How to Embrace the Change in the Air to Design the Fall You Want

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”   Albert Camus

Summer is over and it is now time to embrace and say hello to Fall.  It is a great time to pause and reflect on what we want, what opportunities await us and what we should leave behind.  I recently took my daughter to college which was a new experience for me and left me feeling a range of emotions.  What really struck me was how alive a college campus is-- the students are filled with excitement, dreams and possibilities.  They know they are starting their four year journey of  fun, hard work and lots of unknowns.  It was very inspiring and got me thinking about this wonderful time of year when we welcome the freshness of Fall with its beautiful colors.  A time that means back to school, changing leaves, baseball playoffs (not this year for my team) and of course football!  Piggybacking off the change in season and my daughter’s upcoming new experience and excitement, I started wondering what should I kickoff this fall? 

So to start I fell back on an exercise I call Keep, Stop, Start.  It works for setting goals for your home, work or self.  It helps you pause and think about what is important and therefore, how you should be spending your time.  Here’s how it works:

1.    Sit down with a pad of paper or at your computer and make a chart with 3 columns with the following headings: Keep Doing, Stop Doing and Start Doing.

2.    Reflect and think about something you really want to make happen or accomplish this fall.  

3.    Under each heading put one or two items.  For example, KEEP going to my yoga class.  STOP setting   up one hour meetings when a half hour usually gets the job done.  START to unwind before going to bed by turning off phone at 10pm.

4.    From your chart identify 1 or 2 things you will do in the next 5 days.  It is important to get a win or sense of accomplishment early on.

5.    Set up accountability measures for yourself by checking your chart every 2 weeks.

6.    By Thanksgiving, the start of the Holiday Season, you should have made progress towards your overall goal.

I hope you will embrace the change in season, or the new phase in your life, with energy and enthusiasm.  Give yourself the gift of time to spend on what matters most to you by pausing to think about new possibilities and making a few simple changes. By doing the above exercise you will be able to put a plan into action to design the Fall you want to have.  Here’s to a successful Kick-off!