The September Hangover and how to actually reset.
Deborah Edwards Coaching Ltd
The September Hangover
and how to actually reset.
Here we are. October.
I don't know about you, but September always feels like it should be the clean slate — new-term energy, routines clicking back into place, the sense that now is the moment to get going. And then somehow we arrive in October and it's… not quite that.
If you've spent the last week feeling a bit flat, quietly behind, or carrying a low-level "I should be further ahead by now" — I want you to know that is such a common experience. I hear it a lot. I feel it myself sometimes.
I think of it as the September Hangover.
It's not quite exhaustion. It's more like the gap between the reset you intended and the one that actually happened. The habits you were going to restart. The clarity you were hoping would arrive. The version of yourself you were planning to step into, who somehow didn't get the memo.
This year yet again has reminded me personally, that even with the best of intentions, life sometimes throws us curve balls that challenge what we think is important, and cause us to not achieve the reset or momentum we had planned. And that can be hard not to use as a stick to beat ourselves up with, or feel frustrated about.
So. What do you actually do with that feeling?
I'm not going to suggest anything drastic as that's not what October needs.
What I've found — both in my own life and in the work I do with clients — is that the most useful reset is nearly always smaller than we expect. Not an overhaul. Just a pause, and a few honest questions.
If you have a few minutes — whether that's with a cup of tea, a journal, a notes app, or just quietly in your head — try these:
Where am I, honestly, right now? Not where you think you should be. Just: how are you actually feeling as you head into October?
Where would I like to be by the end of this month? Keep it small. One real thing. Not a list. Just: what would feel genuinely good to have done, or felt, or let go of, by the 31st?
What is one small thing I could do this week to move in that direction? Tiny is fine. Tiny is often better than big.
That's it. No plan required beyond that
The reason I suggest writing it down — even just a few words, even messily — is that putting something on paper does something different to just thinking it. It takes the swirling feeling and gives it a shape. And once it has a shape, it's much easier to know what to do with it.
If you'd like a more guided space for this kind of reflection, my free online journalling workshop runs monthly and you're always welcome to join — it's a gentle, low-key hour and there's no pressure to share anything.
If you'd like a more guided space for this kind of reflection, my free online journalling workshop runs monthly and you're always welcome to join — it's a gentle, low-key hour and there's no pressure to share anything.
However October is landing for you, I hope this gives you a small moment of breathing room.
And as always — if something in this resonates, or if there's something you'd love me to write about, hit reply. I read every single response.
Warm wishes,
Deborah
P.S. If you're carrying something heavier than a September Hangover — if there's something you've been sitting with that feels too big for a journalling prompt — a free 30-minute discovery call is a gentle place to start. No obligation. Just a conversation
Visit our social accounts
Comments