Does Anyone Else Feel Like The Second October Arrives, You Blink… And Suddenly It’s Christmas?

Does anyone else feel like the second October arrives, you blink… and suddenly it’s Christmas?

The final three months of the year have a strange habit of feeling significantly faster than everything that came before them. And while they obviously contain the same number of hours in a day as every other month, there are a few reasons why our brains might experience them differently.

One explanation is routine.

When our days are filled with similar experiences, our brains create fewer distinctive memories. Looking back, that period can therefore feel shorter than a period packed with new experiences.

Then there’s simply how much happens towards the end of the year.

October brings Halloween and the full return to work, school and university routines. November quickly follows, and before you know it, Christmas parties, shopping, events, family plans and end-of-year deadlines start filling up December.

There’s also the countdown effect.

Once October arrives, we become increasingly aware that the year is ending. Instead of thinking about how much of 2026 has passed, we start counting down to Christmas and the New Year.

And as we get older, time itself can appear to move faster. One explanation is that each passing year represents a progressively smaller proportion of our lives, while adulthood can also involve more repetitive routines and fewer completely new experiences.

So no, October to December isn’t actually moving faster. But when life gets busier, routines take over and every shop suddenly starts reminding you that Christmas is coming… It certainly feels like it is.

Does the last part of the year fly by for you too?

#MaltaDaily