At the beginning of the summer I shared my “Summer Savers,” which I can now confidently say really did allow us to have one of our best summers ever as a family. So, in a similar fashion, this episode is all about helping you and your family transition smoothly into autumn, even if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the changes ahead.
I’ll share practical tips, personal stories, and actionable steps to reflect on what worked and what didn’t last fall, cast a clear vision for the season ahead, and create effective routines and systems. Whether you’re looking to bring more order to your daily life or just want to enjoy the fall season more fully, this episode has something for you. Tune in to make this fall your best one yet!
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TRANSCRIPT
Monica Packer: Hi, this is Monica Packer, and you’re listening to About Progress, where we are about progress made practical. This will likely surprise no one, but I was the kid who could not wait for school to begin each fall. Yes, I loved school because I adored and still do learning and of course loved being able to work on my next goals as the aspiring perfectionist that I was.
But I also loved the return to predictability and my daily schedule. Oh, and I loved the fall weather too. Now as a mom, I equal parts feel very ready for fall, and also not ready. I’m ready because as wonderful as the summer is, and This one truly has been maybe the best summer of all time. I am also ready for my family to return to predictable schedules and for my kids to get back to learning and growing and being with their friends.
And also I’m tired, but I feel equally not ready because with the return to school comes big shifts, just to those schedules and also just to new sports or returning sports, just to afterschool things. Also, new phases for my kids that demand we do things differently at home. This episode will release the month my kids are returning to school, and to me that simply marks the start of fall, and I am totally ignoring the farmer’s almanac.
I did an episode at the beginning of June, Four Ways I’m Saving My Summer, and can I just tell you? Thinking a little ahead truly did save our summer. We had the best time and we made the best memories, but we also had the systems that made those memories possible. To be honest, it surprised me, even though I designed the summer savers.
2024 in many ways has been the return of summer. To planning from day planning to goal planning to seasonal and seasonal planning with that. I got to be honest with you though. I actually dislike the planning process. Planning makes me tired. It requires a lot of mental gymnastics, as well as the uncomfy feelings that come with reflection and prioritizing and strategizing.
But as with many good habits, I prioritize planning now because of what it gives to me. I love the results. And this summer really brought that home for me. It showed me just how much a little intention, not perfectly done. can create a life that you want. A little planning helped us design a summer that really worked well for our family.
So now with fall around the corner, I’m wanting to have that same intention as we move into the major shifts to schedules and even life stages that are right around the corner. Today I am adapting the four summer savers and sharing with you the five fall fixers. The five ways I’m fixing for fall. Just pretend I have a country accent.
As I say that fix in for fall by coming up with our fall family plan. And I share this all, not because my way is the right way, but because regardless of if you have children in the home or not. Everybody experiences a fall shift, and a little pre planning makes a huge difference. With each fix I will share, I will also share a baseline version of that fix.
So if you are in a survival period, like all of 2023 was for me, you can still feel more prepared coming into this next season. Coming up, I’ll share the five ways I’m fixing for fall, so you can too. First, a quick break for our sponsors.
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With the fall’s cooling weather, colorful leaves, and sweaters, oh, I can’t wait, also comes a feeling that the year is winding down. I find that a lot of women resign themselves to waiting until the new year to put themselves on the list, whether it’s with a habit they need, a goal they have been wanting to work on, or simply even prioritizing time for themselves.
With all the urgency I have, can I strongly suggest it is never too late. Fall is actually the perfect time to make or recommit to your do something list. My first DSL changed my life. It’s changed hundreds of women’s lives in this community. And guess what? Its only purpose is to explore what it looks and feels like to prioritize your own fulfillment.
You can make or refresh yours for fall with a free training I have for you at aboutprogress. com slash DSL. The training includes a workshop, a guide, and lots of real life examples from real progressors in our community. Again, make time for yourself this fall with your Do Something list and get your support at aboutprogress.
com slash DSL. It’s time for me to share my fall fixers, the five ways I am fixing for fall to come up with our fall plan as a family. The first fixer I have for you is to fall back. The nutshell of this is to fall back so you know what to fix moving forward. How I want you to do this, how to fall back, is by looking back to your last fall, so the fall of 2023.
And to do so, I would encourage you to follow my WIN acronym. WIN is broken out into the letters W N W I N. And it stands for What Went Well. What did not, that’s the first one. And then the last three letters of the acronym go with what’s important now. So look back, what went well, what did not, and how does that inform you on what’s important now?
This will help you get a little list of sorts of what you want to fix moving forward, and I thought it would be helpful to do my own win here for you. So let’s do it. Last fall, what worked well? Well, we had a good morning routine. The kids were on time to school, also walking in to school. Almost every single morning gave time with me and my kids to connect.
We had some good chore routines, especially for Friday and Saturday, a good family calendar system with me and Brad meal planning came back, which was so helpful. We had an awesome October that I would love to relive again. And I’d also say, even though it was a very stressful period of life for me, I am proud of myself for how I gave myself lots of compassion and really prioritized my own self care habits.
So that’s what went well last fall. So what did not go well last fall is that I let the school year sneak up on me. I did not feel prepared going into school. And so many things happened last minute from getting school shoes to filling in wardrobe gaps, to ensuring backpacks weren’t needed to even knowing what shifts are, to our schedule were coming.
I just kind of rode the waves. And, Well, I don’t think that’s necessarily bad. It was my survival period after all. It overall felt a lot more stressful than I would like it to feel this fall. So I’m thinking ahead about that. Another thing that did not go so well is just right after school. I was not super consistent about my pickup time for the kids.
Like sometimes I’d be there and waiting for them to come out of the school. And other times they would be waiting for me and sometimes they’d be the last kids waiting for me. So that’s something that did not go well. Another thing that did not go so well is that my kids tend to fend for their own after school snacks and those often turned into full Meals so then they were not hungry for dinner.
That was like an hour to two hours later And as part of that after school lack of routine, I found myself barking orders more than them independently doing What they need to do getting home from school. So that was something. And another thing that did not go so well is that there was not really much of fall family fun until October.
We were just running around a lot. So going through what went well and what did not, again, that’s the first win of the win acronym. That helps me know what’s important now. And that’s the second win of the win formula and what I personally want to fix. So I now know. That going into the fall, I need to know in advance who needs what a few weeks before school begins, like who needs what shoes and who needs what kind of socks and who needs what kind of clothes and backpacks, jackets, lunchboxes, maybe even a phone for my middle schooler.
I also know. that I want to be really clear about our morning routine going into the school year and coming up with a better afternoon routine that’s really laid out for the kids, just like we did for the summer to have that printed out and laminated with an eraser marker that they can, directly check off check boxes on those two routines.
Another thing that is important now is that I need to feel prepared for those schedule shifts. So in advance, I want to know who’s doing what kind of sport or music or therapies. And. When school drop off and pick up times will be and who I’m carpooling with and what my son’s middle school schedule is going to be like, so I’m going to be prepared for that.
Another thing that needs to be better is Brad and I need to do a weekly check in. This, I’m going to tell you the truth, having a weekly meeting has been on our shared calendar. We just share like our Apple calendar. There’s like a family setting where you can like use the color that works for the family that shares with other people in your family.
Anyway, on that shared calendar for years, we have had Sunday nights being our check in meeting. And how many times have we done it? I don’t know, less than a hand, less than a hand. That needs to be better. We got to just check in instead of every morning or every afternoon being like, are you doing this?
Are you doing that? I got to go do this. Can you watch this kid? Like, it just doesn’t work. So we got to do that check in time. Another thing that is important coming forward is, I need to have some clear work times. My lovely sitter, she’s been so great, who’s watched primarily my baby, but also my other kids during the summer for part of the summer.
We had her about twice a week here and there. Anyway, she’s leaving the state and I don’t have another sitter lined up and I don’t know if I will. I’m contemplating that. So, I’m just thinking about how I need to prioritize my work in ways that don’t bleed into family time and responsibilities. And that’s also helping me see, like, he needs a very clear nap time, and that for me is work time.
And then Brad and I might need to come up with other work hours for me, whether at night or maybe certain afternoons or even Saturdays that he’s taking over and I’m going to have time to work. Another thing that’s important now is bonding. I really want to keep up with our sit down dinners that we do at night, but I want to improve on having our spiritual thoughts in the morning and at night, and I want to have Regular bonding and family time.
So things that we just always do. So like Friday night is always family movie night. Or some things that we like how we bond over family dinner. Just things regular that are part of our family habits. And in addition to that, the last thing I will have on my What’s Important Now list is a fall bucket list.
I want to have adventures and plans and things to look forward to as a family so that we can continue with that bonding. That bonding is really important to me because of that middle schooler and also my daughter going to be in high school after this year. So now I know what will help me fix what happened in the past and what I want to do moving forward as I’m fixing for fall.
That’s what I’m going to do. So the recap to this fixer was to fall back, and consider what you need to fix moving forward. I told you I would share baseline versions of this. So to me, the baseline version of falling back is you do need to just spend a moment to reflect. This is honestly the most important step.
If you can just think back, even mentally, if you could just go on a little think walk, even around the block, if you could just talk about it with a friend or significant other or Marco Polo it out with someone you love. Just take a few minutes to reflect. Even if it’s a little to a lot uncomfy. So just reflect on what went well, what did not, and what’s important now.
And speaking of reflection, the next fix is an extension of that reflection and just as important. Look forward. In this fixer, you cast a vision of what you want this fall to look and to feel like. Personally, I have to first acknowledge a big life change that is coming for our family. While my oldest is now 13, and technically in eighth grade, she goes to the same charter school she has been in since we moved into our home in Salt Lake City.
It’s a kindergarten through eighth grade kind of school, and she doesn’t want to want or need to go to a traditional middle school, but my 11 year old is starting traditional middle school as a sixth grader and with that comes big shifts to our schedules and carpools, but also life shifts that I would like to be prepared for by making sure we’re having a lot of fun with family and having good friends and that we’re exploring new interests and maybe even getting a starter phone.
So instead of getting hung up on all the unknowns that are coming forward, I am asking myself, what do I want this fall to look and feel like. It’s really important to start with the feelings. Otherwise we can spiral into all those fears of the unknown and the anxiety that we have with them. So start with the feelings.
Cast a vision with those feelings in mind, and I’m gonna do that for you right now. For our fall and the for our fall. Our family would like to feel clearheaded, calm. and connected. For me personally, being clear headed really matters. I really want to know who needs to be where and when and who is responsible for who and what and where and when.
That’s really important. I also know I need to feel calm and I help my kids feel calmer that way too. And that starts with me. I need to have some happy habits. Happy habits lead to a happy self. And in order for me to help my kids feel like themselves and to feel calm, I’ve got to lead the way.
So that’s a feeling I need to feel. And then the final feeling I said is connected. I want to feel connected to myself and my husband and my kids and also connected to each other by making lots of memories. So with those feelings of mind of clear headed, calm, and connected, I can now cast a vision that is based on those feelings instead of the fears.
So my vision of the fall is to have a solid morning and afternoon routine each day, to have clear work times for me in the afternoon during nap time, plus maybe one or two afternoons or nights a week trading off with Brad. I also envision a family dinner every night. A regular family night, a movie night, a bucket list that we work on together, and one on one dates with my kids.
And finally, regular check in meetings with Brad. So that was my example of how we can follow this fixer, which is to look forward, meaning cast a vision, look forward. of what you want this fall to look and to feel like. The baseline version of this is to simply know the feelings. And you can honestly end here.
If you do those first two steps, if you just look back and go through that win kind of acronym formula, and then you just get clear on the feelings, you could end there. That’s your baseline. These first two fixers are about Reflection. Now, I admitted to you at the top of the episode that reflection and the uncomfy feelings reflection brings up is one of the things I personally dislike the most about the planning process, but reflection is always the most important part.
Otherwise, you will be making plans based on fears and on shoulds. And speaking of plans, that is what comes next. I’m going to help you formulate a plan to fix your fall. And also, To not forget the most important part. That’s all coming up after a quick break for our sponsors.
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A quick recap. First, the first two reflection steps of the fall fixers were to fall back and to look forward. I actually have a guide to help you do this. It’s called the Fixing for Fall Guide. It’s free and I’ll send it out to whoever is already on my newsletter list. And if you’re not, and you want it, go to aboutprogress.
com slash fall fixers, and you can get it for free. Also includes a lot of other resources and customizable plans that you can use for charts for your kids, as well as a way to plan out who needs what in terms of clothing and so much more. So again, it’s about progress. com slash fall fixers.
The third fix is to form a plan. And this is where you consider what routines and systems and do aheads will help. I’ll break that down a bit. So go back to what you need to fix and the section where you did the win formula and this. The last one, what’s important now? I want you to go look at that.
What’s important now? And how did that bring up what you want to fix? This is when you now need to create a list of ways you can make your vision possible by making these fixes happen through habits, routines, and systems. And this becomes your fall plan. I find that most things are best modeled, so I am going to do that for you right now.
Now, I mentioned habits as part of your plan, and I always like to make this personal about what habits help me. So hold on to those for a future fix, though, because I’m going to come back to them. Instead, I’m going to focus more on the household and family kind of routines and systems and do aheads. I’m going to start with there.
So for my do aheads in early August. Which is right now. I’m going to get some clarity on what kids need, which things, shoes, pants, shirts, socks, undies, outerwear, backpacks, lunchboxes. I’m going to get clear on that. I’m also going to get clear on when. I’m going to get those things and that’s also part of the fall fixers that I’m sharing with you for that free printable I have this little thing you can print out For kids who are a bit old enough to do this I’m gonna have my bigger kids with this printout go through their drawers and write down how many shirts they have that are short sleeved and long sleeved and pants and undies and all that and That fit them and then they’re also So then we’re going to go through those and figure out, okay, if these fit you, then that means you need this size.
And I usually size up for what I’m going to buy them. And on that same little handout that I’m going to give to each of them, I then can come up with a list of what they need and what size is. So if you want that’s all part of the fall fixer plan. So you can get that again at aboutprogress. com slash fall fixers.
So that’s what we’re figuring out right now. Another do ahead that we need to do. is to figure out who needs to be signed up for what things. So which kids need to be signed up for dance or soccer or flag football or therapies that they need. So I’ve got to get clarity on that. And as part of that, I need to be clear about how to do it on my calendar.
So I’m going to make sure things are on our calendar, on the share call calendar for me and Brad. I also need to put the school calendar on my calendar. Spoiler alert, I already did this on my road trip. I just did it while we were driving. And finally, I’m going to get clear on my carpool plan. Who is taking who where?
And I have that mostly solidified, but I still need to figure that out ahead. So I started with the do aheads. Now let’s talk about some household routines and systems that will also help make a better My fall feelings that vision possible for routines. I am going to print off our new fall morning and afternoon routines.
I’ve never had an afternoon routine feel like laid out for them. I mostly just like tell them every time you pull into the garage, ping up your backpack, clean out your lunchbox, practice your piano, and then you can play. And you know what? It just turns into me saying that over and over again.
So instead we’re going to have the checkoff list. that is laminated so that we can just erase it every day and they can check it off for each person. It really does help, my kids at least. So I’m going to have a new morning and afternoon routine printed off for them. I’m also going to print off our Friday and Saturday chore charts.
Now this has been in place for a while so these aren’t new. The morning routine will mostly be the same as before too, but just again having them printed off seems to really help. So I have a new kind of shifted morning routine. I’m going to have a new afternoon routine. I’m also thinking about our night routine.
We tend to have the same kind of thing, like, we clean up dinner, everybody showers, everybody it has a little snack or treat. We watch a show together as a family, whether it’s really short or it’s a little bit longer, brush our teeth, say a prayer, go to bed, that kind of thing. So I may need to think that through a little bit and decide if I’m going to print that off.
And the other routine that I need to get clarity on is our work routine. So now that I have the family one, I’m going to think about myself. So when am I going to work? I am deciding that I think I’m going to wake up my baby. By 7 to 7. 30 if he hasn’t woken up by then so that way I can put him down between noon and 2 and 12.
30 Because my first grader comes home earlier before my other kids and that’s part of the carpooling as my friend will bring him home Which is so nice and I’m going to take her home her other son home later for the other afternoon pick up so My first grader will be home by 2. 30 each day before the other kids.
And I would like to spend that time with him reading and working on reading with him and other speech therapies that he needs. So that means 2. 30 I’m off the work clock. So I think I’m hoping to work between noon and 12. 30 starting and end at 2. 30. Hopefully my baby can last until then. At least two hours for a nap, but I also got to get some clarity with Brad on what days and nights we’re going to do that.
So half of that’s been worked out, other half hasn’t. So those are the routines we’re thinking of. And again, I want to remind you that sounds like a lot of routines. Like I just shared morning, afternoon, night, potentially, Friday, Saturday chores, like, That sounds like a lot, but we actually aren’t doing these all from scratch.
They have built, been built up over time. The newest one for us are the afternoon routine is afternoon routines. So we’re building off of what we’ve already done. And if you don’t have like some go to routines already as a family, that’s what I want you to hang on to for the baseline. So that’s coming up.
So I already shared what I want to do ahead. I’ve shared the routines I wanted to work on. Now systems. Those are also routine based, which can be confusing, but to me, it’s just thinking about what are the tasks that are always routine that always happen in cycles that have to be done over and over and over, and how can I have systems that help those things need to be done for us?
That includes things like. Who’s doing laundry on what type of laundry who’s meal planning and grocery shopping, laundry. I already shared a bonding kind of stuff. So let me actually just share the systems I have in mind right now. Now we have a star of the day kind of thing in our family. I know other people refer this to this, refer to this as like the king of the day, but we do the star of the day.
And since I have five kids, this works pretty well. Although the youngest two aren’t totally doing their days. The youngest isn’t at all. But the, my six year old is slightly doing his. So here’s how it works for us. On your day of the week, when you’re the star, you have certain responsibilities in the day, but you also get a certain benefit.
So for us, the responsibilities are that on your day of the week, Monday is my oldest, Tuesday is my second oldest, and going on down. On your day, you have to do your laundry. That means wash, dry, and fold. And they typically start it before school, or if they start it after school, they’ve got to rush. And it’s something that I don’t remind them on.
And I’ll share more about why that matters in a second. So they have to get their laundry done. They also will be in charge of the two prayers that we say together as a family that day. They will also be in charge of washing the dishes, the dinner dishes. Other kids do other chores like sweeping and wiping off the counter.
They try to kind of trade off those things. And we don’t really have a fleshed out routine on, Oh, on Monday, you always sweep the floor, but we know what other tasks need to be done to clean up. And we just dish those out at the end. But the person who is, it’s their star. Is there the person who is the star?
There we go. Their day of the week. They always have those responsibilities. Laundry, prayer, dishes. Now, the great thing is. Doing those things means they get to also choose the show, which is a huge deal for my kids, even my 13 year old. So they get to choose the show for that day that we watched as a family.
So it turns out pretty well. And that also takes care of laundry. I don’t wash my kids laundry, although I do my six year old actually. His older brother was washing their clothes together for a long time, so we just got a new hamper that separates the two of them. So we’re only just starting this, and he’s going to begin doing his own laundry this year, because I think he’s just tall enough to be able to put things in.
He may not be able to get them out, but I can help him with that. We’re just going to start training him bit by bit. Okay, so that’s the Star of the Week system that we have that helps kids with some, tasks that keep being in routine. Another system in place. Meal planning and grocery system. So for me, that means I want to meal plan on Mondays and do grocery pickup.
I’m just going to have that in place. Mondays are meal planning and grocery pickup. I said earlier, another system that needs to be in place is a Sunday check in with Brad. We need to work on that. We got to figure out. exactly what our when then pairing is so we know when we come home from church or when we put the kids to bed, then we’ll sit down for five minutes and go through the calendar that week.
We got to get clear on our when then pairing. And another system is laundry for me and Brad and the towels. I got to tell you, Brad actually is the one who washes and folds our laundry, which is really great. But I’m thinking we’re going to start separating those because I have some things I like to hand wash and That way I don’t have to worry so much, because I usually just put them on the side, but I can just, anyway.
Long story short, I think we’re going to separate that out. So we’re going to talk about that. And I typically wash all the towels all through the house. Both like the tea towels that we use every day and the big towels. So we’re just going to talk through that theory and decide who’s doing what. The next category I want to create some systems around are the books.
Like just a bonding kind of system. So I served this earlier. Like, I want to make sure we always have family dinner and we have a family night and a movie night and one on one dates with Brad and I, one on one dates with the kids, like those kinds of things. So that’s something we can have a bit more systems around.
So I’ve just shared some things that are fleshed out and others that are not, and that’s okay because that’s what I’m going to be working on is fleshing out the rest of that. And it’s really nice to talk through. So thank you. So the recap of this fixer is to form a plan, think what routines and systems and do aheads need to be in place to fix your fall.
Your baseline version of this fixer is to pick the most important time of day that needs to be worked on first. This is especially important for those of you who feel like you are stretched really thin, or you’re in a very stressful season, or you’re going through something mentally or physically, or your kids are, or maybe you’re starting routines and systems from scratch.
Pick the most important time of day. That needs to be worked on first. It’s typically the morning for our household that really does set the tone and, going, getting to school on time and kids having what they need and all that really helps set the rest of the day off on a good trajectory.
So maybe it’ll be different for you. Maybe it’s the nighttime because a bad night leads to a hard morning, or maybe your kids or yourself need a different kind of afternoon. So think about the most important time of day that you need to work on first, and then you can figure out, well, what? Routine or system or do ahead will help that time of day.
Just a quick reminder. This step does not have to be perfect and you don’t have to do it all at once. You even heard from me sharing our own kind of plan here that some of it is fleshed out and others of it still need to be worked on. I’m doing it in steps and bits and pieces. Just build off of what you have and focus on what the controllables are for you, including the time of day, if you can have a controllable time of day.
So that fixer was to form a plan. Okay. Let’s go on to the next fix. Create fanfare. This is where you get the family’s input on ideas that they want, as well as ensuring their commitments and adding in some of the fun to make that happen. I would encourage you to have a family meeting, whether your family is a partner or you’re both retired or you have lots of kids or you have a baby, doesn’t matter.
a family meeting or a roommate meeting too, if you have a roommate and start with how you all want to feel and what the family or the household wants to do to create those feelings and make it fun. And that’s where the bucket list can help with that fun too. I always just start with, how do you guys want to feel this fall and what kind of things do you want to do?
And after we kind of get that fun out of the way, and we’ve created this feel good feeling, we’ve bonded together, and we’re making the commitment to those things, I then introduce the other things we need to commit to as a family. I reintroduce or introduce new systems that we need to have in place to make the fun possible.
And that’s where we can let them know, Hey, here’s a new routine we’re putting in place. Or here are our kitchen rules for afterschool snacks. Or here’s what you we’re going to be working on first. But eventually we’re going to also be working on these things. It’s really important to get the whole household’s commitment to the plan, not only so that they’re in on it, but they have that commitment to do their part.
Because at the end of the day, you won’t be doing this alone. You shouldn’t be, this needs to be. More than just you. And once those commitments are in place, I like to also have some fun in kind of role playing some things. Like if there’s a really important one, like, Hey, we did this during the summer.
Like you just got out of play and you cut up some strawberries. What are you going to do with those things when you’re done? And we kind of walk it through, or we almost do a game plan. Like so and so you just came home from school. What is your first task? So you can make it fun that way too. One other thing that helps us is to laminate things.
I’d only started doing that this year. Only the summer, okay, it does help. I highly recommend a good laminator and I share my favorite one as part of the freebies that you get if you’re on the newsletter or you can sign up at aboutprogress. com slash fallfixer. So no matter what, create fanfare, get the household input, and the baseline version of this Is to just start with the feelings.
You don’t have to introduce all the systems and routines that’s going to overwhelm everyone. And they’re like, I’m done. I’m checked out. You’re giving me all these things to do. This feels really stressful. Just ask your household, your family members, how they want to feel this fall. And now we’re going into the fifth and final fixer.
Don’t forget about you. Before the mid break, I shared how one of the final fixers was going to be the very most important. I know I shared that reflection is it. Even then, this fixer will make or break your life. Your fall. It’s you. How are you going to prioritize your own self care habits and your own fulfillment?
How are you going to make time for rest, for hobbies, for friendships, for connection, for even habits like exercise and movement and reading or whatever else it is that helps you feel alive? I want to give you a pro tip. This can actually come first. If you have a very long list of routines and systems that need to eventually be in place, don’t start there, actually start with you.
Because it takes energy to put in routines and systems. It does. And if you don’t have that energy, you will crash and burn and that will help nobody and do no good. I know we all know that, that common saying, like put your mask on first. And honestly, that can be said so often. And it becomes. I’m going to be talking about a few things that I think are pretty trite, if not something that is very easy to dismiss, but I’m telling you that if you want to fix your fall, you got to start by fixing yourself.
So if that’s what you’re going to do this fall, if this is the only fixer you stick with, I will say job well done. And when I talk about 2023 being a survival period, I will also tell you That I was able to survive it because I did my best to take care of myself. And even the smallest of ways when I only had a few minutes here and there to prioritize it.
And that’s what helped me be strong enough to get through a pretty tough year. So let me give you an example of where I’m at right now and what self care habits. In other words, habits that help me feel like me, I want to prioritize this fall. I have my most important ones here first. My most important ones are to wake up early.
Right now I wake up at 6. Most days I would like to move towards 5. 30 to help out with my family and that also means going to bed earlier. I’ll come back to that. Another self care habit that really helps me feel like myself is having a clean kitchen in the morning. So after I drop off my kids, I just tidy up the rest of the kitchen.
Getting ready helps me feel like myself. Another self care habit I love is watching a quick YouTube video while I’m eating lunch. I don’t often finish a long one, but I love watching about the Chateau in France getting restored. So fun. And also I’m getting into some BookTubers. Which is cool. Another self care habit is to read in the afternoon or the evening.
This will take a little bit of finessing depending on what my kids have going on. So we’ll, I’ll have to decide after finalizing what sports and music things and therapies are happening in the afternoons and decide on that time. And the final habit that really matters the most is getting off the clock at 9 p.
m., both with work and family and household responsibilities, I’m off the clock at 9 and I start the wind down routine that I so look forward to. If you don’t have one, I’m going to teach a workshop on this soon about how to break up with revenge bedtime procrastination. So that will help you come up with a good wind down routine.
So stay tuned for that. And as part of that, if you want to stay tuned, get on the wait list for my next Sticky Habit Intensive that is going to be happening in September. Or make sure you’re in my newsletter so you find out about that revenge bedtime procrastination going on. The Sticky Habit Intensive will help you with any self care habit that you need the most right now.
And in our three weeks together, you solidify that habit in ways that are very fun and motivating and not overwhelming. So those are my self care habits that I’m going to prioritize this fall. When I’m thinking about fulfillment, That can be self care habits, but I also think about hobbies. The hobbies that help me feel fulfilled include reading, hiking, gardening, and as part of that canning, which actually isn’t so fun, but I also love the results.
So I don’t know about that and anything on my do something list. So I’m going to try to make some commitments right now. Like I want to hike once a month in the fall, as much as I can, like once a month until the weather gets pretty bad. I also want to.
So those are the ways that I am committing to taking care of myself, to feeling like myself so that I can, so I can show up for my responsibilities and my people. The recap for this final fixer was to not forget about you and think about how you will prioritize your own self care habits and fulfillment.
The baseline version of this fixer is to think of one habit that will help you care for yourself.
I hope this episode gave you the hug and kick in the pants you need to grow. I don’t have progress pointers for this episode, but I will be recapping the five fall fixers. And remember, we have a fixing for fall guide that I’ll share about again in just a moment. The five fall fixers are fall back, look forward, form a plan, create fanfare, Don’t forget about you.
The fixing for fall guide is free. It includes ways you can follow the fixers yourself, including some reflection questions and the areas where you can write it all down. It also includes bonuses like our money making chart that we use in our family and the kitchen rules, the routine charts that are customizable.
For you and also my list of pre school shopping lists, not preschool, like preschool, like pre school, before school. So you can get access to all of those by going to aboutprogress. com slash fall fixers. If you’re already on my newsletter, I will include that. All in this week’s newsletter, this show is listener supported your small monthly contribution makes the majority of my work open and free for all members of the supporters club, get access to three levels of benefits, including my private premium podcast, more personal, where we lean into the personal side of personal development.
We recently wrapped up my deep dive series on perfectionism and British Royal women with Megan Markle being the last. You can join the club and get access to more personal by going to aboutprogress. com slash support. You can always support the show for free. Keep listening, share this episode with a friend and leave a review on your podcast app.
Thank you so much for listening. Now, go and do something with what you learned today.
