I like to think that when it comes to Fall there are two kinds of people; those who love it and those who hate it. I have dear friends who love fall for a number of reasons – the relief of cooling temperatures, the fun of layered clothing and the anticipation of Thanksgiving & Halloween. I, however, am a person who thrives on heat and sunshine, backyard barbecue parties and weekends at the cottage. So how can we continue to get along? 

The best solution is to find common ground. What are we all going through at this time of year?How can we embrace and take advantage of the changes?  Here are a few ideas I have for looking at this season as a perfect time to make changes to my routine for the better.

Daily

The reality is that fall marks the transition from summer to winter, daylight hours are getting shorter and temperatures are cooling. Not to mention that school starts and traffic increases often lengthening our commute. The first thing to considers how well your current routine is working for you.  If you don’t have a daily routine, then I recommend you create one! You are simply building a daily routine in a 24 hour period that includes work, personal time and sleep!  We all need 7-8 hours of sleep so start there and work your way through an average day.  If you already have a daily routine in place but haven’t been able to maintain it, ask yourself why and consider making changes to it. Maybe you are trying to fit too much into your day and find you are unable to make an impact on your top priorities.  If meetings are consuming too many work hours, block time in your calendar for focussed work.  This is the equivalent of paying yourself first! Work, family and life in general change over time and so should our daily routine. 

Weekly

With everyone just back from summer holidays, weekly schedules change in the fall. Planned activities resume and many of us get back into an indoor fitness routine as outdoor fun decreases.  Create a weekly plan for yourself and include all members of your household, don’t forget the dog, he needs regular exercise too. There are many ways to do this and you’ll need to find the one that works for you.  The idea is to enjoy these extra activities without over scheduling! Who wants to have to rush like crazy to make it somewhere right after yoga class? These planned activities are meant to enrich our lives not add stress. Having a weekly plan makes booking appointments and replying to invitations much easier. Fall is a great time to take a good look at your weekly routine and decide what works, what doesn’t and modify accordingly.

Seasonal

There is a big transition in nature as summer turns to fall and it impacts us in many ways too. Many of the things we do in summer we don’t do in the winter. Everyone knows what ‘a spring cleaning’ means but most of us don’t really think of fall in the same way. Autumn is definitely a time to turn over the closets, fix up the house and refresh your attitude at the office. These things take time and can often be overlooked; have you ever woken up to your first snow fall and realized you need to find your warm boots, the car scraper and a snow shovel? Having a ‘fall cleaning’ routine can help avoid last-minute scrambles.

Here is a list of a few things we should all be thinking about this fall:

Inside the Home

  • Put away summer clothes and products and taking out winter ones
  • Consult the list of indoor house projects like painting, repairs and redecorating
  • Schedule an appointment for the furnace tune up

Outside the Home

  • Harvest the gardens, clear out annuals, consult the waste collection schedule for yard waste pick up dates.
  • Close the pool and put the bikes away, including any maintenance these need
  • Decide when to put away gardening tools and have shovels and car scrapers at the ready
  • Book the tire change around the end of October to the beginning of November

In the Workplace

  • Review sales numbers, hourly targets and annual goals; plan to fill any gaps found.
  • Determine courses/education acquired this year and enroll in more if needed.
  • Reflect on your career and plan for any changes next year.

Whether you love this season or loathe it, we are all in it together! Thinking about my fall routine is actually making me look forward to it! Maybe I’m not entirely a summer gal after all. Let’s take advantage of this natural change to reflect, revise and refocus ourselves and the routines we have in place.

Have an awesome autumn!

Learn more about:

The Importance of Sleep

Establishing a Routine

How to Manage Meeting Overload

Creating a weekly activity calendar for families, or households with more than one person, simply search the internet by typing; “how to make a weekly family calendar” for many useful and creative ideas.