Back to it?

Am I the only one who has that back-to-school feeling? Sheesh, no matter how much older I become, how far from school I get, I still feel very connected to the rise and fall of the academic calendar. A seriousness sets in for me as September begins, and I think “now things will calm down, I will be less pulled in multiple directions, and I can start to get more done!” I am filled with relief when Labor Day rolls around and I can buckle down.

Ok, the reality? Fall is just as busy for me as summer (🤷🏼‍♀️). Clearly, I can’t depend on a season change to ground me. Fall is actually super short, there’s fall foliage to admire, and for me, the Jewish holidays to celebrate, and next thing you know we’re sliding in to the end of year madness! The fact is, life is just busy, and slowing it down requires intention, and like most things I want to happen: planning. What I’m really wanting — and I want it with some regularity — is a bit of a reset.

Since I’ve been hearing from a lot of people about the need for a reset or reboot, I know I’m not the only one, and so I’m sharing a some tips to help out. It’s your fall reboot strategy:

  • Take a look at your goals. For me I get great ideas in the summer. Though I tend to not act on them during the summer months, it’s a pretty creative time for me. I manage this by making a brain dump into one place of all the stuff that’s percolated up. Being a visual person, I put each idea on it’s own post-it note and I lay these notes out on a bigger piece of paper, organizing them by category: personal and professional. Then I migrate this all to my computer to keep paper to a minimum (secret: an ongoing battle for me). Use whatever tools suit you, and remember to keep it simple.
  • Cut ruthlessly. Some ideas either don’t feel right once I commit them to (digital) paper – buh bye. Others don’t fit with my current big picture. They move to a future idea list. Then I continue to winnow the list by urgency, relevance, and flow. I assess for “shiny objects” designed by my brain to pull me off track, and I keep going until I’m down to two. This strategy is to get you back on track, not map out your entire business. PRO TIP: these do not have to be new projects. This can simply be a reining in and refocusing of ongoing work to get you back on track after a busy time. And, a SPOILER: this can be the hardest step for many people – please let me know if this is true for you.
  • Factor in YOU. When I get busy, I stop or get intermittent about doing stuff that’s really healthy for me like meditating, going to yoga, eating at regular intervals, powering down my computer at an earlier hour, etc. Heading into fall, I’m adding some of the things that have fallen away over the summer back in by actually putting them on the calendar. I’ve written about this before, but the more I factor in taking care of me, the more productive I actually am.

Here’s another great reason to give this get back on track for “back-to-school” strategy a whirl: It can give you a jump on feeling on top of your 2018 goals before December hits. Again, I know it’s hard to believe, but the end of the year is around the corner, and this can be panic- and woe- inducing for many. Get empowered and ahead of this game with this reboot, let me know how it goes for you. Need help getting started? Send me a note!

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