It’s officially that all too familiar time of year when the air gets cold, the leaves start to change, and we begin to feel the effects of the culminating pressures of school, jobs, sports, friends and family pushing the limits of what we feel like we can bear.
Every year, I go into fall the most optimistic version of myself, excited to take advantage of the cozy weather with comfy sweaters and begin indulging in all my October favorites like pumpkin flavored drinks and going for walks with my dog as the leaves begin to fall. Unfortunately, in the past, this honeymoon phase has only lasted about a week or so before burnout from the peak of classes begins to take over.
According to “The Every Girl”, this phenomenon is not uncommon. Referred to as “autumn burnout”, it’s a normal feeling to start finding yourself uncharacteristically unmotivated and sluggish as the transition from summer to fall hits and we’re forced to reacclimate to our end of the year responsibilities. Autumn burnout refers to finding oneself in a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion particularly during the beginning of fall as a result of the heightened work and school demands common at this time. This spike in our work load usually goes directly against the tunings of our biological clocks and causes us to neglect any sense of work life balance we previously had.
Autumn burnout can be attributed to several factors. First off, unlike summer, where the theme of the season is relaxation in the sun, in fall we spend much more time indoors, often working tirelessly to tackle the surplus of work. This results in a significant decrease in physical activity, as well as Vitamin D levels, causing a downturn in our energy. In addition, as humans, we are creatures of habit. Any kind of alteration that forces us to adjust our everyday routine can lead to transition anxiety.
The good news is, there are many easy-to-implement remedies that we can use to relieve the extra stress that tends to accompany the colder months. The key to many of these fixes is reestablishing our priorities in order to find purpose and happiness in our work.
One way we can find direction when we’re not feeling like ourselves is by planning ahead to prevent overscheduling ourselves and causing last minute stress. It’s much easier to motivate ourselves once we outline concrete goals for each day. According to the “Blissful Mind” one way we can do this is setting a daily intention. This means beginning each day by choosing one thing we’d like to focus on, and using it to guide the decisions we make. This can help to keep us grounded and give us a goal we can come back to when things don’t go as planned. In addition, whenever possible, it’s important to make a routine. Create a new schedule detailing how you’re going to take on fall, equipped with all the breaks and self care needed for you to optimize your mind and achieve what you set out to do. Starting the new season often requires learning how to adapt to our changing needs and categorizing what we want to do in a different way.
Another important tool we can use to build the best versions of ourselves is creating a supportive network of people to hear experiences from, and to share our experiences with. These connections with friends, family, and mentors can help us to make decisions about the things that are important to us with more perspective than we have on our own.
Finally, tools like meditating and journaling can help us reevaluate our priorities to determine what is really worth spending our time on. It’s important to spend time reflecting on and being honest with ourselves with how we’re really feeling. Focus on yourself and your own ambitions, creating the energy you want to begin and end each day with.
This fall, let’s make it our mission to reset ourselves and prioritize the things we feel are important. Instead of letting the season decide our habits, let’s define them ourselves.