A Fall Reset for Busy Women: Do It in Under an Hour

As a busy mom to a toddler, the last thing I have is time to do it all – the 7-day-long reset, the planning, the scheduling, the deep cleaning … it is all so shiny and nice, but also – incredibly unrealistic.

Last year, I was busy with a small baby and the thought of having a fall reset never even crossed my mind, I was just surviving. This year, I still don’t have the time, but the desire is there, so I sat down and thought of the few things I could do that would give me the “reset” feeling and results without stealing precious time from my days as a mom, housewife and business owner.

And I realized that a fall reset isn’t about the pumpkin spice lattes, nor about crafting the perfect journal page and finding the best spot in the park for a photo of my new orange sweater.

A good fall reset is about two things:

• closing a chapter, a season, a mindset – creating a free, blank space for what’s to come;
• drafting a realistic “wish” list of the goals, plans and ideas (more on this later).

In this post, I will show you exactly how to do both of these things – quickly and efficiently (just under an hour), without even giving yourself a chance to fail at it. Read below if you are a busy person who just needs to get things done and move on with the season.

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Closing the season

Do this on a quiet evening, when you can be alone with your thoughts. The process should take you 15 minutes at most. Focus on the past season. Summer has the tendency to leave us with many loose ends:

• Family wise – kids were home until now, but it’s back-to-school season, so new routines, chaotic mornings and busy afternoons could make you feel and act like a madwoman. Alternatively, you might be the person going back to school and that is already a challenge in itself.
• Money wise – you’ve likely spent more than planned on vacations;
• House wise – summer plans almost never include deep cleaning a house, it is all about making it look livable;
• Work wise – summer isn’t the most productive time of the year, even if most companies start Q4 preparations at that time, nobody cares about Q4 too much yet;
• You… wise – busy people tend to forget their needs exist, they push them back on the list of tasks just because it’s easier to do less, but you matter too and this season is your opportunity to enjoy it more but with less effort.

Tying those loose ends isn’t about fixing the issues, but about being aware of them. The new season will bring you enough time to adjust to the new back-to-school schedule, check your bank statements and clean the house. “Doing” isn’t part of the reset.

Your job, during this reset, is to get familiar with what it was and what needs to be done.

=> So, here are the action steps:

• Grab a notebook;
• Family wise: Write down all new routines, activities and adjustments you need to make according to this season’s demands;
• Money wise: Do a quick overview of your budget: how much you have in each account, what’s currently getting paid, subscriptions, loans, cards. Note what’s in your savings and if you’re sticking to your savings goals;
• House wise: Walk around your home and map out the most important areas that need a deep clean asap. Be realistic with your time and capabilities to cover it all;
• Work wise: Write down all projects you work on, your progress on them and any additional info you need to carry from summer into fall.
• You… wise: Evaluate the level of self-care and self-nourishing you are at. What is it you deprived yourself of all summer? What needs to change this fall?
• If you have an area of your life you’d like to add to this list, please do so.

Yes, it is as simple as you read it. Closing the season is having the real picture of your life and its demands right at this moment. The next step is drafting the new season.

Planning fall (and end of year)

At this point, you have it all in front of you – the mind map of your life right now – family, money, house, work, you, and anything else you’ve added. It is time you do something with all the info.

This step could be done just after the previous one or a day or two later, depending on your lifestyle and availability. It should take you 15-20 minutes, but if it takes longer, that is okay.

Think about the new season, but also remember that fall comes with a few hooks you cannot ignore:

• it’s very close to the end of the year – yearly goals and plans get reviewed, deadlines are getting chased, everyone wants to finish the year strong;
• holidays, holidays, holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas mean gift ideas, family gatherings, more cooking, more spending and more fun. It is literally the busiest time of the year in every aspect;
• time suddenly flies and you might end up rushing through it all when you promised yourself you’d enjoy it all this year.

Planning the season this quickly requires you to focus on the hooks I mentioned above – one at a time, and once you’re done with a hook, you forget about it.

Here’s how to plan fall properly.

Step 1: Make the list

I’ve already given you all the categories. You can now sit down and write down the “musts” for each of them.

• Family wise: Note in your calendar everything you already have a date for – school events and school breaks, birthdays, appointments, family gatherings. If it has a date, it goes in now.
• Money wise: Holidays: how many of them do you celebrate? How many people expect a gift from you? Any trips or events coming up that will cost you? You don’t need exact numbers yet, just the full list of what will want your money this season.
• House wise: Look back at your deep-clean map from earlier and give each area a rough week – no schedules, just a “kitchen before Halloween” level of planning.
• Work wise: Check in with your goals and plans for this year: write them all down and add the level of progress on them – do you still even have them as goals, are they still achievable? Declutter that goals list and keep only what fits your life and mindset right now.
• You… wise: Fall bucket list – you want to enjoy the season as much as possible and no matter how busy you are, you can always add half an hour of fall vibes into your weeks. Write that wish list as well.

Step 2: Estimate the cost

This isn’t about money…only.

Everything in this life costs us something and the currency is always different – money, time, energy, sacrificing goals, ignoring one person in favor of another and so on.

Estimate the cost of each item on your lists.

• What would it cost you to achieve your goals? (time, energy, relationships);
• How much would you rather spend on gifts this year (realistic numbers here, please);
• Do you need to host any of the holidays? If so – write the most important don’t-forgets;
• Can you clearly see where your bucket list activities would fit? If not, it’s time to find out what it would cost you to fit them into your life.

Step 3: Decide

Now that you know the cost of everything, it is time to declutter… something. Maybe you can do and have everything from your lists, but most people ask for too much of themselves. This might lead to overwhelm and feelings of getting behind.

So, spend a few minutes deciding what truly matters and what doesn’t. Maybe some of your goals could become goals for next year… Maybe some of the events don’t really need so much preparation and there are corners you can cut there… Maybe hosting a celebration shouldn’t give you a panic attack and you can simplify your responsibilities by delegating something to someone else…

Rest, Reset, Re-focus

There you have it – a fall reset routine that takes less than an hour and gives you the opportunity to clear your mind, map the upcoming season and find space for everything on your to-do lists.

The tiny recap is below:

• Find the areas in your life you’d like to reset (in this case it was family, money, house, work, self);
• Tie the loose ends from the summer by getting a clear picture of the state of each area;
• Make lists with the most important goals, plans, events, bucket list activities – literally anything you want or need to fit into the season;
• Estimate the cost, decide on action.

Your fall reset is now done and you didn’t even have a chance to skip it. That is because we stripped away the unnecessary woo-woo (which we all love, but have no time for) and focused on what matters at this season of your life. And if you miss the tiny cozy details, you can always add a warm mug of your favorite drink to the mix.