We are now (officially) a few weeks into the Fall Season, the best Season of them all! So many new things front themselves in this Season but we also see many things go. Fall is the Season that brings routine back into many lives, coziness by the cold weather, and more stability. This being said schedules do fill up with work, school, sports, homework, and many other things. It would be easy for this Seasonal transition to pass us by without soaking in the slow pace Fall reflects. Intentionality is so important as we change Seasons, and learn to go with the slow as well as our new flow. This is 9 slow paced Fall activities to do that will help you slow down this Fall; and remain slowed down even with busy schedules.
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9 Slow Paced Fall Activities to do That will Help you Slow Down this Fall
1.) Include a “Wind Down Hour” into your nightly routine
One of the best hours of my day is any spend winding down. This I do by watching my all time favorite movies or TV shows. Specifically if they are Autumn related or nostalgic cartoons. The ultimate combination of this is any Scooby Doo Show or Movie. I recommend buying the DVD’s and watching the old fashioned way! I don’t own cable or any streaming service through my TV, a lifestyle I recommend!
To make this more “Fall Related” I like to get my big cozy blankets, a warm drink, and maybe open the window for an evening breeze!
2.) Waking up early to stay in bed
This one might be silly, but I set two alarms for my mornings. One to wake up and the next to get out of bed. We live in such a fast paced world, and one of my least favorite things is to leave my house in general- but especially to leave it abruptly. Our lives look like: get up, brush teeth, do makeup, change, leave, and maybe get breakfast on the way to work.
I don’t like this lifestyle at all. I am a homebody and Fall brings that out in me. This is why I think it is such a good idea to wake up early so you can slow down, have less stress and hurry in your morning, and also so that you are doing more with your day than work or school. We live for more than that and should enjoy our homes for more than that. These things shouldn’t BE our day, but be part OF our day.
3.) Assess and set boundaries for your life in this Season
Another big step to include in your routine this Fall is an assessment of how you are doing in relation to yourself, people around you, friends, family, work, location, etc. How are you doing in all aspects? Once you assess this find spots that need to be worked on. Do you need to say no to helping with the kid’s sports this year? Buy takeout a little more often instead of cooking? What needs to go so that you can be okay and have time?
This you should journal (find a cute one on Amazon, make it one you love), it is so helpful to write it out. Set boundaries and clean out your friend list, work load, extra activities, and more so you can fit in things that matter, give your best to what you do, and to have free time.
4.) Do one thing by yourself or for yourself this Fall
Today I passed by the pumpkins outside my local grocery store and wished someone would see how much I loved them to buy me one. I look at pumpkins like other girls look at flowers. I got upset that I felt like no one chooses into me. This happens to us a lot, we truly desire closeness this time of year and add a lot of stress and expectation on our relationships and friendships this time of year. But during this new Season it is important to include gifts or time you intentionally give to yourself.
You could implement stress free activities, watch movies, and wake up early but if your heart still doesn’t feel taken care of you will not relax with the rest of the world this Fall. Make sure YOU are taking care of YOU this Season. That your needs are met. This will help you so greatly as the Seasons transition, to remind you of love, comfort and provisions.
5.) Do at least one Seasonal activity new or traditional
Do something that you love, that interests you, that relaxes you for Fall. This year for example, I did something new by picking wild apples. I did a million other new things this Fall, but this was one of my favorites. What can you do, think of, or what activities have you seen that you can participate in?
Another example, before I moved I always made sure to hit all the barn sale bizarres and bought myself something (sort of like my previous point). I always went to pumpkin patches before. Don’t let the Season pass by you without doing something that pronounces and enhances it for you! Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, scary movie in Theatre, do something that falls under the Autumn category!
6.) Read a book this Fall
Let Fall continue to be the season of learning by picking up a good book matter your age. I love to pick up novels or old classics like The Secret Garden. Something manageable, not too big, not too small. This gets us off our phones, back in tume with more natural ways of living. Whenever I read it helps me associate with nature and the world around me like God intends. This is also because I do it at night by my window with my lights low. This is so my body acclimates to a more natural way of living, with natural lighting, and more natural things like reading over being on my phone.
7.) Go on Autumn walks
To bring up The Secret Garden again, I absolutely love the way they describe the main character Mary as sickly to lively once she started getting outside in the crisp outdoor air on her walks. I have suffered with a lot of illness in my life and appreciate the delicacy of health through getting outside and moving your body. Playing outside in cool Autumn weather is refreshing for your body and soul. This, above the others, is the most rejuvenating of all the slow paced Fall activities.
“and after she stared for a while she realized that if she did not go out she would have to stay in and do nothing- and so she went out. She did not know that this was the best thing she could have done, and she did not know that, when she began to walk quickly or even run along the paths and down the avenue, she was stirring her slow blood and making herself stringer by fighting with the wind which swept down the moor. . The big breaths of rough fresh air blown over the heather filled her lungs with something which was good for her whole thin body and whipped some red color into her cheeks and brightened her dull eyes when she did not know anything about it..”
—Frances Hodgson Burnett , The Secret Garden
8.) Make your bed in the morning and get in it early
Another favorite of mine to to leave a refreshing and clean bed for myself every night by making my bed in the morning. This gives me and organized place to destress at night. Along with unwinding at night I also like to get in bed early. This is more of a Fall and Winter thing for me, but it’s a way of living Seasonally and letting my body know this is a time of year to relax, to let go, to take care of myself and to slow down. During this time I watch movies, read or simply rest. But I always make sure to leave an inviting space for myself in the morning and add to it at night with hot pads, occasional candles, and anything else I need to help calm slow down.
9.) Read my Bible before work, putting prayer and Bible reading first
I do have to say I have slacked on this one majorly this year but one of my favorite activities for years has been (during my early mornings before work) to get a warm cup of tea, a pen, and my Bible to sit by the windows with a warm blanket to read my Bible. I always set a timer for as long as I can read ten-thirty minutes usually. This is so that I do read but also get to working on time as well. Growing in wisdom, humility, and closeness to Jesus this time of year is such a special, beautiful, and vital necessity.
This was nine slow paced Fall activities to include in your Autumn Season this year! Leave a comment, subscribe for more, and thank you for reading!
