September - that “new pencil case” feeling
September has a strange gravitational pull. For myself, and many of my clients, even years after school ended, it still feels like the "real" new year — more than January ever does. The light changes, routines reset, and there's a collective sense of right, back to it. That makes it a genuinely good moment to reset how you work and live, not just what's on your calendar. Too often though I’ve seen clients approach burn out at this time of year, but there are some simple techniques we can cultivate to avoid this happening.
Time and time again, I’ve worked with Leaders who feel totally overwhelmed at this time of year. The challenges of getting home and work life back aligned. New routines, routes to plan. Summer catch-up and a real sense of pressure building. Of course, I’ve lived through these challenges myself too. So, here are some simple, proven techniques to set yourself up well, that I and many of my clients rely on: 1) Get clear on your (actual) priorities 2) Protect time for yourself (first) 3) Delegate - get better at letting go of things you don't need to hold onto
Start with fewer priorities, not more
The instinct in September is to make a long list - new projects, better habits, all the things that slipped over summer. Resist it. A list of twelve priorities isn't a list of priorities; it's just a list. Instead, it can be helpful to pick three things for the season ahead. Not three tasks — three outcomes that matter enough to shape your decisions. If something doesn't serve one of the three, it can wait, or it can go.
A useful test: imagine it's December and the season went well. What actually happened? Work backwards from that picture rather than forwards from your inbox.
Protect time for yourself like it's a real commitment
Time for you rarely survives if it's left as "whatever's left over," because there's never anything left over. It has to be scheduled with the same seriousness as a client call or a school pickup. A few things that tend to work:
Put yourself in your calendar, not the to-do list. To-do items compete with everything else and lose. Calendar blocks have a fighting chance. Ring fence time for you, and curate pauses between all your to-dos.
Name what it's actually for. "Free time" gets cannibalised easily. "Walk, no phone" or "Read for 30 minutes" is harder to talk yourself out of. Schedule the gym with friends or a theatre trip or lunch date. Harder to let it slide when there’s someone else involved
Start small. Twenty minutes you'll actually protect beats ninety minutes you'll cancel by week two.
Remember why you’re doing it. My clients are far more likely to manage this well, when they realise this isn't indulgence — it's maintenance. The version of you with some slack in the tank makes better decisions about everything else on this list.
Delegate like you mean it
Most people know delegation is a good idea and still don't do it, because it feels slower up front than just doing the thing yourself. It often is slower — the first time. That's the cost of not having to do it every time after. A few reframes that usually help:
Delegate outcomes, not just tasks. "Handle the client update" gives someone room to use judgment. "Send this exact email at 3pm" doesn't, and it also means you're still doing the thinking.
Let go of your way of doing it. If the result is good, a different process to get there isn't a problem — it's just not yours.
Say the quiet part out loud. If you're not delegating because you're not sure you trust the outcome, that's worth naming, even just to yourself. Sometimes it means more context is needed before handing something off, not that it shouldn't be handed off at all.
Use this skill at home, not just at work. Younger kids, flatmates, fellow parents, can all help too.
Put it together
None of this works as three separate initiatives — priorities, time for you, and delegation reinforce each other. Fewer priorities make it obvious what to delegate, because everything outside the three is a candidate. Delegating frees up the time you're trying to protect. And protected time is what lets you think clearly enough to know what your priorities actually are in the first place.
September doesn't need a complete overhaul. It needs a few honest decisions, held to consistently, about what matters, what's yours to do, and what isn't.
Give these tried and tested tips a try and watch yourself manage this time of transition with ease! No more overwhelm. Lots more ease, joy and productivity!