Creating Habits for a New Season
Fall is here! A new season means opportunity. Opportunity to grow, to change, to progress. Over the summer, I made the commitment to creating better habits in my daily routine—habits that will improve my well being, and actually stick. Now that we’re in a new season, I’m excited to refresh and refocus those habits. And I’m sure I’m not the only one! To help kickstart your journey to creating new habits with this new season, I’ve asked our Life in Jeneral partners to share their best advice on how they form habits and keep themselves accountable:
Photo by Urban OrgaNYze
Emulate Olympic athletes: Behind every gold medal winner is a person who has given themselves time, dedication, and grace towards their goals. New habits (even small ones like drinking more water) are formed with repetitive practice over an extended period of time. Biting off more than we can chew or giving ourselves an unrealistic time frame will only result in failure, and feelings of disappointment and shame. Create time and space for a new routine to become habit, and mentally prepare yourself for life's unexpected roadblocks or setbacks. No one wins a gold overnight!
- Laura Kinsella, Urban OrgaNYze (New York, NY)
Photo by Pantry Girl
2. What better time to refocus and reset than a new season? Think of how you spring clean your house, then relate that to other aspects of your life to declutter and reset. Unfollow social media accounts that don't bring you joy, clear clutter in areas you frequent (like your handbag and your car), refresh your diet, go through your wardrobe and remove the items that don’t make you feel great. You'll instantly feel cleaner and more focused.
- Shelley White, Pantry Girl (Sydney, Aus)
Photo by Ducks in a Row
3. Start using a do-it-now approach. Building up the habit of "now" over "I'll come back to it later" can make a big difference in your day to day life, especially because most tasks around the home realistically won't take more than 10 mins to complete. As you go, remember to choose consistency over perfection. By shifting the focus to doing as much as you can rather than getting it all done perfectly, you are promoting the habit of “now”. If you feel overwhelmed, a new season is also a great time to outsource. Hire a cleaner for those cleaning tasks that you hate (mine is the bathroom!) and a professional organizer to help you declutter and start fresh.
- Eve Mizzi, Ducks in a Row (Melbourne, Australia)
Photo by Hannah Goetz Organizing
4. Don’t let things pile up—declutter as you go! As you add new things into your space, take a moment to check the room. Is there anything you can get rid of? Does anything not have a home or is any item simply taking up unnecessary space? Even if not right away, put things back into their designated spots. We give them a home for a reason! Lastly, here’s an easy change to put into place with the new season: Give your phone, keys and wallet their own dock and get in the habit of placing them there when you get home. Help save your future self some time and stress!
- Hannah Goetz, Hannah Goetz Organizing (Austin, TX)
Photo by Sunday Plans
5. New seasons are a great time to tackle goals. Set yourself up for success in these goals by decreasing the barrier to entry, removing any obstacles/excuses that stand between you and your goal. For example, if your goal is to go on a run every morning, have everything ready to go. Have your coffee machine set up so you simply need to hit start, have your gear at-the-ready, and get your playlist or podcast queued up. You'll be grateful to your past self for the preparation steps, you’ll feel a sense of accountability, and you’ll ultimately avoid that snooze button.
- Margaret Ellison, Sunday Plans (Charleston, SC)
Although it's a new season for everyone, keep in mind that we’re all on our own journeys. While these tips might work perfectly for one person, they may need to be tweaked or adjusted to fit into yours. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Use these as guidelines to help progress as you set new habits and goals this season.
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