I used to hate autumn… With a passion!
It meant the end of summer, the stress of back to school (that’s the thing when you are from a family of teachers, even if you are not one of them, September always has that stressful quality to it!), and the beginning of noticeably shorter days.
For years, I would genuinely feel down, anxious and low for a good few weeks.
It’s only this year that I’ve started to look at autumn differently.
Autumn as a season of transition
I was reading an article that talked about autumn as a transition period, a little bit like spring between winter and summer. Rather than being a time of dullness and dreary days, which was always my perception, it presented autumn as a perfect time to do some sort of an “autumn clean”: sorting out a few things around the house, tying up loose ends at work and in our personal lives so that when winter arrives, we can properly enjoy the shorter days and the invitation to stay home warm and cosy.
Reading that, I realise that I really had been burying my head in the sand when it came to the months of September to November! I’d happily embrace the cosiness of winter, the new energy or spring and I would bask in the warmth of summer but I turned a blind eye on autumn!
So, this year, I am going to try and embrace this transition period. I have a few administrative things that I have been putting back for ages and that I am now planning on finishing once and for all. The garden also needs tending and usually, as much as I am an enthusiastic spring gardener, I procrastinate on the things to do at this time of year. None of that this year!
The simple fact that I have a few things lined up (with the promise of a quiet, cosy winter ahead) is making me feel a lot brighter and happier about this season.
If you don’t like it, have a plan
So if like me you find this time of year challenging, you need to have a plan:
Have a look around you
What needs doing around your house that you have been putting back? Can you get some of that done now? If so, grab a piece of paper and write it down.
Have a think
Is there anything boring that you have been putting back? Filing paperwork for example, or clearing that cupboard in the guest bedroom that nobody looks at anyway but you know it is full of junk! Again, write down whatever you think of.
Have a look at the garden/garage/shed
Does anything need doing now so that you don’t have it hanging over your head for next spring? We always seem to accumulate a couple of boxes that never quite make it to the dump in the garage…
Plan
Once you have a few things, have a look at your diary and pencil them in. Don’t overdo it and realistically try and find some time when you can do them.
Let me know how you get on!