatever comes to mind. I don’t expect that to change.

But I’m curious to see if doing a few things differently will make these shorter days a little more enjoyable. I’ve spent enough years complaining about turning the clocks back. I figure it’s worth giving something else a try.

And if none of it works, I suppose I’ll have something new to complain about next November.