Rethink & Reset
Prepare for fall by decluttering your goals and plans
As I’m preparing for my fall workshop in September, I am organizing my thoughts around two concepts: Rethink and reset.
The end of summer feels like “back to school.” I find myself craving new outfits and sharp #2 pencils. It’s a great time to reevaluate your plans, throw out what’s not working, and set a direction to take you into the new year.
This year’s Autumn Equinox Planning workshop will include activities to explore ways to rethink and reset. Prepare to go “back to school,” even if school is a distant memory!
Rethink: Who are you, and what do you care about?
In my spring workshop, we explored the 3 Vs — Values, Virtues, and Vision — in order to plant seeds for the future. Six months later is a good time to look at what’s growing from those seeds, and what needs to be weeded out.
If you haven’t done so recently, it might be a good time to review your core values. I suggest honing in on three to five that seem most important to you right now. To stay focused on what’s important to you, you need to assess whether your daily activities and future plans align with your values.
Another way to rethink your plans is to take a moment to ask yourself: “WHO AM I?” I know, deep thoughts. But so much of our activity is tied to identity in one way or another, the best way to change your own behavior is to focus on what the “real you” would do. Shake off the cultural expectations and listen to your inner wisdom. Who are you, really?
While your set of values and identities may not change much, they may shift in importance depending on what is going on it your life. To make a plan for fall, try to hone in on which roles and values feel most important today. It’s okay if they shift later. That’s just the nature of life.
Now, take a look at your life today. How much of your time and energy go toward the important stuff based on who you are and what you value? How scattered is your time and energy? How can you simplify and focus? As usual, my fall workshop will help us identify ways to clear clutter and make space for what’s important.
Reset: Equinox Planning back-to-school
If you have a plan or goals you set earlier in the year, now is the time to dust them off and hit the reset button. September is the perfect time to ride those back-to-school vibes and start fresh.
Sharpen your pencils and don your new fall cardigan. Crack open a new notebook or planner, and start with a simple journal prompt: “What do I want LESS of in my life?” This could include habits or activities that don’t support your values or align with your identity. Or, maybe you want to simplify your wardrobe or downsize your Tupperware collection. Maybe there’s someone who saps your energy that you could gently distance yourself from.
Perhaps you are consuming more news, social media, or true crime podcasts than is healthy. Or maybe your incoming email newsletters are beyond what you could ever read. Or snack foods have taken over your life.
There are many ways to downsize and declutter your life, but the key to the fall reset is a close look at your projects and to-do lists. Take a minute to list out all of your current projects and tasks, then evaluate each one. Does it support one of your values or identities? If it doesn’t, could you take it off your list, pay someone else to do it, or defer it until later if you really must do it?
The goal is to hone in on three projects or fewer to focus on this fall. Keep everything else in a backlog for consideration when you are planning for winter. If there’s a project or goal you set earlier that you have not addressed, consider moving it to your backlog for now.
I’m a big fan of starting fresh with systems and tools. If your task manager feels cluttered, try switching to a new one every year or two. You can always switch back! Overhauling systems may sound like busy work, but the fresh perspective can help create that back-to-school vibe.
You can register to join my fall workshop if you’d like to walk through this process in more detail and come up with a fresh plan for this season.
