Outrunning January Blues

Welcome to the January 2026 edition of...
What I'm Into, What I'm Up To
#63

I have some thoughts (and maybe a solve) on my mental state this time of year, and a couple Netflix recommendations, but first...

Greysuits is on sale!

USA - Price promo from 01/17 to 01/24 noon (EST)
Greysuits - $0.99 USD

UK - Price promo from 01/17 to 01/24 noon (GMT)
Greysuits - 0.99 GBP

As I mentioned last month, I'm running a promo on Amazon for the Kindle version in both the US and the UK. You have 3 more days to grab it before it goes back to the usual price.

In other news, I find myself very much feeling the winter blues this January.

I really like being outside. Or at least I thought I really liked it. Now I think it's more a matter of survival. I NEED to be outside. Every day, if possible.

When I'm not outside enough, I get depressed, grouchy, and all around discombobulated.

The worst part of the day for me has long been the hours between about 4pm and 6pm, and it is especially acute this time of year, especially now we live in a place with real winters.

The sun currently goes down just past 5pm. And that's when I hit a mental wall. My mood tends to crash and burn and all my patience toward my family with it.

I've been thinking about this a lot since the kids went back to school from winter break a couple weeks ago.

It has become clearer and clearer I need to find new ways to cope with my mind's and body's response to being inside so much this time of year and to each day's early setting sun (and I know some of you get even less sunlight in winter than we do here).

So I decided to start going for a run just before the sun sets each day, as many days of the week as I can force myself to do it. And on the other days, a long walk. And at the very very very least, a quick 10 minute walk.

It was sometime last week, laying in bed one night, I decided to try this out. And of course, the next day the 'feels like' temperature at 4:30pm hit 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

But I was committed. I knew the alternative was a few hours of misery.

So I got on all the clothes and jackets and gloves I could, and I went out and ran-slash-walked for about half an hour.

And, wouldn't you know it, it worked!

I felt so much better being out at the end of the day—as measured by daylight—than being inside trying to 'get work done' or figure out dinner or answer loads of questions from the kids or try to hold a conversation with them or Wendy or whatever else I normally do at 4:30pm.

It was kind of like, by going out at that time, I was squeezing every last drop of daylight out of the day before the sun said farewell.

And I was outside, which, even in painfully cold weather, helps me feel more alive and grounded than I ever feel inside.

Anyway, I don't know if that resonates with you, but I thought it was worth sharing. I think I've gone out every day since then before or during sunset for a run or walk, and it has made a big difference in my mood and mental wellbeing and dinnertime focus.

And so far no one in my house has seemed bothered by my half hour absence each day. In fact, the kids are forced to be more responsible for themselves than when I am there trying to keep everyone on track, and everyone is probably a little more relaxed without my afternoon 'porcupine-i-ness'.

Another thing I decided at the same time, which also probably made a big difference, was that I will spend a little time each day working through a Udemy course.

So most days now at around 10am I brew my morning tea in a Yeti travel mug, pack up my stuff, walk down to the local library (where I am now), and do between one and two hours of self-paced classes about video game development, because that is something I have been wanting to learn for years and years.

I bought three courses on sale a few years ago (never buy courses full price on Udemy—they are always running sales with steep discounts) and completed most of one course at the time (Complete C# Unity 2D Game Development), then life got crazy and I didn't prioritize it with everything else going on.

Until now.

As for what I'm currently in to: I've been rewatching the live action version of One Piece on Netflix and liking it just as much the second time around. And it looks like a new season is coming in March.

I'm always looking for an adventurous, hot-weather-y, ideally ocean-y movie or series this time of year when it's grey and cold and brown outside. Usually it's an epic full day or two watch of all the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, or Kingdom Of Heaven or Gladiator or RRR, but One Piece is a great addition to the post-Christmas winter mix.

Also, Wendy and I just watched the new rom-com on Netflix called People We Meet On Vacation. If you like romantic comedies, it's worth a watch.

And finally, Wendy got me into an AppleTV+ podcast (apparently that's a thing) called Adrift. It's a documentary series about a real family who was lost at sea for over a month and lived to tell about it. Really interesting.

That's all for this month.

Take care and stay brave and hopeful—our optimism is our greatest gift to ourselves and each other in these wild and frenetic times.

Remember, this too shall pass. Nothing—good or bad—lasts forever.