Summer vacation is just around the corner. It is a time for family, holidays, longer days, and a break from the usual routines. For many women, it is also the time when a familiar thought appears:
- I’ll start again after summer.
- I’ll get back to exercise in September.
- I’ll focus on healthier habits when the children are back in school.
- I’ll make time for myself when life feels a little less busy.
Sometimes these thoughts come with guilt attached. A sense that we are avoiding something we should be doing. Sometimes waiting is a wise and realistic decision. Sometimes it is procrastination disguised as a plan. The challenge is knowing the difference. Do you have the capacity to continue your current routines, or do they need adjusting? Have you genuinely decided to wait, or is summer becoming another opportunity to postpone a change you have been thinking about for months?
When Waiting Is a Considered Choice
In a busy season such as summer, deciding that September is a more realistic starting point is not necessarily weakness or avoidance. It can be a reasonable assessment of your current situation. A considered choice has thought behind it. You are recognizing that your current circumstances genuinely make it harder to start something new and sustain it. You are being realistic about your energy and choosing your moment with intention. Starting a new habit when you are already stretched, exhausted, and unsupported is one of the most common reasons people give up within a few weeks. Timing and knowing yourself matters. If you decide to wait until September, it is worth asking yourself one important question:
What will actually be different then?
If you can answer that question clearly (specific and realistic), then waiting may not be procrastination at all. It may simply be good timing.
When It Becomes Procrastination
Procrastination tends to feel different. There is often a familiar pattern behind it. The moment the pressure lifts and September arrives, a new reason to wait appears. Because at that point, it is no longer about timing. It might be about the fear underneath the waiting. The fear that you are still searching for the perfect time.
- Fear of starting and not following through.
- Fear of trying and finding it harder than expected.
- Fear that you have left it too long.
- Fear that you no longer know how to make yourself a priority.
For many years, I believed that if I could not do things properly, I should not do them at all. If I could not train the way I used to, there was little point in starting. If I could not fully commit to a goal, I would wait for a better time. The problem was that there was always a reason to wait. Looking back, I realise I was thinking about change in a very all-or-nothing way. I believed I had to wait until I had more time, more energy, or the perfect circumstances. What I have learned since is that sustainable wellbeing is rarely built that way. More often, it grows through small actions repeated consistently, even during busy seasons of life.
The Option That Often Gets Missed
There is something between a full commitment and stopping altogether. It is the option I encourage most often during busy periods like summer.
Keep the thread.
Do not try to launch a new programme that you cannot realistically sustain right now. But do not disappear from your own wellbeing either. You could adjust and do:
- A short walk.
- Prepare a nourishing meal when you can manage it (protein, fat, fiber)
- Take an early night when the opportunity is there.
- Meditate for a few minutes early morning, before the day begins.
These are not consolation prizes. They are small acts of continuity that keep you connected to your health during a time when it is easy to drift. The woman who maintains that connection through summer will often find September far less daunting than the woman who stopped entirely and now feels she has to start from scratch again.
A Different Kind of Summer Reflection
Sometimes the pause that summer brings can be useful because it might create space to ask whether some of the things filling our days still reflect what matters to us. We often continue routines simply because they have become habits, not because they are still serving us. Before deciding what you want to add in September, it may be worth asking what no longer serves you.
- Are the things you spend your time on bringing you joy, energy, or fulfilment?
- Do you go to bed feeling satisfied with how you spent your day?
- Or is your inner voice asking for change?
If you know September is your moment, use the time between now and then to think about what you want to change and why it matters to you. Notice what is already working, even in a small way. Arrive in September with an intention already in place rather than waiting for motivation to appear on its own.
If you suspect the waiting has become a habit in itself, that is useful information too, simply as an invitation to become curious. Because perhaps the real question is not whether September is the right time to begin. Perhaps the question is whether you are willing to stay connected to yourself between now and then.
This summer, instead of pressing pause on your wellbeing, consider lowering the bar rather than abandoning it altogether. Allow your routine to look different, even smaller if needed, so it fits the reality of your life right now. Most importantly, do not wait for the perfect version of yourself to return. Keep showing up, even if it looks different than it once did.
If you are thinking about what you would like to change and want some support working out where to start, I would love to talk. You can book a free introductory call through the coaching page or take the Sustainable Wellness Score assessment for an immediate and personalised starting point.
With care,
Rannveig
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