What a glorious summer it was! Full of friends, outdoor cooking, paddling, warm evenings, camping and care-free weekends. Although summer doesn’t officially end until September 21, Labour Day weekend may be considered the last long weekend of summer and with the end of summer comes the return to structure.
As children, September is the time we return to school. With a return to school comes a regular bed time and wake-up time, a weekly schedule and requirements to be at certain places at certain times. Septembers of youth are spent in elementary school, high school and perhaps university and are always characterized by flighty and frenetic summer energy replaced by structured schedules and upcoming deadlines. Even though many of us are not in school anymore, and probably work all summer, there is still a palpable change after Labour Day, instigated by the habit of returning to a more scheduled autumn lifestyle and also by the schedule changes of those around us who have children in school.
Regardless of how glorious the summer months were, with the hot days, outdoor pursuits and easy-going-I-only-need-to-bring-flipflops attitude, I relish the change of season and the soothing effect that having a schedule has on me. By creating an autumn schedule I have a chance to set new goals, build some structure in my life and re-evaluate my priorities. For example, this September I have set aside time to learn a new sport (Squash!). I have also decided that I will arrive at work half an hour earlier than before, so that I can go home earlier and have extra time to prepare meals for myself and my partner. My September goals include adding regular updates to this website as well as developing a new yoga sequence each week. My priority will be to follow through on these goals by working in thirty minute distraction-free blocks of time, with a five-minute break between.
Take advantage of autumn’s deeply-ingrained return to structure to create new goals, priorities and a schedule of your own. Include projects and ideas that didn’t fit into the frenetic summer months. Keep in mind that municipal classes often resume in the fall. This also might be an excellent time to sign up for a new activity such as dance classes,pottery, bouldering or yoga!
