Fall Into Flow: How to Adapt Your Habits With the Season

Welcome to fall. 🍂

Can you feel the shift in the air?

The mornings are cooler. The light has changed. Here in Maine, the first hints of color are appearing in the trees, and the sun seems to be calling it a day earlier and earlier.

Nature is sending us all the signals: a new season has arrived.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with fall. It's undeniably my favorite season. The vibrant colors of the leaves. The crisp air magically straightening my hair after months of summer humidity. I can break out my snuggly hoodies. And of course, Halloween, the holiday I wait for all year.

But there's always a little reluctance that comes with it too.

The bright, energetic days of summer are disappearing. Evenings by the fire and morning outdoor yoga will soon be behind me. Suddenly I'm waking up in darkness and wondering why getting out of bed feels considerably less appealing than it did a month ago. Those darker mornings whisper, "Thirty more minutes won't hurt anybody."

Seasonal transitions can throw anyone's routines a little sideways. But when you're living with chronic illness or recovering from cancer treatment, even seemingly ordinary changes can feel surprisingly disruptive.

Perhaps you're noticing your energy, motivation, or food cravings beginning to shift.

Maybe you've already spent months trying to get a decent night's sleep, and now the dwindling morning light isn't exactly helping your cause. Maybe you've finally fallen into a rhythm of moving your body regularly, only to have colder temperatures and shorter days change when or where you can do it. Or maybe you're trying to eat in ways that support your health while your body is lobbying hard for garlic bread and a giant bowl of pasta.

When your body is already sensitive to changes in energy, sleep, stress, and routine, a seasonal transition can feel a little like someone moved the goalposts.

For years, I judged myself when my habits started changing this time of year.

Eventually, though, I began to wonder:

Maybe the problem wasn't that my habits were changing. Maybe the problem was expecting them not to.

Nature Doesn't Stay the Same. Why Should We?

Look outside and you'll notice that September isn't desperately trying to be July.

The light changes. Temperatures change. Leaves change. Plants and animals respond to the conditions around them effortlessly. Change isn't evidence that something has gone wrong. It's simply part of moving from one season into another.

Yet we often expect something very different from ourselves.

We find a morning routine that works and expect ourselves to maintain it indefinitely. Side note: a summer 5:15 wake-up is, in fact, a fall 6:30 and perhaps a winter 8:00. 😊

We finally find an exercise routine that works reasonably well with our bodies and decide, This is what I do now.

We find meals we enjoy and keep trying to eat them even when they no longer sound particularly appealing.

Then the conditions change.

Kids go back to school and schedules shift. The weather changes and watermelon suddenly isn’t as craveable as lasagna. Our energy changes and hibernating under a blanket sounds considerably more appealing than socializing. Our symptoms change and our knee decides this would be an excellent time to remind us why we call it the bad knee.

And when the old routine stops fitting quite as well, we assume we've somehow failed.

But what if consistency isn't about keeping everything the same?

What if it's about staying connected to the things that support us while allowing how we support ourselves to change?

That's a very different way of thinking about habits and self-care. And it's one I've found especially helpful when living in a body that doesn't always operate predictably.

Keep the Why. Change the How.

When a habit stops fitting, we often fall into one of two camps: force ourselves to keep doing it exactly the same way, even when it isn't serving us, or stop doing it altogether.

But there's another option:

Keep the why. Change the how.

Start by asking yourself why the habit mattered in the first place.

Maybe your morning walk isn't really about walking two miles. Maybe it's about moving your body, getting outside, clearing your head, or having a little time to yourself.

Those things can still matter even when the 7 a.m. walk no longer works.

Then ask yourself: What's changed?

Maybe it's the light or weather. Maybe your schedule is different. Maybe your energy has shifted or your symptoms are louder right now.

Whatever the answer, try to notice it without turning it into a judgment about your character, discipline, or commitment. The conditions changed. That's information.

Then comes the more useful question:

How could the habit change while still supporting what matters to me?

Maybe the walk moves to lunchtime when there's more daylight. Maybe thirty minutes becomes ten because your symptoms are flaring. Maybe movement moves indoors. Or perhaps you choose something completely different that gives you what you were seeking from the walk in the first place.

The habit hasn't broken. It has adapted.

What Might Need to Bend This Fall?

Once you start looking at your habits and self-care this way, you may notice all kinds of places where a little flexibility could help.

Food is an obvious one for me. The lighter meals of vegetables, fruit, and the occasional cheese plate that sounded wonderful all summer start losing badly to garlic bread and cacio e pepe as the temperatures drop.

Rather than fighting that shift, we can get curious about it. If the deeper intention is eating in ways that support our health, maybe the food itself can change. A salad becomes soup. Overnight oats become baked oatmeal. Fresh vegetables get roasted. And yes, there is room for lasagna.

And yes, I'm basically Garfield.

The same thing can happen with our mornings. If you're already struggling to get a good night's sleep, waking to a dark room may make an early start feel even harder. Perhaps it's time to break out the happy light and bring a little artificial sunshine into the equation. The early morning movement that worked in July might shift to later in the day, or maybe your morning simply changes pace, becoming a little slower with time to savor a cup of tea. What helped you get out of bed in summer may not be what you need in October.

Movement has its own seasonal rhythm too. Swimming, gardening, hiking, and long evening walks naturally become harder to maintain when daylight and weather change. Rather than seeing that as falling off your routine, you might move the walk to lunchtime, dust off your yoga mat, rally your crew to join the YMCA, or put on music and dance while making dinner.

The point isn't to create the perfect seasonal version of every habit. It's to notice when something stops fitting, get curious about why, and give yourself permission to adjust it.

Try It: Keep the Why. Change the How

Choose one habit that isn't fitting quite as well right now. You don't need to overhaul your whole routine. Just choose one.

1. Why does this matter to me?

Look beneath the habit itself and ask what it's actually supporting. The answer might be physical, but don't stop there. Your morning walk might support movement and cardiovascular health, while also giving you quiet time, connection with a friend, fresh air, or a sense of calm before your day begins.

A single habit can support several dimensions of your well-being. Knowing what matters about it gives you more possibilities for adapting it.

2. What's changed that is making the old habit harder to maintain?

Consider your energy, symptoms, schedule, environment, weather, daylight, or anything else that may be affecting it.

This is a judgment-free zone. You're gathering information, not building a case against yourself.

3. What could adapt while still supporting the why?

Could you change the timing? Make the habit smaller? Move it somewhere else? Could a different activity meet some of the same needs?

You don't need to redesign your entire routine.

Just let one thing bend.

Moving With the Season

If you're finding it hard to let go of the way things used to look, turn your attention back to nature. It has a lot to teach us about change.

Look at the trees. They don't cling to the same form all year in the name of consistency. They respond to the conditions they're living in. They bud and bloom, offer shade through the heat of summer, release their leaves when the season changes, and eventually settle into rest. None of those stages diminishes the others. Each belongs to the rhythm of the whole.

We can respond to our own changing seasons too.

Especially when we live in bodies whose needs and capacity change regularly, adapting our habits isn't evidence that we're incapable of caring for ourselves. It is exactly what can make consistency possible.

So as fall settles in around you, pay attention to what feels different. Notice what's still supporting you and what may be asking for a change.

Instead of trying to drag an old routine into a new season, ask:

What small shift would help this habit support the body and life I have right now?

Keep the why. Change the how.

And let that be enough for this season.

When You're Ready, Here Are Two Ways I Can Support You

1. Join Me for Yoga

Yoga is one of my favorite examples of adaptable wellness. Your practice can change with your energy, symptoms, and capacity while still offering movement, breath, connection, and support for your whole self.

→ Register for a class here

2. Book a complimentary Wellness Vision Call.

Prefer more individualized support? A Wellness Vision Call is an opportunity to explore where you are now, what's getting in the way, and what health and well-being could look like with support that meets you exactly where you are.

→ Schedule your Wellness Vision Call.

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