Happy September, sunflowers – even though we’re already a week into the month! 🌻It’s finally a new season, and I’m looking forward to lower temperatures and the well – known coziness that autumn brings with it. How summer was for you? I experienced it as a season full of contradictions. It somehow felt both like many things and barely any things happened in my life. Have you ever felt this? I mean, I had an amazing vacation with my partner, I made the decision to focus more on my writing and even create a business around it, I found myself creating an online community in a fandom space, but at the same time I barely networked and I didn’t make any significant progress when it comes to job hunting.
September, though, always means a fresh start to me. So, the main mindset about this month is to get it back together. Part of this is establishing routines and creating habits that can help me feel good about myself and possibly boost my creativity and productivity. I doubt this works for everyone but I’ve noticed that when my routines are all over the place, I end up feeling BAD and I have days I can barely do anything other than indulge in self-pity. Welp, this month I’m avoiding that. ✨
This post is about the habits I’m tracking in September, and the reasons why I chose them.
5 Habits I’m tracking in September to feel good aboyt myself
1. Reading
2026 must have been my weakest year in a while when it comes to reading. I’ve barely read – and most importantly, I’ve barely finished any book. I do start books (I’ve started like… four? so far) but I don’t finish them. It’s not even because I don’t like them – it’s purely out of laziness and my attention span being all over the place. So, this month I’m locking in and my goal is to finish one book.
I’ve been reading “Uncharmed” by Lucy Jane Wood – I bought it last autumn and it’d been on my reading list since then. It’s cozy and whimsical, and a very autumn-core read. I have a nice time reading it, it’s relaxing and entertaining, and I usually end up reading more than 30 pages at a time. I’m hopeful that I’m going to finish it before September ends. It feels essential to read more because I can tell it helps me as a creative. I’ve been feeling more inspired and having more ideas, and I’ve also been writing a little more since I started reading almost daily, so there’s definitely been a difference.
2. NO SODA/ALCOHOL
In August, I indulged. I had a lot of soda and alcohol, especially during my vacation. I guess it makes sense, and I don’t really have any regrets because I had a lot of fun. On the other had, a couple of weeks ago, my skin started breaking out a lot. I could tell it was a combination of more sugar and alcohol and not hydrating properly. I also was more loose with my skincare during the holidays.
So, in order to turn things around and take better care of myself this month, I’m having less soda and alcohol. It’d probably be unrealistic for my lifestyle to go for not drinking them at all. I’ve been tracking the days I don’t have any, and I can tell I’ve been doing much better. My skin has also started improving and recovering, and I haven’t noticed any new breakouts. So, it feels like a good reset.
3. Hydration
This actually relates to my previous goal, and it’s pretty self-explanatory. So, there’s a thing about me: I literally forget to drink water when I’m away from home. I get too excited while traveling and drinking water never feels like a priority. So, when I get back home and I start getting my life back to normal, I always try to hydrate properly. I aim to drink 8 glasses of water during the day, and I tend to keep a glass nearby me at all times to actually make it easier for me. Not drinking soda helps a lot, because my alternative is a nice glass of cold water – sometimes with lemon for the extra whimsy.
4. Movement
In August, I didn’t really work out or even cared about fitness. Anyway, movement -any kind of movement really- is always a good idea for me because I spend many hours in front of a pc writing, working, checking jobs, talking and spending time with my long-distance partner.
I’ve started small because, let’s be honest, I’m not feeling very motivated to go back to full workouts yet. I use the stairs more often, I try to walk more (because I love walking), I stretch, and I do some yoga. So far so good. I mean, it’s obviously a matter of health, but also I do feel much better mentally when I move my body. I tend to feel more productive and more optimistic about life, and I just love feeling this way.
5. Writing
The last habit I’m tracking in September is my classic one: writing. I do wanna have an idea about how many days per week -and eventually per month- I’m writing. I know that I spend all the days of the week thinking about it, but how much do I actually write?
Clarification: I only track ”real” writing, and not outlining or planning for it.
I’ve been working on a few different writing projects with my main ones being the first draft of my book and blog posts for here and Substack. I plan to focus much on this blog in autumn, and it’s hopefully something I’ll be able to do.
Last week, I wrote only a few times actually, so I wanna see if I can do better this week.
What habits are you tracking this month? How September has been for you so far? Feel free to connect in the comments! ✨🍂
If you find my writing helpful or you wanna support me as a writer, you can get me a coffee! ☕