If you’re feeling disoriented as summer ends, you’re not alone.
Summer is a memory-making season, and a lot of that is because we let things slide. My kids’ bedtime became fluid when we were busy catching lightning bugs or watching The Parent Trap (for the 18th time). My work schedule wasn’t necessarily specific days and times, but at times, I could secure childcare. The laundry pile towered, and way too many dinners were scrounged up without a meal plan.
The carefree, spontaneous nature of summer has its charm, but there’s something reassuring about settling back into a routine as we end the season. You might be tempted to feel guilty about falling off your schedule (like I did after missing a full month at the gym thanks to summer chaos), but rebuilding healthy habits doesn’t have to mean overcorrecting or going to productivity boot camp.
If you’re ready to commit to change, choose to start small. Make sustainable, self-compassionate adjustments that help you feel grounded again as we slide into the cooler months. I’ll tell you how.
Why you feel out of rhythm
Everything in nature follows a seasonal cycle. In autumn, salmon swim hundreds of miles upstream to reproduce. In winter, bears hunker down in their dens for a period of hibernation. During early spring, plants burst to life with new buds and flowers. And summer is when fireflies come out in full force to flash their light and attract a mate. Each of these behaviors is restricted to a certain part of the year.
As living creatures, we aren’t exempt from the impact that seasonal changes have on our behaviors, but we tend to limit it to personal behaviors. We say things like Winter is when I eat soup or It’s time for my annual spring cleaning. We often aren’t comfortable allowing the same seasonal variations to impact our work, but maybe it’s time we were.
Seasonal shifts directly impact how your brain works. Changes in temperature and light affect your serotonin levels, sleep cycles, mood, and cognitive performance. It’s physically impossible to perform at the same level year-round.
Knowing that can help you reframe your summer chaos. Getting off rhythm during these hot months isn’t a bad thing—it’s a chance for you to rest, explore, and even invest in your relationships. Our bodies and minds don’t need to go 100% every day of the year.
As we begin the transition to a new season, you can appreciate the rest that summer provided and anticipate your productivity rising in the fall. Think of it as nature’s way of preparing you for the focused energy that autumn brings.
Fall offers a fresh start
The start of the fall season and a new school year feels like the chance to restart. Honestly, a September fresh start feels more natural than trying to reset in January, when the calendar year changes but everything else remains the same.
This is one of the best times to build new habits and introduce new rhythms. Cooler temperatures and waning light push us to burrow down inside, giving us more time for focused work. At the same time, it’s the season of harvest, so we’re naturally inclined to want to prepare for the months ahead. And even if you’ve already attended your 30th high school reunion, you never lose that back-to-school energy that you acquired as a child.
It’s time to harness that September energy with some post-summer productivity tips.
Give your environment some autumn ambiance
All of the indicators that summer is ending happen outside, but more than half of adults spend less than 5 hours outside each week. The cooling temperatures are a great reason to get outdoors more, but your time may already be committed somewhere else.
Why not also alter your indoor environment to signal the seasonal shift? This is the time to lean into choices that make your home and workspace feel like the cozy place you want to be and inspire creativity in yourself.
- Use the back-to-school supply opportunity and buy a new notebook or planner to map out your upcoming plans.
- Savor a warm drink in the morning—bonus points if you do it outside.
- If you work from home, create a cozy transition ritual at the end of your workday, like lighting a candle or putting on slippers.
- Consider rearranging your workspace to work closer to a window and take advantage of the available natural light.
These small changes signal to your mind that a transition is taking place, and it’s time to settle into a different rhythm.
Take on a new challenge for your post-summer reset
Sure, it sounds a little crazy to tell someone to take on something new when they’re just settling back into a rhythm, but several factors make fall a great time to take on a challenge.
Summer comes with wild hours, and at least one co-worker is always out of the office for vacation. You tend to feel like you’re surviving, not thriving. On the flip side, the predictable routine of fall provides a more consistent work schedule that allows you more time for focused work throughout the week. As you reset your routine, you have the opportunity to add new priorities, knowing you’ll have the time to commit.
Whether you want to participate in a learning opportunity, join a new project, or implement a brand-new procedure for your department, you’ve got a solid chunk of time to commit to a new challenge.
How to rebuild rhythms for fall
According to VeryWell Mind, summer’s disruption to daily routines can lead to irregular sleep, poor eating habits, and inconsistent productivity patterns. Autumn is an opportunity to reclaim control over your time and create a schedule you’re happy with.
Create a gentle post-summer reset plan
Before you begin restructuring your days, it helps to know where your time is going. Use RescueTime to observe your current work habits and collect data about when you’re most productive, which activities receive most of your time, and how much time you lose to distracting activities. RescueTime’s Productivity report can even show you what time of day you do the most deep work. This insight into your day can help you set gentle goals that ease you back into a more productive rhythm.
The one habit approach
Even with a will of steel, real change is easier said than done. A long list of goals is admirable but not realistic. When you choose 6 different habits you want to pick up, you’re going to start strong, get overwhelmed, then revert back to your previous behaviors and feel disappointed that you achieved nothing. Big change comes from many small changes over a long period of time.
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, has done extensive research into this topic and argues that if you want to successfully pick up new habits, you need to target a single goal at a time. He writes,
“…the best way to change your entire life is by not changing your entire life. Instead, it is best to focus on one specific habit, work on it until you master it, and make it an automatic part of your daily life. Then, repeat the process for the next habit.”
Don’t be vague about your habit, either. When you make a specific plan of when, where, and how you’ll perform the behavior, you’re two to three times more likely to follow through.
To put this principle into action, choose one specific area you want to target. For example, maybe you’ve found yourself easily distracted lately, and you want to spend more time in deep work. Your plan may look like this:
“Every morning, I’ll commit to one hour of distraction-free work by turning my phone to work mode and starting a Focus Session on my computer.”
As you gradually rebuild your focus stamina, you can extend the length of your focus time or add additional sessions.
Lean into rhythms, not schedules
There are plenty of instances where a schedule is necessary: keeping the school day on track, making sure airplanes depart on time, and keeping operating rooms on schedule. Your day-to-day life doesn’t have to be one of them.
You may think of them as one and the same, but there’s a big difference between strict schedules and loose routines. Schedules often leave little room for flexibility or disruptions. Routines, however, provide stability without rigidity. With a routine, you know how you want your day to flow, but you won’t be thrown completely off balance when your timing is different or something has to be moved around.
Here are a few ways to create structure that breathes:
- Use time ranges instead of exact times to map out parts of your day.
- Lean into the 80/20 rule that says maintaining structure 80% of the time is a solid goal.
- Try using body cues instead of the clock by eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, and working when you’re feeling focused.
- Establish beginning and ending routines for when you wake up and go to sleep, and for when you begin and end your workday.
- Begin your workday—no matter what time it is—with a 30-minute Focus Session.
If you prefer a scheduled approach to your day, like time blocking, plan 60-70% of your time to allow for unexpected events or tasks. Building flexibility into your schedule makes it less stressful when things go sideways, a meeting runs long, or your kid wakes up with a fever.
Winter-proofing your new routines
Around 5% of the US population experiences seasonal depression each year, and even if you aren’t diagnosed with SAD, there’s no denying that short days and dreary weather can take their toll on your mood. The routines that you build now will support you through the darker, colder months of the year, so create a plan that will last you over the long haul.
Start preparing for the holiday chaos
You’ve got a solid 3-4 months to settle into your new routines before the winter holidays begin and start disrupting the schedule. That doesn’t mean your new habits have to fall to pieces during that time
As you build your fall habits, consider what your non-negotiables will be. For work, that could be things like:
- Maintaining 3 hours of focused work a day
- Attending 2 networking events each month
- Sending 5 cold pitches during the week
- Maintaining your end-of-day shutdown ritual
- Protecting one specific morning for deep work
The key is choosing one or two non-negotiables that truly make your life easier during chaotic times. These should be the habits that help everything else feel more manageable. You can’t always do everything, so it’s helpful to go ahead and name what matters.
Emphasize maintenance over growth
You don’t constantly need to be growing and improving (unless your goal is guaranteed burnout). If you spend winter maintaining the routines you implemented over the fall, you’re doing a lot more than many of us could achieve!
Think of winter as your maintenance season. It’s a time to keep your good habits without the pressure to add more. Sometimes consistency is a sign of progress.
Allow yourself to go with the flow
Following a seasonal rhythm is a sign of wisdom, not weakness. In a world that demands constant productivity, give yourself permission to live seasonally and stop striving for 100% all of the time. You’ll find yourself much more grounded and resilient.