Daylight Squandering Time - Not So Bad?
Nov. 9th, 2023 08:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerWe're several days into what I cheekily call Daylight Squandering Time. Y'know, the opposite of Daylight Saving Time? 😅 Technically the name is standard time or normal time, but technically those are also misnomers. This timing is used 5 months of the year, versus Daylight Saving Time's 7 months, so it's not really a standard or normal. Anyway, I didn't start this post just to bicker about terminology. I started it to reflect on the fact that the clock change back to standard normal used-less-than-half-the-year time has been less bothersome than I expected.
Each year I kind of dread "falling back" an hour because it puts sunset around 5pm. It's dark before I finish work for the day. There's no more opportunity to enjoy a bit of natural light for a walk or a drink on the balcony when I'm done working. By 7pm it's so dark out it feels like late night already.
This year the clock change has been... not so bad. Granted, we're only 5 days in to it, but these past 5 days have been less bothersome than I expected. I've I definitely appreciated the positive side of light earlier in the morning. Getting up with my 6:45am alarm is easier now because there's light in the sky. (Sunrise was 6:42am today.) I wake up more naturally instead of wanting to swat the snooze button until 7:30 or later. Meanwhile the downside of darkness coming earlier has been not so bad.
Why has the downside been not so bad? I figure it's a few things.
Each year I kind of dread "falling back" an hour because it puts sunset around 5pm. It's dark before I finish work for the day. There's no more opportunity to enjoy a bit of natural light for a walk or a drink on the balcony when I'm done working. By 7pm it's so dark out it feels like late night already.
This year the clock change has been... not so bad. Granted, we're only 5 days in to it, but these past 5 days have been less bothersome than I expected. I've I definitely appreciated the positive side of light earlier in the morning. Getting up with my 6:45am alarm is easier now because there's light in the sky. (Sunrise was 6:42am today.) I wake up more naturally instead of wanting to swat the snooze button until 7:30 or later. Meanwhile the downside of darkness coming earlier has been not so bad.
Why has the downside been not so bad? I figure it's a few things.
- One, when I actually get up at sunrise, the day still feels adequately long. For example, we went on a very enjoyable hike this weekend that was really only possible because we got up early Sunday morning after the clock change overnight.
- Two, the weather's been good the past week. There has been sun all day. So while the days are getting shorter at least they still feel like daytime. For now.... When our weather shifts into more of a winter pattern with frequent clouds and light rain, maybe as soon as next week, I won't feel such equanimity.
- Finally, three, I mentally prepared for the shift to earlier, darker evenings. I thought about how I handled long dark nights when I lived at a further north latitude years ago. I've also shifted focus of my free time activities to things that work well indoors rather than relying on outdoors— this past Sunday's hike notwithstanding. Though I hope we can squeeze in a few more outings like that over the next several weeks!
