There’s something about September that feels more like a new year than January. After the slower pace of summer, everything suddenly starts moving again. The roads are busier and getting to the end of the parkway seems to take twice as long.
School bags are left in the hallway and weekends fill up with endless clubs and parties. The new term always manages to catch me out, especially when I realise PE has moved from Tuesday to Wednesday and I’ve completely forgotten.
Perhaps that’s why September is such a good time for a reset. We’ve had a chance to step away from our usual routines, spend time with family and friends and hopefully get some perspective. Before we simply return to the pace we had before the summer, it’s a good moment to pause and ask whether that is actually the pace we want to return to.
I’ve noticed this in my own work over the years. September is often when I welcome new coaching clients and what strikes me is that most people aren’t looking for ways to become even busier. They are usually looking for space to think. They want to step back, understand what they really want from the next stage of their career or life and make sure their time and energy are going towards the things that matter.
When someone asks how we are, “busy” is often the automatic response. For a long time, I assumed other people had somehow mastered the art of balancing everything and that I was the one getting it wrong. Looking back, I now know that most of us fall into the same traps.
One of the questions I often come back to with clients is, “So what?” We can spend a lot of time chasing achievements and filling our diaries, but it is worth asking ourselves what those things actually mean. So what if the diary is full? What does that tell us? So what if we achieve that goal? What will it give us? How do we want to feel when we get there?
This isn’t about suggesting that ambition, hard work or commitment aren’t important. Of course they absolutely are. It is about making sure that we are not simply moving from one thing to the next without taking the time to decide where we are actually trying to get to.
That’s why regular pauses are so important. Not long periods of stopping everything and not another task to add to an already busy list, but a deliberate moment to review and reflect. Sometimes the best thing we can do is step back before we step forward.
For some people, that might mean looking at boundaries that have relaxed over the summer and deciding which ones need to return. For others, it might mean recognising that some commitments no longer fit with their priorities. It might simply mean asking, “What do I want the next few months to look like and what needs to change for that to happen?”
The answer will be different for everyone because there is no perfect formula for managing work, family, relationships and everything else that life brings. I’m not convinced there is a magic planner, routine or productivity technique that suddenly makes everything fall into place. What does help, though, is taking the time to make conscious choices rather than simply continuing with the choices we made months or years ago.
So as September begins and the pace starts to pick up, perhaps give yourself permission to pause before you fill every space in your diary. Take a little time to think about what deserves your attention, what boundaries you want to protect and what success looks like for you at this stage of your life.
Because sometimes the best way to make progress is not to do more. It is to stop long enough to make sure you are moving in the right direction.
Nicola Childs
Rise 25www.rise25.co.uk
