Three small changes I’m making to embrace fall and reject hustle culture
As fall enters its peak season, social media has taken its predictable turn toward life optimization content promoting a “winter arc” or season of intense habit-building. While many of these videos are well intentioned, their rhetoric promotes consumerism and a level of intensity that creates burnout more often than results.
If you are like me, as soon as the weather gets cooler, an intense desire to change your life begins to creep in. I want to buy a completely new wardrobe, get a dramatic haircut and rearrange my apartment. Primed to feel unsatisfied with many of my choices, I am the exact target for influencers seeking engagement and attempting to sell products associated with “winter arc” content.
There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead on your goals before the new year, and the change in seasons can be a great time to reset and refocus. But as we move into the colder and darker months of the year, creating smaller gentle routines can make a big difference without simply adding more tasks to your already full to-do list or more items to your shopping cart.
Finding a fall routine that provides time for relaxation while still working toward your goals will ensure the fall season is still fun. If you are looking for suggestions to build good habits while making the most of fall, these are some small changes I plan to focus on.
First, I plan to wake up slightly earlier to give myself more time for my morning routine. Far from intense 5 a.m. workouts or completing hours of work before the sun rises, I simply want to have more time to enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book before starting my schoolwork for the day. With the days getting shorter, expanding the time I spend in natural light is a small way to greatly impact my mood throughout the day.
Second, I want to find go-to recipes that fit my schedule and embrace fall flavors by making one fall-inspired recipe a week. My list currently includes butternut squash soup, applesauce and roasted pumpkin seeds. By reshaping one of my goals for the whole year into a more manageable and specific goal, I will feel a shift in my habits, but without the pressure of changing my whole weekly routine.
Third, I want to watch a fall movie every weekend. While setting a goal of having more screen time may seem counterintuitive, this is an indirect way to lower my screen time. I can achieve the same goal of relaxing, but without the negative impacts of scrolling for hours. Movies also provide great background entertainment for craft projects or other hobbies.
Overall, making small changes to your routine may help you achieve the feeling of change that fall naturally brings, but in a way that is friendly to your budget and your schedule. In a world where everyone is telling you to lock in, the best way to actually get ahead is to slow down and truly experience the fall season.