Hitting the Fall Reset Button: Why You Should Treat September as New Years Round 2

How time flies! We are already in the second week of September, and just like clockwork, my goals and motivations are feeling a new sense of energy. September marked the beginning of a new school year for over 15 years of my life, so it makes sense that when the excitement of Labour Day weekend starts to wear off, I start to feel like it’s time to hit the reset button.

Truthfully, it takes me about 2 weeks to really hit the ground running as I spend the first week of September living in denial that summer holidays are actually over, and then the second week reorganizing my life in preparation hit the ground running in week 3. As someone who also works in marketing, this is the beginning of the critical Q4 season.

So my life is just one big kanban board at the moment.

Though it may feel overwhelming, it is important to take advantage of the renewed sense of focus and energy that comes with this type of year. Taking the time to think about how you are going to finish the year strong is exciting!

So how will I be hitting the reset button this year to finish my year strong? I’m so glad you asked :)

Planning for a Busy Q4

I am looking at the next 4 months a little differently this year. In the past, I haven’t had much travel planned, and I was planning how I would get cozy and adjust my workouts to the season.

Typically, I start ramping up my strength training again. Colder months mean my body craves warm, heavy meals like chili, shepherd’s pie, and turkey dinners.

However, this year, I have a lot of travel planned, so I need to think about how I can maintain a routine, even when I am not at home at my usual gym. Part of this involves doing a little more research into gyms in the cities I’ll be traveling to and understanding if my accommodations will have some type of fitness offering, but this also means getting used to a fall workout routine that doesn’t rely on a barbell or my usual strength training program.

Fueling for a busy Fall

I’ve been doing a lot of research into the neurochemicals that control our mood, motivation, and energy levels and one of the consistent messages across the various books I’ve read has been that nutrition plays a critical role in supporting the healthy function of things like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins.

With my renewed sense of focus on my goals, and understanding that my access to a gym is going to be changing over the next few months, I figured this was another great opportunity to work on building some healthy eating habits.

One way to ensure I maintain nutritional consistency is to have a really good multi-purpose supplement. I’ve spoken about it many times before, but if you’re new here, my go-to is the IM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials. You can check out the rest of my IM8 content here.

I’ve done a pretty extensive deep dive into the supplement and have been using it for over 6 months now, and I feel like it has made such a difference in my life. It’s loaded with the highest quality ingredients, backed by an incredible team of researchers, and is trusted by athletes like Aryna Sabalenka, who just won the US Open.

Beyond supplements, I will also be focusing on more protein and less processed sugars. As I mentioned before, I’ve been reading books (this one and this one) on the brain as someone who may be neurodivergent, and one of the key drivers for reduced focus, energy, and motivation is eating too much processed sugar.

I love sweets, and with the summer holidays being such a busy time, I find myself reaching for sweets on road trips or during recovery days after a busy weekend. Now is the time to kick the habit so that I am giving my body the fuel it needs to stay focused and motivated during a time when my life is going to lack a “normal” routine from week to week.

Sticking to just 2, relatively basic nutrition goals isn’t a total 180 on my current habits, but it is specific enough that I will start seeing the results of these changes within a few weeks. And as we know, results can be incredibly motivating!

A Great Day Starts with a Great Morning Routine

As always, one of your greatest tools for achieving your goals is a great morning routine. I wrote about this last September in this article about my fall morning routine, and truthfully, the process remains the same:

1. Wake up with a sunrise alarm clock. As the sun starts to rise later and later in the day, you can simulate an early sunrise with a quality sunrise alarm clock. This is my favourite one, but there are so many options out there these days.
2. Wake up the rest of your senses. Splash some water on your face, drink a cold glass of water, use an ice roller, and do some simple arm circles to get the blood pumping and the senses up to speed.
3. Take some deep breaths and practice your meditation. As the brain and body begin to wake up, it can be easy for your thoughts to race. Take 5 minutes to take a few deep breaths and follow a short morning meditation. Those 5 minutes can have a huge impact on your mindset for the rest of the day. My favourite app is Headspace, but there’s also a great, free morning meditation in the FitBit app.
4. Get 30-90 minutes of exercise. Whether you go for a morning walk, hit the gym, or head out to that early morning pilates class, starting your day by moving your body will work wonders for your physical and mental health. 30 minutes is all you need, but of course, 60 minutes is great, and 90 minutes is an amazing goal to work up to if it fits in your schedule. The key is finding something you enjoy doing, and that you’ll do consistently.
5. Eat a nourishing breakfast. As mentioned above, starting your day with a nourishing, high-protein breakfast will help your body recover from your exercise, while also fueling you brain for your morning of work. Aim for a high-protein, low carbohydrate breakfast to ensure your dopamine levels stay balanced throughout the day. Balanced dopamine = better focus and steady energy to carry you through the full day.
6. Set your mind up for success. You’ve just had an amazing start to your day, but as time ticks towards your workday, you may start to feel anxious. This is normal and something I experience, even at a job that I love. I’ve started to journal again to try and get the thoughts out of my head and into organized thoughts on paper, but using your meditation app or reciting your affirmations are also great ways to calm the mind.

Seize this opportunity and finish the year strong

September is your New Years Round 2. Motivations are high, the seasons are changing, and you have a more manageable amount of time to look forward to and plan for. Think back to what your goals were at the start of this year. Do a self-audit on how those are going:

• Are you closer to your goals or farther from them than when you started
• Have your goals changed throughout the year due to new or unforeseen circumstances?
• What have you enjoyed about your year so far?
• What are you proud of accomplishing so far this year?
• What do you hope to achieve in the next 4 months?
• Why are those goals important to you?
• What will your life look like at the end of the year if you achieve those goals?
• How will you feel if you achieve those goals?
• What do you have to do to achieve those goals in the next 4 months?

I encourage you to store your answers to these questions somewhere. Whether its your note app or your journal, writing it down will help you reflect more deeply, and will give you a better chance at remembering your goals and the motivations behind them.

As they say, failing to plan, is planning to fail. So let me know in the comments what your goals are for the rest of the year! Let’s rally behind one another to help each other succeed and have a great end to 2025.