January 13 or June 13

Okay, so I thought I was the only one feeling completely out of sync, but it seems like this 'confuddled' state is more common than I realized! Seriously, I've been waking up some mornings feeling like WE'RE SIX MONTHS INTO THE YEAR already, only to realize by checking my phone that IT'S STILL JANUARY. It's such a bizarre feeling, like time has decided to play a trick on all of us. For anyone else wondering, 'confuddled' pretty much sums up that feeling of being utterly confused, bewildered, or perplexed. It's when your brain just can't quite make sense of things, and for me, right now, that's definitely the calendar. One minute I'm celebrating the New Year, and the next I'm wondering if I somehow fast-forwarded straight to June! It’s this mental fog where clarity just seems to vanish, leaving you feeling adrift. This odd sensation of time distortion can be so disorienting. Psychologists actually have terms for how our perception of time can speed up or slow down depending on our experiences, stress levels, or even how much new information we're processing. When every day feels packed with tasks, or when there's a lot of uncertainty and change, it's easy for the days to blur and for a month to feel like a season. It’s like my internal clock is on a completely different timezone than the rest of the world, making each passing day feel both endlessly long and incredibly fleeting simultaneously. I've even heard of people jokingly wishing for an 'Undecimber' – a fictional eleventh month – to make sense of how quickly the year seems to be flying by, even when we're still in the early stages. The idea of an "undecimber" kind of resonates with this feeling of time being out of whack, as if we need an extra placeholder month to catch up. When the new year just begins and I’m already thinking about the fact that there are 11 MONTHS LEFT, it makes me question if I’ve been too busy or not busy enough, or if the days are just accelerating beyond my control. It’s a whimsical way to describe that feeling of needing more time, or perhaps just needing time to make more *sense*. To combat this 'confuddled' feeling and get a better grip on time, I've been trying a few things that might help you too. First, setting small, achievable goals each week helps me mark progress and gives the days more structure. Instead of just letting the weeks blend, hitting a small milestone makes each period feel distinct. Second, writing down a few memorable things that happened each day, no matter how small, makes me feel like I’m actually living those days, rather than just letting them slip by. It creates a mental anchor. And third, taking a moment to just be present, whether it’s observing the weather, enjoying a cup of coffee, or simply taking a few deep breaths, seems to slow things down, even if just for a moment. It’s amazing how much a little mindfulness can recalibrate your internal clock. If you're feeling equally confuddled by the calendar and the rapid march of time, maybe these little tricks can help you too in navigating through this temporal maze!