5 Steps to a Fulfilling Fall

Let’s start this week’s letter off with some real talk. The last couple of weeks have been tough.

Two weeks ago I signed Nova up for a half day camp so she could attend with a friend. Rookie-move. Nobody told me that half day camp means you basically drive them there, drive back, try to get settled in to get some work done and then immediately have to get up to go pick them up again.

This past week she was off and with me. Parents of of school age kids know that you basically have to plan the entire summer in January. You have to know well in advance when you will be on holiday, when will they be in camp and which camps? When I booked Nova off for this week way back when, I still had a full time job and had pictured taking a week off.

August 29th comes around and I’m in no position to be taking a week off. But it is what it is. And as so many parents have done before me and will do after me, I just had to make it work and do the best I could.

But guess what? We are so close.

For some of us, school has already started, for others it's this coming week, but the chaos of carefree summer days (so lovely in theory, yet so stressful in reality) are soon coming to an end.

As we take a collective sigh of relief, it is also our time to reconnect with our inner selves. What is the first thing we neglect when things get overwhelming? The very things that make us feel less overwhelmed.

So after we cross off their back school list, let's make one of our own.

Here are 5 things you can do this coming week to set yourself up for a more fulfilling fall:

1. Get back to the routines that nourish you. For me that means daily meditation, long walks with a podcast, meal planning, and regular meetings with friends.

2. Re-evaluate your priorities. No doubt you have a long, long list of things that need to get done. Make a master list of everything you need to do and review each item one by one. Is there anything you can delete completely? Are there things you can delegate? Whatever is left on the list now has to get done, which leads to #3.

3. Intentionally set your schedule. Take a look at all the things you need to get done, both personal and work related and schedule it into your calendar. If you don’t actually make time for it, it won’t get done. This will also help you realistically look at what to-do’s you might have to move to next week or the week after.

4. Set goals for the last quarter of the year. September is like our second new year. It's another opportunity to revisit our dreams and goals. How have they changed? Pull out your journal and see what comes up for you.

5. Kick off the season with something new. While you’re shopping for back to school for your kids, pick up something new for yourself, whether it’s a fall outfit, a bag or a brand new planner. Intentionally adding something new to your life is a fun way to celebrate the change of season.

With love,

Kena Paranjape, Founder, All You Are

P.S. This post originally appeared in Kena's Sunday Newsletter. If you'd like to sign up, you can do so here.