Creating Healthy Fall Habits

Welcome to the 4th installment of my Anti-Hustle Fall Series!

This week I want to talk about a few fall habits that I’m working on implementing into my own life.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that September and January are typically the two times of the year when we’re most focused on creating new rhythms and structures in our lives.

I know there are so many good habits that I could share in this blog, but I’m choosing to only share a few that I’m actually working toward right now. That’s part of the problem if I’m honest—while there are so many good things we could be doing, it’s up to us to determine what’s the best thing for ourselves and our families.

This is exactly why I wanted to chat about this today as part of my Anti-Hustle Fall Series. We’re often bombarded at this time of year with all the good and healthy things we could be working into our lives, and it creates a striving or hustle that forces us to try and do all of it.

But we can’t do it all—that’s impossible—and trying to do it all is going to end in resentment, bitterness, or burnout.

Below I’ll share a few of the fall habits I’ve been working on, and then I’ll also share a few tips on how to get started. As you read, think about what healthy habits it’s time to work on this season in your life!

Healthy Habits

Creating a Better Work/Life Balance

I recently started working again after my maternity leave, and although I’ve worked on intentional ways to get focused work done, I’ve been struggling with work/life balance.

Part of this habit means purposefully scheduling my week with set work times so I don’t try to keep working when I don’t need to. Another part of this habit is giving myself the freedom to not always think about work.

Creating Structure Around Cleaning

I am easily stressed out by a messy home, but I also live with a one-year-old who is constantly creating mess. I used to drive myself crazy running in circles all day, trying to keep everything clean and tidied up.

Now, I am creating structured cleaning rhythms to give me peace of mind and prevent me from worrying about when I’ll cook or clean, etc. I call these cleaning “time zones.” They aren’t set times, but periods throughout the day where I plan to accomplish certain tasks if I can. Having this mix of structure and flexibility best suits this particular season of my life.

Setting Boundaries to Protect My Time

Honestly, I might need to work on this habit for the rest of my life—and that’s okay!

With activities and work ramping up in this post-summer season, I’m finding it more important than ever to protect my time and make sure I don’t say yes to too many things.

Instead of focusing on what we’re going to say “no” to with these boundaries, let’s first examine what we want to say yes to.

Outline the things you want to do in this season—for example, family time, work, a hobby or leisure time, and volunteering.

Here are a few examples of boundaries you could then set:

Only saying yes to one volunteer opportunity
Saying no to activities or gatherings that infringe on family time
Schedule a dedicated block of time for your hobby

Tips for Getting Started on Habits

Write it down: Putting ideas to paper makes them more concrete and real. Plus, it allows you to fully form and consider the thoughts from other angles. I would challenge you to write 5-6 ideas down!
Give it some space: Once you’ve documented your ideas, wait 1-2 days. This allows the ideas to settle and bloom in your mind so you can return to the list fresh and ready to implement it.
Start Small: I’ve talked about goals before—start small if you want to have success. Choose only 1-3 habits from your first list to work on this season.
Break it down: Daily or weekly steps are more manageable than tackling the habit as a whole.
Take Action: There are so many amazing resources on this subject, and I would encourage you to find the one that motivates you.
Stay Consistent: This is probably the most difficult step because we’re often excited to start a new habit and have more motivation at the beginning of the process. Stay on the path and keep going—I have found that consistency is the true marker of a healthy and peaceful life.