November arrives, and with it the days suddenly get shorter. "I'm very regular in summer, and as soon as the days get shorter I forget my oil three evenings out of five," a loyal customer told me last week. It's a pattern many people share from mid-autumn, and there's a fairly simple reason behind it.
Why we slip at exactly this time of year
Less light, evenings that start earlier, a different kind of tiredness from summer: the evening routine easily fades when you come home from work in the dark at 6 pm. The bottle stays in the drawer, you tell yourself you'll do it tonight, and you remember three days later when you find it by chance.
Simplify rather than force a new habit
The most effective approach is to link taking it to something already automatic in your evening: right after brushing your teeth, or while making your evening tea. A customer told us he now keeps his bottle next to his toothbrush rather than in a kitchen drawer, and that this simple change of place made all the difference to his regularity.
"I'm very regular in summer, and as soon as the days get shorter I forget my oil three evenings out of five. Since I put it next to my kettle, I hardly ever forget it," this customer told us – she simply changed where she keeps her bottle in autumn.
Adapt the format to the season
Some prefer to switch to gummies in autumn, easier to take to work and to take at a fixed time than a dropper that needs a calm moment. Others keep the oil but put it in plain sight, near the kettle or coffee machine, so it's visible at the right time of day.
Don't feel guilty about gaps in your routine
Skipping a few days doesn't reset everything to zero. CBD isn't a treatment where absolute regularity determines effectiveness, like an antibiotic. Just start again as soon as you remember, without trying to make up for missed days with a stronger dose – that achieves nothing.
What I recommend in practice
Link your dose to something you already do every evening, rather than trying to create a new standalone habit. If your routine has gone off the rails since September, we can help you find a format that's easier to keep up over time.
