I love September, and I love the fall season. Perhaps it is because I grew up in Texas and September often brought a break in the oppressive heat. Certainly, I loved a new school year and school supplies, a fresh start complete with blank college ruled paper and the smell of new books.

For many of us, September marks a moment. And for me this year, I see an opportunity to intentionally finish 2018- a year of a lot of firsts and testing and trying and seeing what works- and to set myself up for the 2019 I want to have. For you as well, now may be a good time to carve out an hour to do the same. What could that look like?

Look back at the year and see what hasn’t happened that feels like it must

I started by reviewing my 2018 plan and then reviewed my quarterly reflections and plan updates. I have yet to meet a few important goals, such as taking a vacation and enjoying some time for myself and my friendships. I decided on three trips (two with friends, one with my husband) and put the dates on my calendar. I reviewed other goals (go to all doctors and the dentist!), assessed their importance (pretty important!), and made commitments (all appointments booked).

Looking forward, what do I want to be sure I accomplish?

For many of us, there is plenty we can do and probably more than we have time to complete. What are you going to prioritize? Think across all facets of your life- family, friends, work, finances, health, home, adventure/fun, etc. You could consider:

• What do you care most about right now? I go back to my values and also what is giving me the most energy or pulling me to it.
• What is urgent? I look at deadlines and domino effect- what needs to happen before other things can happen?
• What can only I do? What or who really needs me and what could be reassigned to other qualified people?
• What if you only did a part of something- would that be enough? For example, I love writing these blogs but may not be able to keep up two a month for the next few months. Would one every three weeks work?
• What is important? This goes back to your values and your goals.

I often hear from clients that everything feels important. And I get it, I felt the same way when I started this exercise. When this happens, be thoughtful about what will move you farther faster. You may end up moving something down the priority list that is just barely less important that the item right above it, and you may break a sweat when you do. Take heart: there is power in simply making a decision that you can only do so much, and then trusting the rest will be there for you to pick it up when you need to.

Play with your timeline

Every year I say I’m going to do holiday preparations in advance, and every year I’m shopping and stamping envelopes and booking flights at the last moment. This week, I have some down time while everyone is vacationing, so I’ll be buying presents in advance. And I may even design our holiday card… or at least get my contacts updated.

Similarly, I know that September through November are going to be very busy with multiple projects, travels, time with family, and more, so I am reserving the first few weeks of December for less urgent administrative tasks, networking conversations, and appointments.

For me, it almost doesn’t matter what the plan is, it just matters that I put some intentions out there. And I don’t worry about each plan going perfectly- that’s not the point. The point is to live mindfully, to declare what it is I’m going to do, and to declare it all over again if the plan goes off the rails. After all, I’ve found that if I’m not at least trying to run the show, the show runs me.

What’s sparking for you? What do you want the next four months to be?

Photo from Unsplash, credit to Debby Hudson