22. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Why Fall Is the Best Time for a Reset

Summer’s coming to a close, but there’s still ample time left in the year to end on a productive high note.

On this week’s episode, Laurie shares insights for making the most of the fall season to propel yourself into a strong Q4.

Drawing from decades of experience guiding high-achieving women, she outlines key focus areas for the summer-to-fall transition:

• Reflect on what brought you joy this summer and incorporate more of that
• Kickstart goals you’ve been postponing all year
• Reprioritize important relationships that need attention
• Build more rest and rejuvenation into your routine
• Explore a new creative passion or reignite an existing one
• Shed the unhealthy habits and clutter holding you back

Laurie explains why the “fall reset” offers the perfect mix of lingering motivation from summer coupled with the time pressure of year-end. This makes autumn the ideal season for a reset.

You’ll come away from this insightful and practical episode with clear steps to maximize the final months of the year. The time for a strategic reset is now. Let’s make this fall season one of your best yet!

NOTES AND MENTIONS:

Webinar on August 23: https://www.schoolofmidlife.com/now-what-coming-soon

BEST LIFE Reset Retreat: https://www.schoolofmidlife.com/the-best-life-reset-retreat

📩 JOIN MY MAILING LIST
https://www.schoolofmidlife.com/newsletter

👉 CONNECT WITH LAURIE:
📩 Email Laurie

💻 Website

On Instagram

On LinkedIn

Work with Laurie

Transcript

0:00

What I love. About this transition time And this. Reset. Is. It's so much more impactful than the new year's reset. I mean, we, we pay so much attention to. This idea that it's new years and it's a new year, new you and a new calendar full of possibility. And there's lots and lots of hype around it. But. In my opinion, the fall reset, which is pure gold, by the way. But it kinda gets short shrift and We should get more. Intentional and excited about the fall reset. And here's why. the fall reset is way more effective. We're coming off that post summer glow. So we've got all of this motivation. the summer excitement. Trickles into fall and that just by way of. The trickling in the fall, it just creates this natural excitement and energy and motivation. Welcome to the School of Midlife podcast. I'm Laurie Reynoldson, former award-winning attorney turned high performance coach for midlife women. I designed this podcast is your go-to place for weekly midlife inspiration, where I'll be sharing, inspiring stories, providing step-by-step actionable coaching and introducing you to some incredible women who are absolutely crushing it at the midlife game. And you'd better believe we'll also be having candid conversations about mid-life relationships, career moves, money, menopause, and so much more. So take out your reading glasses and notebooks. My friends, because the School of Midlife is in session. Well, Hey there, welcome back to the school of mid-life podcast. At the time this episode drops, we are in the middle of August, which seems incredible that we are that far through the year. Summer has flown by. I have to say, though, I love this time of the year. There's something about the warm days and the cool crisp mornings and evenings. We were driving back from sun valley on Sunday. And. There was a song. Um, Matt Nathan's son. Sings a song, come on, get higher. And it was on a serious XM station and it. They were actually playing. A version of it from a summer concert that he sang at and performed at. And it was a mashup between his song. Come on, get higher. And you're the one that I want from Grease any other grease fans out there? I stinking, I love that movie. And there, there was just something about. Thinking about Grease and. You know, when, when they first come back to school and there's all that excitement, and everybody wants to know what happened over the summer. And it got me thinking about not only kind of this change of seasons that we are at and the, the, the summer is wrapping up. I am not saying that it's over by any means. But we're definitely in this winding down phase. I don't know if you feel it too, but. It's it's that time of the year where the calendars are full of those last minute, summer adventures, you know, like the last camping trip of the summer, or, or maybe the last time you're going to head to the coast or the beach or the mountains, get that last family vacation in before. School starts, you know, there are concerts and rodeos and state fairs, and it feels like as we move through August, it's just lots of. End of summer activities. And I feel it. I don't know if you feel it too, but it's, you know, summers it's winding down a little bit. And it, where. In Boise where I'm at. The kids are going back to school this week, um, where I grew up. In Washington state, we never went back to school until after labor day weekend. But I I've noticed more and more across the country that kids are going back to school earlier. On the one hand we're wrapping up summer, but then we're also in that kind of pre fall scramble where, you know, there's back to school shopping and. You know, getting all of the school supplies, I don't know about you, but I loved back to school shopping. There was something about that. New box of 64 count crayons, the Crayola crayons, the built-in sharpener in the back or. Do you remember those? Mr sketch markers, the scented ones. I always felt like it was like living large when I got my new crayons and my new markers. And. And certainly as, as we got older, then there was always, you know, new notebooks and pens and highlighters and. I'd say that my happy place was always a stationary store. There's something about going into a stationary store and we don't really have those anymore, but. Do you remember like J K Gill? Or another stationary store near you, where there was just a wall of colorful pens and lots of. Different types of paper. Um, obviously, as we got older, the, the bookstore on the college campus. It kinda that exact same feeling. I mean, Thanks to Amazon. Now we can, you know, all of that, all of those things are just one click order away from us. And then all of a sudden, those. Supplies show up at our, at our home within two days. But it's not the same, right? Because you can't try out all the different pens. I was a squiggle on the sample paper. You know what I mean? So you would take the pen that you wanted to try out. And there was always that white pad of paper or the scratch pad paper. And you could try out all the different pins. And I know I was always a squiggle. Some people wrote their first name on it, but. You know, you had to, there was something about finding the perfect pen. I am. I'm actually still that way. I get a new planner. And the first thing I have to figure out is what pen am I going to use? Right. I've got, I have to have the right pen. So in addition to the back to school, shopping for the school supplies and there's back to school, shopping for the fall clothing. And there's something about fall fashion that it's just so comforting, right? The cozy sweaters and the new denim and boots and loafers. In a fancy new pair of sneakers and. If, if you follow a fall fashion at all, you know, that the September issue is the big issue for Vogue But. Those. Magazines in the September issue where like twice as big, because there's just all of this new stuff to, to look at and just cozy sweaters and fabrics and different color schemes. We, you know, we kind of go to a more. Camel Navy more mov muted. Not necessarily muted colors, but certainly not the bright colors that we associate with summer. And it certainly this summer with Barbie and all the hot pink, right. But there's something about shopping for school, clothing, and. Do you remember picking out your first day of school outfit and how important that was? I mean, it's almost like when you have a job interview now or a. Well, it doesn't actually even compare to that. Think about your first day on the, on a job now. You might think about what you're wearing, but you don't plan it out as meticulously as you did. When you were going to school. I remember. The first day of 10th grade. Oh, God, it must've been like 85 degrees outside. But the outfit that I had picked out for the first day of 10th grade was this really beautiful sweater that I had bought. It was. Royal blue and red and this sunshine, yellow, this. Big big stripes. Um, with a sweater with these. You know, blue and red and yellow stripes on kind of a black. Base of a sweater, super hard to describe, but very loosely knitted looked like it was hand knitted. So my favorite sweater that year. Of course, I wanted to wear it on the first day of school. It's 85 degrees. So I've got my sweater on. I have a Royal blue turtleneck on that matches the Royal blue Stripe in the sweater. Perfectly black pants, black loafers. And I was so damn hot. Did I need a sweater that day? Nope. Did I did I need a turtleneck under the sweater? Hello? Right. But it was, I had picked out. I'd spent so much time picking out the perfect first day of school outfit that there was no question I was going to wear it. It didn't actually matter what the weather looked like. I would have never changed it because that's what I wanted to wear. So. There's just there's. Fun excitement about the fall, right? So we've got school supplies. We've got fall fashion. College football is starting. I don't know about you, but I love me some college football. You can, you can have the NFL, give me college football any day of the week. I am a proud Washington Husky. I think that part of that was. We share the national championship when I was in college. So it's hard not to be a football fan. When your team is that good? I mean, not to mention all of the fun collegiate. Things that that happen around a football. You know, there are brunches with fraternities before the game. There are parties after. I made the first trip to the rose bowl. When I was in college with girlfriends, I just, I have such fond memories of. The football team and what we were able to accomplish while I was there. And I, I just love college football. But I will tell you what I love most about this time of the year. It's not the back to school supplies. It's not the fall fashion. It's not college football. It's the reset. Right. It's the routine. After we have taken some time off for summer. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I don't like summer. In fact, I love summer. There is something about those sun kiss days and. The freedom that comes with summer. Like you just feel like you need less sleep and you can pack more activities into a day. You can. It's light enough after you get off of work, You can play a round of golf or, or play tennis after work. You can head up to the lake and water ski until the sun goes down. There are every weekend, it feels like there's a getaway or something. Some big event on the calendar. Summers are the best. But there is something about getting back into a routine. And coming into the fall. That is so good. It's like if summer is the, the hot romance, then the fall is the dependable lover. Do you know what I mean? What I love. About this, this transition time though. And this. Reset. Is. It's so much more impactful than the new year's reset. I mean, we, we pay so much attention to. This idea that it's new years and it's a new year, new you and a new calendar full of possibility. And there's lots and lots of hype around it. But. In my opinion, the fall reset, which is pure gold, by the way. But it kinda gets short shrift and it should be. We should get more. Intentional and excited about the fall reset. And here's why. In my opinion, the fall reset is way more effective. We're coming off that post summer glow. So we've got all of this motivation. There's, you know, we w there's just the summer excitement. Trickles into fall and that just by way of. The trickling in the fall, it just creates this natural excitement and energy and motivation. Couple that with the fact that the end of the year is four months away. So all of those things that you had planned to accomplish by the end of the year, Sales goals or, or work projects or, um, health initiatives or whatever it is that you promised yourself. Either at the beginning of the year or partway through the year that you were going to finish by the end of the year. You've got four more months to finish them. I mean, all of a sudden. You're looking at a calendar that is coming to the end, right? So you've now have this time pressure. And as we've talked about on the podcast before, there is nothing more motivating than time pressure. I know we've talked about Parkinson's law before, but as a refresher, it's whatever you're working on. We'll fill the time available. So if you have a project that you're working on and you only say have four more months to finish it. You will take all four months to finish it. But what's on the kind of flip side of that is if you have a project that is. A year long. That project is going to take a year to finish. Right. So your project will take. As much time as you have to give it. And there's less time now. So instead of having 12 months to work on something, you've got four months to work on something. So that kind of, that naturally kicks it in gear that, that naturally. I mean in the beginning. You're your E say it's January and you're, you're kind of looking at the calendar and you're sort of. Lasing into it. Right. You're waiting until the time is right. You're easing your way into whatever it is. You're working on. But now you've got four months and it's like, let's freaking go. We have to finally get to work. Let's let's go. So there's this time pressure that that goes with the reset. But also the weather is still great outside. So I know that that sounds silly, but listen to what I mean by that. The weather we're not in the middle of that winter doom and gloom. And. Look, if you live in Southern California or Phoenix, where it's sunny all the time. then you might not experience this, but that's not the case for most of the rest of us. Where winter gets really long. Um, if you, if you're like me and you live somewhere where there are four distinct seasons. Or maybe you just live somewhere where it's very. Dark and rainy or snowy all winter long. And then, uh, it's dark in the morning when you go to work and it's dark at night when you get home. And it's not very motivating. Right? So when we make. Resolutions or we set intentions for the year. We set goals at the beginning of the year. We're doing it at a time where. It's just dark and it's not very motivating. And. For most of us, we just. We want to sleep right. But. At the August, the fall reset. It's not like that. It's not like the new years. The weather is so much better. The sun is still up and we can ride that summer momentum. To get us started. And then once we start. We've got the time pressure of the next four months. So that will keep the momentum going. And it keeps working in our favor. Do you see how that works? We have all of this excitement and momentum. But life just looks different too. At the fall reset. I mean for a lot of women. They are moms who. Have kids who are just starting college, they're going away to college. So they're leaving the house for the first time or moms with kids who are starting high school. Or even moms with kids like their youngest is finally starting elementary school. So. Heading into this fall, life is going to look markedly different for them. Right. But it's not just the stay at home moms who are experiencing this reset and difference in life. It's working moms too. I mean, when we talk about the stay at home moms. They're trying to figure out what's next for them because their identity has been tied to raising these small humans and. Their days are filled with cooking meals and carpooling, the kids between sports and orchestra and their. They're doing all sorts of, you know, Load after load of laundry and helping with science projects and the list goes on and on. And when. The kids are say, grown and flown. Then who are these moms now? If their entire identity has been tied to raising those small humans. Who are they now? And what do they do? What do they do next? I mean, What, what now for them? There are a lot of questions. What now? And they're moving from a summer that was packed to activities to a fall that looks markedly different. And it's not only stay at home moms that are having this change. They're experiencing this as well. But working moms, especially those who may be going back to work after taking some time off during the summer. I mean. Like we've, we could talk about mom guilt on this episode, but we, we should probably say that for another one, because that one is a whole topic in and of itself. But whether you're a mom or not. If you are working. You likely have sales goals or work projects or things that need to be completed by the end of the year. So. Where's your focus right now and where should it be? And if you're somebody who has, you know, you've climbed the pinnacle of your career and. You're trying to figure out what's next for you. Um, this is a really interesting time of the year, because if you are. You know, working on a promotion or, you know, maybe your bonus is tied to your end goals. Your, your you're probably going to capitalize on this reset and this momentum so that you can finish the year strong. To meet the goals that you have set for yourself. I will say, um, quick plug here. If you are. If you are a midlife woman who is. Really trying to figure out what's next for me? What, what do I do now? Whether that is. Um, because the kids are gone or because you know, your. You're as far. You can't go. There are no more promotions for you at work. You don't know what to do there. Maybe your. Marriage has run its course, you just, you're not sure, like you have everything that you ever thought you always wanted. And it's just not enough. And you find yourself asking. Okay, what's next for me? Um, Get yourself signed up for the free webinar I am doing on August 23rd. I will drop a clickable link in the show notes for you. But. That will help you answer some of those questions. So if you, if you're finding yourself asking. What, what now? What next? Well, where am I going from here? Make sure to sign up for the webinar. Going back to what we were talking about today in this episode. I will say that one of the things I love about a reset. Is. You can use the momentum from summer. You can use that excitement for the end of the year. To create. A life in the next four months that you can be proud of. Right. The the end, the year strong. And then once we end the year strong, what's fantastic about that is we've got all that momentum because we ended on a high note. We've got momentum going into the next year. So just like I talked about doing a six month a mid-year review. Now's a good time to take out your journal, your notebook, wherever you take notes. If, if you don't already have it out. But grab that because I have put together a list of questions or prompts. If you're somebody who does journaling. A list of things for you to consider as summer transitions into fall. So that you can take advantage of this seasonal reset. To help you finish the year. On a high note. Be proud of what you've accomplished this year. There are, I don't know, six or seven different questions and prompts things to consider. In no particular order, but you're going to want to write them down so that you can spend a little time thinking about your answers, thinking through them, writing, writing your responses, journaling about them. I promise it will be time well spent and it will create a perfect foundation heading into the end of the year Here we go. Number one. What brought you joy this past summer? And when you're thinking about that, be really specific about what were you doing? Where were you, who were you with? And those questions and we, we you've heard them before, but those are pieces of the puzzle that when we're talking about. Living your best life. And what does it look like? Those are the types of things that we want to be aware of. Who were we were with what we were doing, where we were. And then once we know what brought us joy this summer related to that. How can you incorporate more of that into your daily life? In the next four months. Number two. What goals or dreams have you been putting off? And. You know, the ones right there, the ones that. You promised yourself at the beginning of the year, you were going to like, this was going to be the year, but for some reason you've been putting off taking action on those this year. You know, maybe they've been on your to-do list and you've been waiting until the time is right. Or the kids go back to school or after you get back from the big vacation, whatever it is. But what goals or dreams have you been putting off? And how are you going to start taking small steps towards achieving those or bringing those, making them a reality? In this season. Number three. Is there a relationship in your life that needs more? We'll call it a tension or healing. For a lot of us, this could be our marriage or our long-term partnership. And that's because we spend so much time and attention. On the kids. Right. And getting them ready for school or the next phase of their life. That oftentimes we lose track. Of our spouse or partner. Or we start taking them for granted. Um, but the fact is that even after the kids move out, We'll still have the marriage. So. It's time to make that a priority again. Um, It doesn't necessarily have to be the marriage, though. It could be a friendship that needs some repairing or needs some attention. So, whatever. Whatever relationship in your life needs more attention or healing. Make a plan to address it before the end of the year. Number four. How can you build more rest, relaxation and rejuvenation into your routine? This fall? And this one in particular. Is for those of you who struggle with FOMO. The fear of missing out the ones who were crazy busy as a badge of honor. Those of you, whose calendar is always way over-scheduled because you, you don't want to say no to anybody. You want to make sure that. You are at every meeting and charity events and, you know, everyone can count on you to do all the things. But my question is what are you doing for you? What are you doing for rest and relaxation and rejuvenation? And. If the answer is nothing. Then I would encourage you to make that a priority in the coming season. And even if it's, you are doing some things for rest relaxation and rejuvenation. What can you make a higher priority so that you're spending more time doing it? So they, you don't find yourself. Over-scheduled and burned out and stressed out and crazy busy all the time. Right. It's that whole idea of putting your oxygen mask on first. You can't be there for everyone else in your life. If you don't take care of yourself first, so let's make ourselves a priority in the coming season. Number five. Is there a hobby you'd like to explore or a. Um, creative passion. You want to reignite? There is so much. Scientific evidence that creative pursuits are so good for our brain. They help us relax and recharge. Creative pursuits can take all sorts of different forms. Right? Um, painting knitting, writing, cooking. There is no one way to explore creative passions. But I will say that. Painting and drawing. They literally, they are scientifically proven to release stress and depression. And listen to this. Artistic activities have been linked with improving memory and brain resilience in older adults. So why wouldn't we be exploring creative passions? Right. I mean, not only do they help us relax and recharge, but they're good for our brain. Um, the holidays are coming up. Maybe you could make some gifts this year. Maybe, but maybe that's. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on you with creative pursuits, because they're supposed to be a way for you to. Explore passions and use your brain in a different way. So don't stress yourself out. If making gifts for people is too stressful. Don't do that. But. First certain dedicate some time for creativity in the coming season. The last one is. Are there any unhealthy habits or clutter that you're ready to shed? And this, if you. You have a wonderful opportunity with this fall. Reset to literally hit reset. Instead of waiting until the beginning of the year to start new habits. If you start now. That momentum. We'll carry you through the end of the year. And then at the beginning of the year, when everyone else is making new year's resolutions to eat better, get more exercise, sleep more, whatever it is. You already have a great foundation because you've already been working on. Creating healthier habits because you have jettisoned the unhealthy habits. So at the beginning of the year, then you're not starting at zero. you're already on your way, you've already got this great foundation of healthy habits because. You made a decision right now with the fall reset. To capitalize on that reset. And start. Building healthier habits through the end of the year. So the choice is yours. how are you going to spend the next four months? You have this. Perfect opportunity right now, as we are transitioning into fall. To capitalize on. The glow of the summer to use that momentum. That post vacation. Excitement. Put that into action as we head into fall. Look at this as a reset that. Is as important if maybe not even. I mean, maybe even more important than a beginning of the year. Reset. Because of. How much momentum you have. How much you can get accomplished. You have four months left in the year. This is the perfect time. To figure out how you're going to use them to not only. Create a great 20, 23 and end on a high note. But build a foundation for an even better year next year. Thanks so much for being here i will see you next week when the school of midlife is back in session I have a question for you. When was the last time you spent a day focused completely on yourself. Away from the daily grind, the constant ding of text messages, the never ending question what's for dinner tonight. What about a weekend away. And before you start thinking that sounds a little too indulgent. Let me remind you that you can't take care of everyone else in your life. If you don't take care of yourself first. I am thrilled to personally invite you to join me at the best life reset retreat, October 12th, through the 15th. Four days and world famous sun valley, Idaho. With more than 10 hours of group coaching to figure out what you actually want in life. How you define success. And lay a groundwork for you to create a life that not only makes you happy, but also makes you feel personally fulfilled. There will be incredible group activities like happy hour paint and sips walks, hikes, a private yoga class. Your choice of spa appointments at an award-winning spa. Luxury accommodations, gourmet meals, premium drinks. And the best gift bag you have ever seen. I'm telling you this will be one of the best weekends of your life. To keep the retreat intimate. There are only 12 spots available and when they're gone, they're gone. So go right now, click the link in the show notes to grab your spot. See you in sun valley.