READ: How to Fall Without Hurting Yourself. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

Fall is officially off and running. And I do mean running…roughshod…all over my simplifying and organizing efforts. I was doing pretty well and then I didn’t have this past weekend off, so I couldn’t spend that time playing catch up around the house and with grading and class prep. So, I’m behind on what I need to have done for work, my house looks like a dirty bomb (a bomb full of dirty, not the nuclear type) blew up in it and I am sleep deprived. The kicker is that I don’t have a weekend at home for the next two weekends. I know I’m not the only one feeling this way right now. If you are in school, teach school and/or have kids in school, this is the time that everything seems to kick into full gear at once. We had a field trip last week, our school has a fundraiser this week, my niece has a birthday party this weekend, and people keep posting these “less than 100 days until Christmas” posts on Facebook. It is all. too. much.

So, what am I going to do about it? What can you do about it? Well, I’m committing to three things in the month of October to keep the Fall from injuring me!

I’m going to “taper” before the big events of the holidays. I feel like October is the month that allows us to prepare for the madness of November and December and we should take advantage of it. I used to be a swimmer and we used to “taper” right before big swim meets. Workouts got easier. We were able to take any extra “drag” items off of us to make us move through the water easier, without as much resistance. I’m going to use October as my “taper” month for the holidays. I am going to do what I can to make my life easier, I’m going to do it. This may mean saying no to some things. It also could mean saying yes to some things. I’m so looking forward to taking those extra “drag” items off the list and really making my life streamline and less resistant. I will be talking about this all through October, so please keep reading!

I’m going to “take care” for myself. I almost wrote self-care or take care of myself. But, I hesitated because that idea of self-care or taking care of oneself seems so focused on the doing and not the being. So, I’ve put the quotation marks around “take care” because I view it as me telling myself that I should actually live with care – I should consider myself. I shouldn’t just give myself a bath and consider it all better or get a massage, but not actually do anything about what drove me to the muscle tension in the first place. So, each day, I’m going to consider myself as I would others. I’m going to ask what I need and get it for myself. I’m going to be nice to myself.

I’m going ask “What Would Jessica Fletcher Do” (WWJFD)? I’m really considering making up some bracelets with WWJFD on them. Who wouldn’t love that? If I haven’t already shared this with you, I am a HUGE Murder, She Wrote fan. THE HUGEST. And Jessica Fletcher is everything I want to be and more. So, when I’m up against the wall of work, I’m going to ask what Jessica Fletcher would do and figure out how I can at least channel that behavior if not do it exactly. After all, the correct answer is always “find a dead body”…and I want to avoid that. But, she had a great philosophy on life, an always stylish and appropriate wardrobe, a good sense of humor, an inquiring mind and was a great friend to others. Not a bad set of traits to aspire to. So, we’ll see how it works out when I think about what she would do in certain situations!

So, there you have it. My plan to keep Fall from hurting me. Care to join me? I would love to hear what you do to make this season of all things work for you and your family!