HOW TO PLAN YOUR FALL BUCKET LIST (SO YOU DON’T GET OVERWHELMED)

There’s those of us who think their year begins in January and there’s those of us who think their year begins in September. When Fall comes around it’s the promise of colder weather, the start of the scholastic school year, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday. Fall is the eve of the New Year, so how do you prepare for all of that?

Let’s discuss the best possible ways you can prepare for fall (without getting to overwhelmed)

Brain dump on your Calendar

Take a look at a calendar and list any important dates you can think of - Birthdays, Anniversaries, School Plays, cancelling that subscription after that free monthly membership (yikes)? Unload anything you have in your brain about what’s on the agenda for the upcoming months so you have a visual reminder of what you need to prepare yourself for. You will most likely forget a few things but this reference point will help you continue on the track to progressing to step two of not being overwhelmed.

Have some You time

Already? Yes. The next part is the easy and difficult part. Have some time to yourself to figure out what you would like to get done in this upcoming fall. Think about any thoughts that have been pestering you this past year. Fall can offer you a new opportunity to bring out those winter clothes, plan a fun (Covid- friendly) trip to look forward to, begin that garden with fresh herbs you’ve been thinking of getting to, or make your way towards beginning a project that’s been on your mind this year. Write down anything you can think of that you would like to complete this fall, as the weather changes, think of it as a fresh slate to you also making some adjustments with the season.

Label

Now that you have both your important dates listed on your Calendar and a list of what you would like to achieve. Combine the two and transfer your me-time goals over to your calendar. During this process it’s important you’re also mindful of when you want this goal completed and spare some room for setbacks. For example, is it possible you want to go all out for Halloween? Set an early date for when you would like to begin prepping for the day and an alternate startup day as cushion if the first day doesn’t go as planned. Do this process with all of your goals - creating a first initiation day, alternate, and day of completion. TIP = If you’re the type of person that needs a check in what’s in a while include a Check In day, this could be a simple note to self to see what your progress is with the goal or have a friend or family member you trust check in to see that you’re getting along well.

Create systems not goals

This term is coined from the groundbreaking book Atomic Habits by James Clear that focuses on creating a smaller process to reach your bigger goals. After seeing your calendar obligations and goals intermingled on your Calendar now you must create a step by step process of how to reach there. The important part is to start SMALL - that Halloween blow out we mentioned before? It’s now a neighborhood hosted haunted house tour. Your initiation day could simply be writing down ideas for what you would like to include, the next day could be finishing that list, maybe later that week you can source out the products, give yourself enough time to have the opportunity to take your time!

Practice Relaxation

If you know this fall will be a stressful one, prepare yourself for that and do things that help you unwind. Fall is meant to be a cozy time of year, do not overexert yourself so you’re not able to enjoy the time you have left in the year!