September Crescendos

This time last year, I wrote about the Fall Scaries, which are a variation of the Sunday Scaries. Instead of dreading the week ahead as the weekend comes to a close, the Fall Scaries are the anxiety and overwhelm you feel as summer ends and you anticipate the coming autumn.

A new school year has started, most people are back from vacation, and all the responsibilities you said you would "circle back" on in the fall are boomeranging into your lap. Projects are picking up, people are ready to switch gears away from the ease of the summer, and so the September Crescendo rising to the end of the year begins! 

While the pace is definitely going to pick up, there's an opportunity to reset your expectations and consider how this year could be similar to or different from previous years.

Instead of the September Crescendo culminating in the whirlwind of the holiday season, what if it were instead an increase in tempo, but one that stayed relatively steady without a huge spike at the end? 

We tend to think about the seasons as repeats of similar trends and happenings, with the usual cycles of events and traditions, which they are in many ways. But there is also a remarkable amount of change year to year that gets overlooked in the shuffle.

You are older and a little wiser. You have all the experiences of the previous years. What can you do this year to relax some of those Fall Scaries and keep the September Crescendo to a minimum?

Here are a few things to think about:

1. What’s different this season?

What’s changed in the last year that will make this season easier or harder?

• Maybe your youngest child started full-time school, or your oldest graduated. 
• Maybe you are in a different job with different seasonal cycles. 
• Maybe your relationship status has changed. 
• Maybe your health situation has changed. 

Many different circumstances could impact the intensity of the months ahead and the lead-up to the holiday season. What are they? And what kind of impact could they have?

2. What’s the same?

Think about the things that are pretty consistent year-over-year, for example:

• The usual seasonal holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc., which, depending on your stage of life, might require more or less of your attention.
• Extracurricular activities for both you and your family members might be starting. 
• The seasonality in your work might mean an increase in commitments. 

All of these combine into data for the coming months - you know these things are going to happen. 

Which parts are fun and things you want to keep doing? Which parts are often challenging? Is there anything you can do to make them a little easier to manage?

• Maybe it’s deciding you will do a potluck dinner for Thanksgiving or asking your kids to choose their Halloween costumes early this year so there isn’t a mad scramble to get them in time.
• Maybe it’s getting a carpool plan in place with some other parents for your kids' soccer.
• Maybe it’s protecting Friday nights as family time or date night to make sure you are spending time with the people you love.

3. If you know the intensity of life is going to increase, what can you proactively do??

The September Crescendo is going to happen. You already have 52 balls in the air, what’s another dozen! 😬 While there are many factors outside of your control, there are choices you can make (balls you can put down, or even drop), to keep the pace more manageable, even if it has to increase. Some ideas to consider:

Reduce the amount of external noise you consume. This means things like the news, social media, and online reading. While there can be value in all of those things, they are often also sources of anxiety. Not only do they take up time, but they also take up brain space. When both are at a premium, consider what’s truly valuable to you, and cut the rest (even if only for a little while).

Get off your phone. This relates to the point above, of course, but I want to emphasize the way being on your phone can numb you to the things around you. There is the time lost on endless scrolling, the distraction from being in conversations in the moment, and even the effects it has on your brain when you stare into your handheld lightbox before trying to sleep. When you think about all the things you are juggling, is scrolling on your phone helping or hindering? What could you be doing instead that would feel better?

Make a commitment to move your body a little every day (or as often as you can manage). When you don’t have a lot of space in your day (or your brain), moving your body, be it a workout session at the gym, a walk around the block, or a few minutes of morning stretches, can feel like too much. But I can’t implore you enough to make it a priority because it will (counterintuitively) make more space in your day and your brain. 

I wrote all about this in Exercise is a Productivity Tool Part 1: Breaking Down the Untrue Stories We Tell Ourselves. The gist: movement and exercise elevate mood, enhance creativity, increase concentration and focus, reduce stress, and improve sleep.

4. Protect your joy

One of the strongest instincts when things start to get intense, as they often do in the September Crescendo, is to cut things like your fitness, therapy or coaching, hobbies, and time with friends and family. They are things that are for you, so they feel like they can be sacrificed. While there are absolutely situations when you have to drop these kinds of commitments, I encourage you to think twice about what gets removed. These are the things that help your brain and body handle all the other things. While they take time… they also make space for you to recharge, fill your bucket, and do things that matter to you.

Remember that the things that bring you joy help reduce the intensity of other responsibilities through stress relief and plain old fun.

What will you try to help manage the Fall Scaries and keep the September Crescendo from getting too intense?

If you want some help to calm the Fall Scaries and keep that September Crescendo to a minimum, get in touch.