Labor Day Reset
Several years ago I read a short post about Labor Day Resolutions. The idea of launching a new habit around Labor Day has stuck with me ever since. Most people think of resolutions as something to do when the calendar flips from one year to another. Personally, I find the culture around New Year’s resolutions to be a little intense and it’s never really resonated with me. Down in the bottom of winter, I’m often in my most dormant state, like some hibernating soft little animal.
But September?
September is prime new start season for me thanks to the cultural imprint of “back to school.” For the first half of my life, September was the time for new beginnings: a new school year, the kickoff of pro football, and my favorite, the cool, crisp air of Autumn in the Allegheny Plateau.
As a kid coming off the adventures and leisure of long summer days, my mind and body were often ready to take on a new challenge. In high school, that was the fall/winter basketball season and touch football games with the boys on recess as well as new classwork. Of course, as a working adult, the days, months, and seasons tend to blend together a bit more. That’s actually a perfect reason to test out a Labor Day Reset this year.
For me, this Labor Day Reset is a simple trigger to look at some new things I want to bring into my life and then experiment with them. Experiment is the operative word. Pursuing perfection or maintaining a streak always leads me to give up the first time life gets in the way. This time, I’m approaching my new habits from a place of curiosity.
Last year I tried a Labor Day Reset by way of a “personal curriculum.” That fizzled when I added too much to my plate (six “classes”) and then my job got hectic and took over my nights and weekends. This year, my goals are smaller on purpose. No grand rules about writing several pages in my journal or attending some advanced class. Just: what happens if I write something in my journal every morning? What happens if I read an encouraging line from a daybook during my morning quiet time? If I try yoga, will I like it? Questions instead of demands. Curiosity instead of rigidity.
I want a softer approach for my Labor Day Reset for 2026.
I have three small habits I want to try: (1) testing out simple yoga using a book I found secondhand; (2) reading the daily entry from The Pivot Year by Brianna Wiest during my morning quiet time; and (3) writing something (anything) in my journal every day (probably also during my morning quiet time). One completely new thing and two small tweaks to an existing habit. I’m starting by trying these three habits from Labor Day through the end of September. Just three weeks. Enough time to stumble and fall a couple of times and stand back up. At the end of September, I’ll see what’s working and what’s not and make adjustments. That allows me to try new things without making some ridiculous lifetime commitment before I even know if I enjoy it or not.
Perhaps most importantly, these habits are not all about demanding from my body and mind. These habits are more about putting things in. Nourishing my mind. Challenging my body. Replenishing the internal well. Giving to myself and not just requiring more and more and more.
My biggest change with this reset is that I’m not interested in keeping a perfect streak going. When I’ve taken that approach in the past, I end up abandoning the whole project when I miss a single day. This time, I’ll try “Just get back in the saddle if a day throws you” and “Don’t miss two days in a row.”
And when I do end up face-first in the dirt? No more brutal internal dialogue where I berate myself for screwing up. My mantra for this Labor Day Reset is “Treat yourself like someone you love.” Whenever I default to beating myself up, I will try to switch to kindness. Curiosity. Support. Just like I would talk to my bestie if she was working on adding a new habit.
This year instead of mourning the end of summer, I’m trying a Labor Day Reset. A chance to add new habits when the fresh promise of fall makes a new beginning feel like the perfect fit. While all the kids are heading back to school, I’ll be leaning into learning new things as well. Not a full curriculum. Just a few elective experiments. My hope is that I’ll discover new habits that make my days feel fuller.
