Stretching the computing analogy to its absolute limits – if your programmes are running a bit slow, there are a few updates that you should really deal with, and you’re worried there might even be a pesky virus waiting in the wings – maybe you could decide to restart.
And what better month for this than September? Even for those who aren’t heading ‘back to school’ it’s hard to avoid the feeling that comes at the end of summer, which somehow feels much more final than the New Year itself. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway: the nights close in, the air gains that crisp electricity of autumn, and nature tells us it’s bye bye to our ‘summer lovin’ – had me a blast’ chapter, and on with a new phase.
Here are my top tips for a September restart:
Have an errand sweep...
Sit down and write a list of all the little things that you’ve been putting off over summer: those boots that need re-heeling, the coat that needs to go to the drycleaners, that little pile of hand-washing you keep ‘forgetting’ to tackle. Take a day to blitz through all of these; you’ll feel so much lighter knowing they are all taken care of.
Pack up your summer clothes...
Invest in some under bed storage or simple utilise your summer holiday suitcase to house all the clothes you won’t be wearing through the colder months.
Try a new health food...
As the weather gets cooler, our immune systems can often take a knock. Protect yours by eating lots of extra garlic (yummy!), vitamin-rich autumn vegetables, and maybe a new supplement or super food. I like 'Floradix' which is an all-natural, tasty, fruity tonic that is packed with vitamins and iron (great for vegetarians). Meander around your local whole foods shop and ask the owners advice on immune system boosters.
Write a few ‘Autumn Ambitions’...
Give yourself one or two big goals you’d like to complete in the months leading up to Christmas, maybe you could get
ambitiously happy? Or complete a language course? Or widen your social circle? Or save a certain figure for a dream city break or new digital SLR? The choice is yours (but don’t overwhelm yourself, stick to just two or three, or perhaps even one thing).
Go underwear shopping...
We’ve all got a few pieces of underwear that really need to be retired, so take the seasons changing as your opportunity to feel great in your undergarments! Clear out the greying bras and fraying French knickers and treat yourself to one or two new things from your lingerie outlet of choice.
Have a new-season scrub down...
The way you’ve been (hopefully) using your body over the summer may well have taken its toll: sea water in your hair; extensive sandal wearing; tanned shoulders etc. Now you can take time to revitalise and refresh your body. Take a morning or evening to have a full-body exfoliate, deep condition your hair, use a pumice stone on the soles of your feet, take off the remnants of summery nail polish etc. and I guarantee you’ll feel like a new woman for the new season!
Polish up your perspective...
There are a few rare times in life where we are truly able to gain perspective on our lives. Whilst this insight often arrives spontaneously, there are ways that you can begin to look at things in a new, and perhaps more positive, way. Sit and have a cup of tea with an elderly neighbour or relative, ask them what their life was like when they were your age: what challenges did they face? And how do they feel about those challenges now? How could this impact your way of thinking right now? Alternatively, imagine your own future self and what you might want to tell the current version of you that could change your outlook.
That’s it from me, do you have any tips for how to feel awesome at the prospect of autumn? Have you noticed yourself unconsciously doing any of the above – or something else – to prepare for the new season?
