“Life starts all over when it gets crisp in the fall.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fall usually provides that swift, cool change in weather that helps reset and rejuvenate our goals towards the end of the year. It’s the final signal in a push towards Q4 and the holidays that motivate us to keep going.

Strategy #1: Reevaluate & Reset Your Health Routines

• Do you have a training routine set for October, November, and December? When and where will you exercise? Has your current routine been working or do you need to reevaluate?

• Do you have a nutrition strategy and plan for October, November, and December? Are the foods you’re eating setting your immune system up to handle a difficult winter?

• How’s your sleep? Have you set a pm routine to give yourself the best opportunity for quality and adequate sleep?

• How’s your stress? Have you developed a routine for addressing stressful days? How have you been handling volatile news and changing conditions?

• Do you have a community, coach, or support system to keep you on track, especially with the holiday season approaching?

Strategy #2: Plan Regular “Breaks” From Heavy Work Periods

Second, it’s really important to predetermine when you will take breaks from work and personal stress. Too often, we rely on blocked vacation times to take time away from work, but at that points it’s too late; you need the first half of vacation just to decompress from the past few months of life

Instead, try to plan regular breaks (e.g. I don’t take any meetings before 11am on Thursdays, I take Sundays completely off, and once a month I take Fridays off). You could even distill this down into a daily routine where you protect at least one hour to commit to self care (insert a training session, cooking a meal for yourself, taking a walk, etc.) Be proactive and control your schedule.

Strategy #3: Reset & Start your New Year Goals Now

We always find it interesting that people use January 1st to take a full reset when the week leading up to it is filled with actions that don’t set them up for success on the first day they are trying to make a change.

Instead, start developing some of those habits now. If your goal is to pursue some kind of physical pursuit in 2021, can you start learning about it right now? If possible, learning and developing those habits before it gets difficult to do so around the holidays can set you for a successful result.

October and early November is this grey area in the year where we usually don’t have a lot planned (socially, especially this year). It’s the perfect time of the year to take a step back, course correct, and finish the year strong. 

If you need to “start over”, do it. This is day one. If you just need a quick directional change, take it. 2020 is not “lost”, it’s just different and challenging in its own way. We heard so many people complain that 2019 was tough; the fact is that all years have positives and negatives; it’s what you do with that information, your attitude, and subsequent behavior that determines how it finishes.

Today, and everyday, is the best day ever…if you choose to make it so.

Let’s go!