The calendar says a new season is beginning– summer flew by and now fall is upon us. We know when a new season is coming by looking at the calendar, here in Vermont, it has been very easy to feel it coming, as well.
The seasons, if we follow them, can be guides to different times of our life. In the fall, leaves are falling. You might hear metaphors every year about letting some things “fall” away in your own life. Clearing out, moving things out and around, getting outside- all of this will help you to create energy as the year winds down. Be determined to get the best from yourself, for yourself and then others, too.
Overall, deciding what is actually vital to your life and your well being is the theme here- all other things must “fall” away.
Your fall checklist:
- Go through your home, garage, yard, office and car. Clean up and put away anything and everything from the previous season. Throw things away that have been worn out or broken. Feel gratitude for all of the things you are picking up or letting go of and remember why you are grateful.
- Reorganize your clothes. Do you see any clothes that you didn’t wear all summer? It may be that they have served their purpose and it is time to let them go. Maybe some of your clothes were “you” in previous seasons of your life. It’s okay to part with them- someone will be blessed by what you part with. If things don’t quite fit, aren’t you or in disrepair, now is a good time to take action and clear things out.
- Sweep through each room of your living spaces and find one thing to give away, throw away, get rid of.
- While sweeping through find another thing in each space to move to another place in the room- even if it is a few inches to the left.
- Write a mantra for this season of your life- once sentence max. A sentence that reflects what you want the coming season to mean to/for you. Speak it out loud each morning, write it out and hang it up and think about it often to keep yourself on track.
- Spend 30 minutes to one hour writing in a journal or notebook outside- because we still can! A park, a cafe, your porch, on top of a mountain. Write down all of the things you are looking forward to in the season ahead.
- Write down everything that is currently bothering you along with at least one solution. Decide to take action, delegate or let go of each one.
- Create a fall booklist, movie and tv list and schedule time for all. Make a list of all places you want to visit including restaurants and schedule them in, as well. Plan at least once road trip, half day or full.
- This wouldn’t be my fall checklist without mentioning pumpkin. It might be fun to find and try all kinds of pumpkin and pumpkin spice food items and drinks. See if you can find a pumpkin spice latte with REAL pumpkin in it- not just syrup or flavoring.
- Schedule in each of these appointments, you decide how much time, each week: thinking time, creating time, planning time, and reading time.
- Tune up your health habits and care. What worked to keep you healthy in previous seasons may not be the right thing now. Are the supplements your taking the right ones? Is the food you’re choosing really serving you best not? In the book Outlive, Peter Attia makes the strong point that things that could be going wrong can already be going wrong decades before the signs show up.Are you getting quality sleep? What screening tests have you put off? Is it time to educate yourself? Where are you in denial or procrastinating? It’s a great time to shake loose of old habitual ways and take action.
- What would you add to the list to make this season, your fall season 2025 the best it can be for you?