How To Make The Most Of September | Productivity Tips For A Fresh Start

Hello September! 🍂 Summer is almost over and fall is right around the corner. So, this is the time I reset and start fresh to make the most of the last four months of the year. Can you believe 2022 is almost over? I feel like it was just January. It’s time to get back on track after a few weeks of summer fun, so we can end the year with our goals achieved. Want to make the most of September too? Here are my five productivity tips for a fresh start:

1. Review and update your goals

If you didn’t do this halfway through the year, now is the time to reflect on your goals and Vision Board. If you did, that’s great! You can skip the next paragraph and look at what you wrote down during your midyear goal check-in. All you have to do now is think about the actions you can take next.

How do you do a Midyear Goal Check in?

1. Take a look at your goals and write down your progress for each individual goal. Which goals did you make progress on and which goals did you forget about?
2. Update your goals if necessary. You can always rewrite, delete or add goals if you need to.
3. When you’ve reviewed your goals, make a list of steps to take in the next months to achieve these goals.

This is the short version, if you want to do a full Vision Board Update you can find the blog post here: ‘How to do a midyear goals check-in | Vision Board Update’.

If you didn’t create a Vision Board at the beginning of the year, September is the perfect time to start. You still have four months, September included, to achieve your goals. 😊

2. Plan ahead

Get your planner (or buy one if you don’t already have one) and plan ahead. Fill in every appointment you already know about. This way, you have an overview of everything that’s going on for the next few months. And you can see which hours of the day you have time to work on your goals. Don’t forget to add some me-time moments, days off and dates with friends & family to your planner! Having time-off is as important as staying on top of your goals.

This also a good time to reevaluate your routines or if you don’t have any, to create them. How’s your morning routine? If it’s not working, change it. Want to start a nighttime routine? This is the time!

3. Declutter & Clean

An organized house is an organized mind, and what’s better than starting fresh with a clean space? Put away everything that’s lying around, donate whatever you don’t need anymore, and throw away the junk. If your home is clean and organized, you’ll feel more relaxed and organized.

And if you haven’t done this in a long time, it might be the perfect time to tackle your wardrobe as well.

4. Take a look at your finances

Take a look at your past finances. I have an Excel sheet where I list my expenses per category every month, which then links to a yearly overview page. With one look, I can see how my finances have been this year, which makes it super easy to know how much money I already spent and on what. I can then prepare for the next months and see where I can save some money on.

This is also the time to create a budget (if that is something you do) and list out upcoming expenses you already know about. This way you’re on top of your personal finances, and you can take action if needed.

5. Prepare for a good week

Preparation is key for an easy and productive week. And that’s why I like to end every week with my Sunday Reset Routine. A lot of the steps above are already included in that blog post, like planning for the week and decluttering. But to make the upcoming week as hassle-free as possible, I also meal plan & prep as much as possible. Everything you can do now is something you don’t have to think about during the week. And that gives you more time to do other things.

With these five steps, I start September motivated and ready for the last four months of the year. How do you prepare for September?

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