It’s a busy time of year for Apple fans and commentators. If past is precedent, we’ve got a lot to look forward to over the next two weeks:

new iPhones, Apple Watches, and possibly other hardware announced this Wednesday
online preorders for the new hardware this weekend
major updates to the operating systems for every Apple product early next week
new devices in customers’ hands and storefronts at the end of next week

That’s a lot to pack into such a short time period, and it’s part of why I enjoy this time of year so much.

Normally, all of this excitement comes with a ton of work for me. In addition to new iPhones, early September has to come to mean event coverage, visionOS review writing, and editing other OS reviews under short time constraints that have the potential to change as quickly as Apple can publish a footnote in a press release. In short, September used to be a whirlwind.

This year, the winds have died down. I’m not furiously writing chapters, sending off editing notes, testing last-minute beta changes, or outlining which parts of Apple’s announcement video I’ll have to take extra-detailed notes on. I’m just… getting ready to watch and react along with everyone else. There’s no stress at all.

So why is it that I’m feeling stressed all the same? As I read about the rumors and count down the days to the big event, I find there’s a pressure building within me, a feeling of urgency with no real source or outlet. It’s like there’s a voice telling me, “You’re missing something!” but I check my to-do list, and there’s nothing there.

I’m a naturally anxious person, so I’ve experienced this sort of thing before, but it’s been a while. This time around, I’ve put a label on it that I’m finding helpful: phantom stress. There isn’t actually anything wrong, but I’m used to being under a lot of pressure this time of year, and the gap between expectation and reality gets filled with worry and distress.

Basically, I’m stressing myself out about not having anything to stress about. Productive, right?

Maybe you’ve experienced something like phantom stress before. If so, you’re not the only one. It’s bizarre, and it’s ultimately pointless, but it’s human, too.

Our brains are amazing things that are far more capable than we often realize, and sometimes, that capability can have unexpected consequences. In my case, my brain is so used to running in overdrive this time of year that it’s searching for something to latch onto, some external deadline or task to direct its energy towards. That practical motivation may be missing, but the habitual energy is still there, spinning in circles, waiting for me to redirect it.

I guess that’s what I’m doing right now, writing this and forcing you to come along with me on such a meandering mental journey. Maybe this is my way of turning phantom stress into something positive – for me, at the very least, and hopefully for somebody else. Investing more energy into this little online space lately has been great for me on a lot of levels, and if a story I publish here does end up helping someone out there, then it’ll certainly all have been worth it.

Besides channeling my creative energy in a different direction, the other thing I’m trying to do is just take it easy on myself. It would be easy to beat myself up for wasting time on worrying for no reason, but I’m not sure that anyone’s ever shamed their mind into working better. The best thing I can do is recognize this feeling for what it is, remind myself it’s temporary, and do what I can to make something positive out of it.

Eventually, my mind will adapt to a new schedule, the sting of realizing things are so different will wear off, and I’ll feel lighter. I look forward to it. But even as I’m working through it all, I’m not going to let phantom stress keep me from enjoying a time that I truly love. I’ll carry on and lean into the strangeness of going into an event day on the sidelines. After all, there’s no time to fold to the pressure when there are so many exciting things to focus on.