This week, I’ve been focused on September goal setting.
I feel more of the “fresh start” vibes and motivation in September than I do in January.
Maybe it’s the start of another year of homeschool. Or maybe it’s the change in temperature and weather here in New England that sparks this anticipation of change.
But I get excited – and ambitious – thinking about September every year.
Let me be clear: I am not excited about saying goodbye to summer.
But September does often surprise us with very warm days (especially lately), so I know there is still hope for a few more beach trips and pool days.
I also have mixed feelings about school starting. I love the rhythm and routine of our homeschool schedule, but I recognize that my kids will inevitably complain about writing papers and correcting math problems.
Still, the pull of September leads me to set lofty goals. Loftier even than my New Years “resolutions.”
I know the sun will be shining still at 7:00 p.m. around here, and we’ll still have hours of sunshine and warmth most days after lunchtime. I haven’t felt the gloom of prolonged wintery darkness set in just yet.
Given this sense of refreshment and motivation I’m feeling as I prepare for September, here’s what I’m striving to do this year:
September 2023
Running
This year, Sarah is making me run a race with her mid-September.
We began training in March this year for a 10K race in May, and we really never stopped running.
I thought about setting a September goal to run at least 1 mile every day (a goal I have attempted in the past), but given our current run schedule (which is building toward a 5-mile run for me), I felt that running every day wouldn’t allow proper recovery time for my body.
Instead, I’ve opted to run 7-10 miles per week for a total of 28-40 miles during the month of September. I’ll keep a record and report back!
No-Spend
September is usually a no-spend month for our family. The goal is motivated by the expenses we incur in August when I invest in our school materials and curricula and the costs of clothing my children who have inevitably all experienced growth spurts over the summer.
The rules I set for our no-spend month are pretty simple:
- Build meals from our pantry, fridge, and freezers and only buy the absolutely essential additional groceries that are needed.
- Skip opportunities stock up.
- Avoid impulse purchases.
Last year, we aimed for $50-70 per week and managed to maintain this as our average weekly cost over the course of the month.
Inflation has really impacted grocery prices in our area, so we might be closer to $70/week every week this September, but I’m going to do my best.
When it comes to non-grocery expenditures, I keep a list and then review what I added when October rolls around. Usually I can cross off most things!
When my children as about purchasing non-essentials, I remind them that we’re in a “no-spend month” and teach them the important virtue of patience.
A few exceptions:
- We have a few family birthdays in September, so we will make exceptions to purchase gifts.
Re-establish Routines
I’ve talked a lot about morning and evening routines here on the blog, and I firmly believe that our family functions better with rhythm and structure.
I’m homeschooling all four kids this year since my youngest is ready to start kindergarten, and I’m honestly not sure how it is going to go.
I think I need to resume block scheduling, but I know it will take me a week or two to figure out how much time to allot in each block – especially for the younger kids’ school blocks.
I also need to refresh our screen time rules, add time to study with the bigger kids to help them succeed as they enter more challenging grades, and include music practice time since the two oldest boys are taking guitar and drum lessons, respectively.
The last few weeks of summer are usually a free-for-all. The novelty of summer activities begins to wear off and the kids begin to feel – gasp! – bored. They have so much downtime, they don’t know what to do with it, and in many ways, that makes the structure of school routines feel somewhat welcome again.
September will definitely be a month of transitions for us. Baby girl will be starting kindergarten, and my oldest son will be an 8th grader.
We all need to brush up on our time management skills and recall the importance of budgeting, and we need to remember that it’s still important to make time for the things that are important to us (exercising, playing music, etc.)
Finding balance in this time of transition. It will be an experience for sure! Stay tuned for updates!