Deciding Your Yeses and Nos for Fall

being realistic about priorities

Hello! I know we’re still weeks away from the official start of fall, but—here in the States anyway—Labor Day kind of feels like when that transition really begins. Some of you are in a different hemisphere—or Florida—so you might not be preparing yourself for sweater weather and changing leaves, but that’s not primarily what today’s post is about.

Today I want to encourage you to be realistic about your priorities for the next few months. Deciding what’s going to be most important to you for the next season can help you create boundaries. I call them “plans,” of course, because you never know what will happen, but you might be surprised by how much it helps you to be proactive about this. On Hope’s Notes, I wrote about how this practice helped me this summer.

All you need is a sheet of paper and a pen, or you can use the printable below. Split the page into two columns: “Yes” and “No.” Sit with your spouse (if applicable) and start jotting down your hopes, obligations, and goals. For example:

• If you’re trying to lose weight this fall, a “Yes” to a slimmer waistline probably means a “No” to on-demand treats; you might want to take a cue from Food Rules and decide “No seconds or sweets except days that start with S” and decide now that when you crave a snack, it’ll usually be an apple.

• If you feel like your family needs a tech break, a “No” to excessive screen time—maybe make a specific boundary—might mean a “Yes” to more time exploring outside, playing board games, reading books, etc.

• A fiercely protected “Yes” to your weekly Day of Rest might look like a “No” to most things you’re invited to on that day. It makes many RSVP decisions easy if you decide ahead of time that you’re not available on Sundays (or whatever your day is) because you need that time to recover from a week of hard work.

• If you have an obligation to travel to visit family and that uses up your vacation days/budget, a “Yes” to that family trip is likely a “No” to a different trip. Not ideal, but (Stay tuned in an upcoming newsletter for traveling on the cheap, though!)

This list might not be fun to make. We don’t like to accept that we have limits, right? But I hope that you feel a big invitation to more of a life that you’re hoping for. I’d love to hear some of your Yes and No plans in the comments.

Autumn Bucket List

This list is fun to make, and if your kids are like mine, they will love being interviewed. Take each family member aside and simply ask them what they hope to do in the next few months. I separated mine into four columns: At-Home Must-Do’s, At-Home Want-to-Do’s, Outside Must-Do’s, and Outside Want-to-Do’s. This helps the planning because you can see what to prioritize and what you need to go out to do and what you can do from home. Some ideas:

• At Home: collaborative pie, stuffed jack-o-lantern peppers, pumpkin carving, jump in pile of leaves, find a favorite stew, set up a bird feeder, make an apple cider fancy drink (you’ll see some of these in upcoming newsletters!), watch Little Women

• Away: apple orchard, hay ride, pumpkin patch, bike ride, take a scenic drive, picnic, corn maze, sunflower farm, get snacks from Trader Joe’s

We taped this list in our dining room so we can know what we hope and plan to do in the next few months.

Here’s the PDF of these two worksheets if you want it ⬇️

Fall Planning

145KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

I hope these ideas help! The Lazy Genius recommends having a little seasonal ceremony; what a great idea! But maybe taking a few minutes to make a list is all you need this year.