Here in England, the beginning of September heralds the start of a new school year, a time for new timetables, uniform and most importantly, new stationery! As summer transitions to autumn, it’s a great opportunity to make a new start.

For the past few years, I’ve adopted a “back to school” mindset and taken time before September to review how things are going with my fibromyalgia management plan and look for any changes I could make to improve my health.

Why September is a great time to review your goals

There’s still time…

If you set goals at the beginning of the year, September can be a really good time to sit down and review progress. There are still 4 months of 2022 left to start or continue working towards what you wanted to achieve, still time to turn things around if you’ve veered off course or still time to construct a new habit and set new goals, if that’s something you want to do.

There’s less pressure at this time of year

Come January, the traditional time to goal set, “new year’s resolutions” are everywhere in conversations and the media. Sometimes, the lofty aims of other people can mean that we feel inadequate and this is especially the case if you live with a chronic illness. Our resolutions are possibly less ‘London Marathon’ and more ‘aiming to be up and dressed by 10am every day’. But starting to work towards something new at this time of year can mean that it is easier to just get on with what we want to without any fanfare, pressures or questions from external sources.

Gyms and leisure centres are quieter…

This can be a good time of year to begin exercising if this is something that you have been wanting to do. Fitness centres will be less busy at this time of year than in January and as such, it might be easier to sign up to classes and courses and enjoy some gentle exercise, which can be helpful when you live with fibromyalgia, without the crowds.

…but there’s still enough daylight to make the most of being outdoors

Or, if you’re wanting to start exercising outdoors, then there is still enough daylight to squeeze in a walk in the evening.

And finally, there’s plenty of new stationery in the shops

If, like me, you love stationery and writing down goals automatically means a new journal and pens, then September is great as the stores are full of items intended for those returning to school or University. You could even buy a September-July academic year journal to capture new goals and direction.

Do you still think of September as being ‘back to school’ time? Will you be reviewing your goals around this time of year?