From Summer Haze to Fall Focus: Turbo Thinker© Tips for Seasonal Transitions
As the crisp autumn air replaces summer's lazy haze, do you feel a mix of excitement and overwhelm? You're not alone. As a fellow Turbo Thinker©, I often find myself caught between the urge to dive into new projects and the desire to cling to summer's relaxed pace.
This morning, I experienced firsthand the challenges of transitioning to a new routine. I chose to drive my son to school on his first day, thinking it would be a special moment to share and soothe any anxieties. We had thoroughly planned the night before and left on time in jovial spirits! Alas, the traffic was nightmarish — something out of a horror movie. Moreover, my expectation of a juicy, engaging conversation with a sleepy teenage brain led to some lighthearted jokes about parental hopes versus reality.
While my son arrived on time, I was a few minutes late to my first meeting. This experience reminded me that we Turbo Thinkers© often struggle with transitions, requiring more time to shift from one state of mind to another. It might take some experimenting and learning to make a plan that works for everyone involved.
Recently, a colleague asked if I could create a checklist to help with the seasonal transition from summer's spontaneity to fall's more grounded feel. This request brought to mind an old post I'd written titled “Back to School Blues," and got me thinking: How can we harness our Turbo Thinker© energy to make this shift work for us, not against us?
For many of us, Labor Day marks the start of a new year and season. New school years begin, fall activities kick off, and social calendars fill up. Before we know it, we're either overextending ourselves or doing nothing at all.
To navigate this transition successfully, I've developed a framework based on three key questions:
1. Who is the person I want to be?
2. What support do I want?
3. What structure do I want?
"Who is the person I want to be?" helps us zoom out for strategic thinking. This big-picture question prompts us to consider: What's my objective? Why am I in this business? What does success look like for me? How do I want to track progress?
"What support do I want?" invites us to experiment with strategies to make our work flow more easily. Who are the people on my team? (My partner, assistant, accountant, marketing team, board, trainer, babysitter, etc.) Who makes my life easier, and who, if I found them, could make it easier? What environment do I want? What type of work environment makes my work flow? Where and when do I work best? What tools do I want to support me? (Timers, apps, blockers, planners, calendars, diffusers, highlighters, other tech, etc.)
"What structure do I want in order to succeed?" How do I want to block my day to support optimal work? What daily markers do I want to make time for? (Meals, sleep, movement, mindful breaks) What rituals do I want to mark transitions? (Morning, bedtime, Sunday evening) How can I make time for weekly, monthly, quarterly reviews of my personal and professional development? What went well? What am I grateful for? What could I improve? How can I plan and reprioritize?
As we transition from nectar cream snowballs to pumpkin spice lattes, we might consider these questions: Who do I get to be? What supports me? What is my structure? How could having answers to these questions beforehand impact our daily lives?
Remember, it's okay if our first attempts at new routines don't go perfectly — like my morning school run. The key is to learn, adjust, and keep moving forward. By doing so, we can transform our childhood "Back to School Blues" into an adult "Back to Work Dance Party."
What small change might you experiment with today to ease your transition into fall?