From relaxing beach days to backyard barbeques, summer is all about soaking in long weekends and taking advantage of untouched PTO days. It’s always fun while it lasts, but the beginning of fall signals a harsh reminder that it’s time to swap our vacation days for meetings and crunched deadlines as we enter the latter half of the year. My post-summer hangover usually kicks in right about now, but this year, I’ve decided to take the seasonal transition as an opportunity to revamp my work routine (because we all know that fell by the wayside in June).
I spoke to time management coach Anna Dearmon Kornick to learn exactly how to craft a productive and fulfilling fall work routine. Not only did she arm me with tips that are sure to help me reach my goals by the end of the year, but she also explained how to manage the remainder of Q3 and Q4 without crashing and burning. Ahead are Kornick’s best tips for resetting in the fall after a vacation-filled summer and finishing the year off strong.
Anna Dearmon Kornick, Time Management Coach
Anna Dearmon Kornick is a highly sought after time management coach and keynote speaker, top 1% globally ranked podcast host of It’s About Time, and founder of the It’s About Time Academy. She helps busy professionals and business owners struggling with overwhelm manage their time using her personality-driven HEART Method.
1. Head into fall with a fresh perspective on your routine
Fall tends to signal the start of a busy work season across industries and roles. With only four months left in the year, the pressure is on to get through daily to-do lists and year-long goals before the holiday season. “One of the first things that comes to mind about heading back to work in the fall is Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time allotted,” Kornick shared. We enter a bustling season to make up for the slowness of summer, and with that, we adopt a sense of urgency at work, which can be overwhelming and exhausting.
Kornick’s advice: “Go into this busy season with a fresh perspective on your routine. What served you well in the spring and summer may not necessarily set you up for success in the fall.” Some areas to start thinking about improved routines are your pre-work routine, your lunch break, and your recurring meeting schedules. How are they serving you? Are you spending more time in one area and not enough in another? Adjust accordingly for the season.
2. Adjust your workday around the ‘fall back’ time change
It’s easy to dread the time change—unless you’re lucky enough to live in a place that doesn’t practice daylight savings. An easy way to combat feelings of dread and anxiety is to use the upcoming November time change to your advantage—turning it into something positive. “‘Fall back’ is a good time to transition to an earlier bedtime because of the light shift,” said Kornick. She also recommends letting natural light in through your windows in the mornings.
As you adjust your personal routines around the time change, think about how to navigate it at work. The reality is that it’s a tough time for everyone. What can you do to help your coworkers and yourself adjust? “During the week surrounding the time change, be mindful that the change is coming. Shift your meetings later in the day to be kind to your team and yourself,” Kornick suggested.
3. Plan your schedule around your chronotype
If you Google “chronotype,” you’ll stumble upon different biological chronotype models, all of which speak to each person’s unique circadian rhythms. For every season, but particularly as work picks up in the fall, Kornick said knowing your chronotype is a game-changer. “Knowing which chronotype you are can help you decide how you spend your time during the day and what you put into your work schedule. It also helps managers and team members know not everyone feels the same way at the same time of day,” Kornick said.
“A productive fall routine isn’t about cramming more into your day—it’s about making sure the things that matter have a place on your calendar.”
Not sure which chronotype you are? We covered Daniel Pink’s chronotype model here. Find out if you’re a morning lark, third bird, or night owl. Then, revamp your fall workday routine accordingly. For example, if you’re a morning lark, schedule your most demanding work—like writing, strategic planning, or problem-solving—before lunch, and save emails or administrative tasks for the afternoon when your energy naturally dips. If you’re a night owl, try reserving creative projects or brainstorming sessions for later in the day and use your slower mornings for lower-effort tasks like catching up on Slack messages.
4. Build your fall morning routine around your non-negotiables
When fall arrives, it can be tempting to overhaul your entire routine in the name of productivity. But the most effective schedules aren’t the ones packed with endless habits. Instead, they’re the ones built around what actually helps you function at your best. Kornick recommends identifying your non-negotiables first, then designing your routine around them.
Think of your non-negotiables as the tasks, habits, and rituals that allow you to show up as your most productive self. Once you know what they are, you can build a schedule that supports your priorities instead of constantly feeling like you’re racing to catch up.
1. Determine what you need to do
Start by determining the things that are essential for a successful day. These are your true non-negotiables—the tasks that help you feel prepared, focused, and ready to work. For some people, that might mean waking up early enough to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee before checking emails. For others, it could be getting the kids out the door, taking a few minutes to review the day’s priorities, or getting dressed in an outfit that helps shift them into “work mode.”
READ: Does What You Wear to Work Actually Matter?
2. Add in what makes you feel your best
After identifying what you need to do, consider what you want to make space for. These are the habits that may not be required, but can help you feel more energized and focused throughout the day. Maybe it’s a 10-minute walk before opening your laptop, reading a few pages of a fall book, stretching, journaling, or simply sitting down to enjoy breakfast without multitasking. Especially during the busy fall season, small moments of intention can help prevent your routine from becoming purely about checking things off your list.
3. Reverse-engineer your schedule
Once you know your must-haves and nice-to-haves, work backward to determine how much time you actually need in your morning. If you start work at 8:00 a.m. and want time to shower, make breakfast, read for 20 minutes, and do yoga, your wake-up time should reflect that.
This process can also help you identify what needs to be adjusted. Are there tasks you can move to the night before? Can you shorten a step that takes longer than it needs to? Is there something you’re doing out of habit that no longer serves you? A productive fall routine isn’t about cramming more into your day—it’s about making sure the things that matter have a place on your calendar.
5. Plan your fall around Q4 goals, not year-end pressure
We often think about our goals in terms of the full year, especially at work when companies set annual objectives and teams map out big-picture priorities. However, Kornick said, “It can be easy to lose sight of our goals when we think about the year as a whole.” Shortening your timeframe and thinking about your personal and professional goals quarterly is a game-changer. “The three-month quarters coincide with the changing seasons of the year, which makes it easier to reset your routines with the changing seasons,” Kornick shared.
Since fall is a fast-paced work season, Kornick recommends shortening your goal-setting timeframe. Lean into quarterly planning when shaping your routines. “Shortening your timeframe and thinking about your work, life, and goals every quarter is a game-changer. The three-month quarters coincide with the changing seasons of the year, which makes it easier to reset your routines with the changing seasons,” Kornick shared.
Because our routines are built around our priorities, it’s much easier to stay consistent when we know exactly what we’re working toward. For example, I recently adjusted my work routine to block off focused work time every other Friday and avoid meetings unless they’re necessary. But that routine shift only stuck because I had a clear goal for that time: making progress on my active projects.
As you refresh your routine this fall, look beyond your year-end goals and ask yourself: What needs to happen in the next three months? Once you have clarity around your Q4 priorities, you can build a schedule that supports them and avoid ending the year feeling like you’re scrambling to catch up.
Alyssa Towns, Contributing Career & Finance Writer
Alyssa Towns is a Denver-based writer and communications professional whose writing and expertise have appeared in Business Insider, Clockwise, G2, The Knot, Passion Planner, Thrive Global, and more. In addition to being a freelance writer, Alyssa has a background in internal communications and change management and is passionate about helping humans thrive in the workplace.
Hailey Tagliarino, Assistant Managing Editor
As Assistant Managing Editor for The Everygirl, Hailey Tagliarino oversees, writes, and edits content across various categories on the site. From the pitching stage through publishing, she works alongside the team to ensure that the content that our readers see every day is inspiring, relatable, and timely.
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