Autumn – How Can We Notice and Reap Its Rewards?

For some, autumn means endless drizzle and a noticeable chill in the air, earlier sunsets, low spirits and one infection after another. Others appreciate its picturesque side, happily curl up under a blanket in the evening and catch up on their favourite shows. After the intensity of the summer months, they find satisfaction in a slower pace and a return to a more predictable, structured and “cosy” everyday routine. In the seasonal popularity stakes, autumn certainly loses out to summer, and for many of us it represents the gloomiest, sluggish, dispiriting and demotivating time of the year.

Autumn, like the leaves on the trees, comes in many colours 

There is no denying that some of these negative associations are justified and supported by the facts. In autumn, changing weather conditions and shorter days mean a sharp decline in the amount of natural light we get. As a result, dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning becomes more difficult, while in the evening we soon find ourselves wanting to crawl back into it. The cold and rain also mean that we spend less time outdoors, cut back on spontaneous physical activity and socialising, and are more likely to stay within the comfort of our own four walls. On top of that comes the post-holiday return to a full schedule of responsibilities – at work, at school and at home. At the same time, cold and flu season begins, and illness or fatigue can further drain our resources (and our wallets along the way). 

There is no point denying or downplaying the limitations and inconveniences that come with autumn. But that does not mean we should automatically assume that our wellbeing will deteriorate as soon as the season arrives, or blame every bad day, lack of energy or motivation on the time of year. Especially since autumn – much like the leaves shimmering in different colours at this time of year – can reveal plenty of warm and vibrant shades of its own. And you certainly do not have to be a stereotypical autumn enthusiast to notice them. Contrary to popular belief, autumn does not necessarily have to make us feel worse. In many respects, it can support our wellbeing, mental balance and personal growth – both in our private and professional lives. All it takes is a little positive thinking.

Time to Slow Down, Not Stop

Perhaps autumn’s greatest “curse” is that it comes straight after summer – a season that is hard to compete with. After all, who does not enjoy long days filled with sunshine and pleasantly warm (though not necessarily hot) weather, balmy evenings, trips to the beach, barbecues with friends or summer holidays and getaways? Many of us could probably live at a summer pace all year round, but in the long run, wouldn’t that become overly demanding, monotonous, too intense and simply exhausting? We can look to nature for the answer. For millions of years, it has followed a cycle of growth and activity alternating with periods of slowing down and regeneration. Seen from this perspective, autumn is a natural time to ease off the accelerator – and we need a similar change of pace too.

Yet we do not always give ourselves permission to make that shift. It is easy to treat our summer energy levels as the benchmark and expect ourselves to remain just as eager to go out, take on new activities and fill every spare moment with plans throughout autumn. When that enthusiasm begins to fade, we are quick to suspect that something is wrong. Summer simply gives us more opportunities to stay constantly on the move – longer days encourage socialising, trips, events and spontaneous plans that we might be far less inclined to make after dark or when the weather turns. Feeling less of an urge to keep doing things does not necessarily mean that our wellbeing has taken a turn for the worse. 

Autumn Offers a Break from Summer FOMO 

The pressure to keep doing something does not always come entirely from within. In summer, it is particularly easy to get the impression that everyone around us is travelling, going to concerts and festivals, spending weekends by the water and making the most of every sunny moment at the beach. Just a few minutes on social media can be enough to make us feel terribly guilty about spending an evening on the sofa in front of the TV. This summer FOMO – the fear that something exciting is happening without us – can make even our free time feel anything but free. Instead of resting, we try to squeeze as much as possible out of summer, because good weather will not last forever and staying at home somehow feels like a waste.

Autumn largely frees us from the pressure to stay constantly on the move and pack our schedules with activities just for the sake of it. A rainy weekend spent at home no longer needs to be justified, while having no trip planned or spectacular entertainment lined up is less likely to leave us feeling that we are missing out. Rest itself can also become simpler and better suited to our individual needs, rather than shaped by external expectations and trends. Sometimes, a lazy evening with a cup of tea, a book, a film, a bath or simply doing nothing is enough. In a sense, autumn releases us from the obligation to keep collecting experiences and encourages us to focus more on experiencing them. 

More Time for Hobbies, More Exercise for the Brain

Rainy, windy, cold – another day spent at home. After summer, when we get used to spending so much time outdoors, it is easy to start seeing our own four walls as an unfortunate necessity and a rather uninspiring alternative to everything we could be doing outside. And yet autumn evenings can be the perfect opportunity to rediscover interests that have taken a back seat over the past few months, pushed aside by typically summery activities. Films, TV series, board games, video games, books, cooking, DIY, looking after plants, listening to music or podcasts – there are plenty of ways to broaden our horizons and enjoy ourselves without leaving home.

In a sense, autumn can therefore stimulate our creativity – first by encouraging us to find new ways to spend our free time, and then by developing it through activities that require imagination, ingenuity, creativity and thinking outside the box. After all, these are hardly skills we can train by lying on the beach or standing over a barbecue. While summer often sees our brains shift into a lower gear as our bodies become more active, autumn tends to reverse this pattern.

So where does the idea come from that we are less inclined to think in autumn, or that thinking itself somehow requires more effort? Perhaps because it is easy to mistake sleepiness and a reduced desire for activity for a decline in our intellectual abilities. Shorter days and less daylight may make it harder to get ourselves going, but that certainly does not mean our brains suddenly lose their ability to concentrate, learn or think creatively.

It’s Not Autumn That Keeps Us at Home – We Do It Ourselves

Spending more time at home does not necessarily mean that our relationships suffer in autumn. Admittedly, worse weather and a reduced desire to go out may mean fewer spontaneous get-togethers, but frequency does not always go hand in hand with quality. In summer, some people are heading off just as others are coming back, while we often see friends at concerts, festivals, barbecues or larger parties, where there is little room for a longer conversation. Autumn makes it easier to meet for a relaxed coffee, dinner or an evening at someone’s place and simply enjoy each other’s company. Having fewer opportunities for our paths to cross by chance may therefore, paradoxically, encourage us to take more conscious care of the relationships that matter to us. 

Besides, the idea of spending the entire autumn, from September to December, curled up under a blanket is something of an exaggeration. Once the beach, the garden or an outdoor festival are no longer the obvious choices, places that are easy to forget about during summer come back into focus. Cinemas fill their schedules with new releases, theatres launch their new seasons, museums and galleries tempt us with exhibitions, and sporting competitions return after the summer break. Then there are concerts, restaurants, cafés and pubs, where finding a table is often easier once the peak tourist season is over. Autumn does not really keep us at home – far more often, it is our own assumption that when it is dark, wet and cold outside, there is simply no reason to go out. 

Savour Autumn – Here’s to Your Health! 

There are, in fact, plenty more reasons to leave the house in autumn – although we may sometimes worry that we will come back with a runny nose, cough or fever. And indeed, during the colder months it is easier to pick up one of the infections going around, putting our immune system to a greater test. Paradoxically, however, this is also when we start paying much more attention to our health. In summer, it is easy to forget about getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet or maintaining other healthy habits. Autumn not only reminds us about vitamin supplements, fish oil and warming ginger tea, but often inspires us to look for new recipes, foods and diets. We also finally find the time, after all the summer excitement and holidays, to book that long-postponed dentist appointment, get recommended check-ups done or seek advice about an ailment we have been brushing aside for months. 

Our mental wellbeing can benefit along the way, too. When we get enough sleep, it is easier to concentrate and cope with everyday responsibilities; physical activity helps release tension, while regular mealtimes can reduce fluctuations in our energy levels throughout the day. Even making something from scratch can bring a sense of achievement and satisfaction. All of this can provide a surprisingly effective counterbalance to autumn blues, apathy and the belief that we are simply bound to feel worse at this time of year. We are not – if we make a conscious effort to influence how we feel, rather than accepting an autumn slump as an unavoidable fact of life. 

September as a “Second January” 

After all, autumn is not only about returning to work after the holidays but also marks the beginning of a new school and academic year. After the summer break, we often feel inspired to try something new ourselves, get back to learning or make changes to our everyday lives. There is a reason why September is sometimes described as a “second January”. We can sign up for a language course, start going to the gym, discover a new hobby, catch up on things we have been putting off or simply take some time, free from external pressure, to think about what we need most at this moment. Instead of seeing autumn merely as a return to responsibilities, we can use it as an opportunity for a fresh start of our own.

The approaching end of the year can provide additional motivation. There is still enough time to revisit the resolutions we made in January and see how many of them we have managed to keep. For some, a list of unfinished goals may become yet another reason for the autumn blues; for others, it can provide the motivation to tick at least a few more items off before the year is over. It is also a good opportunity to consider which goals still matter to us, which ones we can let go of and why some of our plans did not work out. The lessons we learn may come in useful just a few months later, when it is time to make another set of resolutions – this time more carefully considered and planned well in advance. 

Back to Work with Post-Holiday Energy and a Clearer Sense of Direction 

Our autumn review does not have to end with personal plans and resolutions. Returning from holiday can sometimes give us enough distance to take a fresh look at our working lives and ask ourselves questions that tend to get lost in the everyday rush. Are we still happy with the role we play within the organisation? Are we making the most of our strengths? What would we like to do more of – and what would we prefer to do less? For one person, the answers may point to the need for a conversation with their manager about their responsibilities; for another, they may spark a desire to develop new skills or move into a different role. Sometimes, the conclusions can go further still, leading us to rethink our career path or even explore an entirely new direction.

Autumn also lends itself to changes that are far less revolutionary, but noticeable in our everyday working lives. The season of covering for colleagues on holiday comes to an end, teams return closer to full strength and work calendars become more predictable, making it easier to plan projects and deal with matters that were put on hold over the summer months. It is a good time to discuss goals, sign up for training, develop a particular skill, reconnect with colleagues or introduce new ways of organising our working day. 

Returning to a more regular routine also gives us an opportunity to reconsider the boundaries between work and our personal lives – whether that means cutting back on overtime, planning breaks more effectively or resisting the urge to check our work inbox late in the evening. So, autumn does not have to be simply about “going back to work” after the summer. We can return to it a little differently – with a clearer understanding of what we expect from our jobs and how we want work to fit into our lives.

How to “Break the Spell” of Autumn, Step by Step?

Changing our career direction, everyday habits or plans for the months ahead usually begins with changing the way we think. Autumn is no different – before we blame it once again for feeling sleepy, unmotivated or low, it is worth considering how much of what we feel is genuinely caused by the season itself, and how much stems from our habits, expectations and deeply rooted beliefs. A few simple principles can help.

•  Don’t use autumn as an excuse for everything: When you are having a bad day, try to identify the specific reason behind it: five hours of sleep, a difficult meeting at work, an argument with someone close to you, several days without exercise, too many responsibilities? Instead of automatically thinking “I always feel like this in autumn”, we are left with a specific problem – and one that, at least sometimes, we can do something about.

• Don’t generalise: “I don’t feel like doing anything today” describes one day; “I never feel like doing anything in autumn” describes three months. The same applies to statements such as “November is awful”, “I’m always tired at this time of year” or “once it gets dark, the day is basically over”. It is worth consciously replacing them with more precise thoughts that prevent a single experience from becoming a judgement on an entire season.

• Put your assumptions to the test: If you think you never have the energy to do anything after dark, plan something small on just two evenings over the course of a week – a walk, a trip out somewhere or a simple activity at home – and only then assess how you actually felt. You can do the same with the belief that a rainy weekend inevitably means boredom or that you work less effectively in autumn. Instead of treating your assumptions as facts, gather evidence and see whether they really hold true.

• Don’t turn autumn into a waiting room: Thinking “just make it to Christmas”, “just make it to March” or “only five months until spring” means writing off a sizeable part of the year as somehow less valuable before it has even happened. Instead, divide this period into shorter stretches and find something in each of them that genuinely matters to you. That way, rather than waiting for the “better” part of the year to begin, you can continue to actively participate in your own life.

• Don’t compare yourself with others: One person may be starting a Spanish course, another training for a half-marathon, while someone else is changing jobs – and perhaps what you need most right now is simply to regain a little peace and quiet. None of these scenarios is inherently better than the others. Autumn does not have to become yet another self-improvement project in which we try to make productive use of every hour simply because everyone else seems to be doing more.

• Allow yourself to feel worse sometimes: “Breaking the spell” of autumn does not mean forcing yourself to be optimistic. There will be days when the rain gets on your nerves, the darkness weighs you down and the sofa seems like the only sensible plan after work. There is no need to fight it immediately. What matters is not turning one bad day into proof that you have just entered several months of low energy and inactivity.

We have no control over what time the sun sets, how many rainy days there will be or what temperature the thermometer shows. But we have much more control over how we interpret these conditions, what we expect of ourselves and whether we allow a few autumn inconveniences to define how we function throughout the season. We cannot change the weather, but we can certainly change the way we feel – and shift our personal forecast towards brighter days.