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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish people wouldn't be so negative about January

148 replies

kingscote · 19/12/2018 10:54

Had somebody already in work going on about how she's dreading January because it will be so boring and she'll have no money to go out and everyone will be off drink etc etc

I bought a magazine yesterday which was the January edition and it was full of dreary articles about diet and exercise.

AIBU to wish people would stop turning January into some kind of national month of sackcloth and ashes?

Yes, some people like to see the start of a new year as a time to make changes. But it's the general going on and on about it in a gloomy and negative way that really gets to me.

OP posts:
goingonabearhunt1 · 19/12/2018 16:59

that's such a good idea ichi (starting weightloss Nov and holiday Jan). I might steal that plan for next year!

OneStepMoreFun · 19/12/2018 17:00

I also think a lot of people put things off until after Christmas: 'Oh I'll worry about it when Christmas is over' kind of thing, so then face a load of deferred tasks or problems in January.

@Swansandducks - that is so insightful. Maybe it's obvious, but it wasn't to me until you said it.

WilburforceRaven · 19/12/2018 17:02

YANBU. I get sick of all the virtue signallers on FB and hide them.

U2HasTheEdge · 19/12/2018 17:12

Hate it. But it is the winter I despise more than the month. I usually feel a bit of Xmas come down and I don't even like Xmas that much.

KatherinaMinola · 19/12/2018 17:14

It feels like the world has been reset

That's a very good way of putting it. I like January.

MorningsEleven · 19/12/2018 17:15

Try having a birthday in January.

TheBigBangRocks · 19/12/2018 17:16

Not keen on the cold weather but other than that it's no different to other months.

If people have less money it should because they overspent in December so perhaps a lesson learned in future,

expatmigrant · 19/12/2018 17:18

I'm looking forward to January.
All the Christmas fuff will be over. Will be going to the gym anyway but drinking less.
Also starting new job and really looking forward to that.
Lighter evenings and spring will be closer.

knittedmouse · 19/12/2018 17:26

Try having a birthday in January. Nobody can be bothered to do anything 😕

NailsNeedDoing · 19/12/2018 17:44

If you try really hard, you can start seeing the daylight hours getting longer by the end of January. That's my only positive.

Strokethefurrywall · 19/12/2018 18:24

I quite like January, all my annual leave gets reset! Disclaimer: I live in the Caribbean so the miserable weather doesn't affect me anymore but I found February far harder weather wise than January, the winter seemed interminable by 17 February!

I don't believe in setting new years resolutions, because you're setting yourself up to fail frankly. The only thing I would do is plan a holiday the first few weeks of the new year, something that I can look forward to and focus on.

I don't really drink alcohol anymore and am already a fitness freak, so diet and exercise resolutions don't make any difference to me.

People stuff their faces through the whole of December with shit food and alcohol and then wonder why they have such a massive crash in January when they deny themselves. Prolonged abstinence of joyful food and booze, combined with dark and gloomy weather and short days is going to make anyone hate January.

Probably the only way to get around it is to work towards an exercise goal in November/early December, that way the Christmas week can't do too much damage, and then book a mid-January sun holiday.

ForalltheSaints · 19/12/2018 18:32

I have as little time off over Christmas, so I can have some time off in late January or February, and go somewhere, even if just for a weekend. Makes it seem much better with something to look forward to.

It would be better if we ended putting clocks back in the winter, so that by the end of the month we would have daylight to between 530pm and 6pm.

stayingaliveisawayoflife · 19/12/2018 19:12

I'm doing red January which is run every day and is for the charity Mind. You don't have to run just so some exercise every day which does make you feel better. There is also not much pressure to raise loads as they know Jan is tough.
Maybe we could get a bunch of MNs to join together!

FuzzyCustard · 19/12/2018 19:15

I agree OP.
I have a January birthday and it is filled with other people's misery and shit presents, usually the remnants of the sale bin.

MiddlingMum · 19/12/2018 19:16

Love January, it’s as far away from Christmas as you can get.

This

January is fab. Bulbs starting to show in the gardens and parks, days start to get longer, the shops are no longer full of Christmas tat, my tax return will be done for another year and it's a good time to plan all sorts of things for the coming year.

FuzzyCustard · 19/12/2018 19:17

And a positive thing...snowdrops!

speakout · 19/12/2018 19:20

I love it.

I love the lack of activity, the calm after christmas, the icy cold.
The house is tranquil and quiet, organised and tidy.

The only thorn is having to do my tax return!

brizzledrizzle · 19/12/2018 19:27

January is no better or worse than any month, whichever one it is I'm still broke.

ShinyMe · 19/12/2018 19:33

I like January MUCH more than December. Fresh start, no enforced parties, bit more energy and days starting to get longer. It's not my favourite time of year, but it's much more my thing than November/December.

Kemer2018 · 19/12/2018 19:40

January is a shit month which is why i no longer make resolutions or start diets or exercise regimes.
Lettuce is shite in winter, why lie?
I start in March!

JAMMFYesPlease · 19/12/2018 19:42

YADNBU! I dont get the hate for January. It can be a PITA if you haven't budgeted properly but I find the start of the year refreshing. The only January I disliked was the one I had a baby in but that was due to the stress in the run up to having the baby and the fear something would go wrong (like it did with my first). Once i had DD2 January was great again!

blueskiespls · 19/12/2018 22:01

I like January. The feeling that Spring is (kinda) on its way... have a massive clear out so the house is tidy and clutter free. I also like the fact that all that big expenditure is over and we can try and get back on track againHmm
Generally I feel quite positive about the month of January

juneybean · 19/12/2018 22:02

We got married in January so that it wasn't such a depressing month!

needanappp · 19/12/2018 22:38

Doesn't usually bother me but I'll definitely not be keen on this coming January! One thing I always find is that it seems to be a very long month and I am due a baby at the very end of the month therefore it will last approximately 5 years for me haha!

Mitsouko67 · 19/12/2018 22:49

Yeah I find January tough and long. I usually try to plan something nice.

Early January is nice but after that it's downhill. Agree re lack of way markers bar Epiphany and Burns Night.