Can you believe it’s September? I was all geared up to pop into your inboxes this morning with my favorite ways to reboot your routine this month (I still will, read on!) but I want to start by encouraging you to ease in slowly.

Summer is so delightful, and while us New Yorkers love our fall, transitions are always hard. If you didn’t do everything you planned this summer, give yourself grace and think back to what you ended up doing instead. If like me, you're lamenting the earlier sunsets and impending cooler weather, hold onto that feeling a little while longer. I’m writing this on the plane back from Santa Barbara where I spent the weekend dancing a lot and sleeping only a little as I celebrated one of my dearest friends’ weddings. It was such a treat to reunite with old friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade, as we toasted (and roasted!) the happiest, kindest, most wonderful couple. I will be reveling in these memories even as I settle into new routines.

And now, onto your post-Labor Day, back to school September refresh!

P.S. If you’re new here, I’m Amy, a marketing consultant, journalist, leadership coach, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Setback Cycle. (Want to work with me? Here’s how.)

I’ve been toying around with the idea of writing another book based on an idea that stemmed from some of the questions you all asked during The Setback Cycle's book tour. I told myself I’d finally get around to working on it this summer and I’ve been slowly chipping away at it for the past three months. At first, it was so satisfying to go back to a big writing project. I even interviewed a handful of people about the different topics I want to explore, and it felt so good as I strung it together those first few weeks.

But by late July, I felt my motivation waning. I read what I had and decided my great idea was not really coming across in the way I'd laid it out on the page. I was convinced it was absolute garbage. I needed to reboot, reroute, and step away for awhile.

So I turned to some of my favorite journaling prompts. You know these if you’ve been here awhile, but I always recommend writing down your answers to these two questions on a daily basis:

1. What are you energized by?
2. What are you disengaged with?

I also encourage people to rate their motivation on a scale of 1-10. After a month of doing this, look back at your answers and start to identify any consistent patterns. I offer clients printable templates that I'm sharing for free this month to help you get back into a journaling routine. Email me here if you'd like me to share it with you.

My own journaling practice had slipped away this summer due to travel, varying schedules, me not being in my usual workspace very often. So I started journaling again in August. And after looking back at the patterns, the unexpected reveal was that working on the new proposal was actually the thing that energized me. I was just stuck on the minutiae - the structure, the order, the stories supporting the points I was making. But was I ready to go back to it yet? I wasn’t sure.

And then I had that long plane ride out to California. Fellow writers, you know what happens when you view your words from a literal and figurative 30,000 feet. Somewhere over Indiana, I skeptically powered up my laptop and told myself not to write, not to edit, but to just read what was there.

Turns out, it wasn’t all garbage! It kind of made sense! And was interesting! Sure, it’s a shitty first draft and a jumble of puzzle pieces that might be stuck in the wrong chapters but it’s way better than the awful pile of poop my brain was screaming about during that month of stepping away. I allowed myself to read it in full. And then, over Oklahoma, I allowed my fingers to touch the keyboard. I started re-organizing, editing and cleaning it up. Today, I sent my agent 16,000 words and three sample chapters that sure, might be partial garbage, might have some useful nuggets in there, I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is this - thanks to a needed break, a shakeup in my routine and a fresh perspective, I was able to dive back into the project and meet my self-imposed and totally arbitrary end of summer deadline.

So now that that’s done, I’m ready to start my September refresh. This is what I hope summer has been for you. A step away, an excitement to return, a sense of renewal, the smell of sharpened pencils and a hint of fall blowing in through your open windows.

Now is when we come back with the clarity on what’s energizing us and say goodbye to the things we’re disengaged with. This month, I’m putting my energy into these three spaces:

1. My newly revamped corporate workshops, starting with one I’m doing for a leadership offsite at Meta in mid-September
2. Some fun articles I have in the works (interviewing Dr Becky next week! Send me your questions!) and of course,
3. Helping my clients succeed through their own September refreshes and reboots

So tell me, what are you energized by this month? If you aren’t quite sure of your answer yet, a fresh notebook always helps.

In the meantime, here’s what I’m:

Those of you recommitting to your job hunt. I’m going to share more and more opportunities here hoping this newsletter can do some career matchmaking. So if you’re looking for a new job, hiring for a role, or considering a pivot, send me a description of the job you want or send me a link to the job you’re trying to fill and let’s see if we can help some folks out here!

To start, here’s an incredible list of available positions that might interest you.

I also shared these open roles on LinkedIn last week if you want to take a peek.

​This essay about paid Substack newsletters and how it’s getting harder and harder to tell them apart.

Only 6% of CEOs in the whole freaking world are women - we can do better!

​The rise of the layoff influencers - this one is so interesting, because it has become less taboo for people to talk publicly and openly about being laid off (I have certainly done this!) but what will the repercussions be if and when they start to look for new jobs? Will companies be less inclined to hire them if they amass a following of people disengaged with the corporate world? And should that deter them from speaking out like this? I don’t have the answers, but I’m certainly paying attention to this space.

Speaking of influencers, make sure you read all about my former colleague, social media star and Prime Video/Hello Sunshine talk show host Cyrus Veyssi, who I had the honor of profiling for Forbes last month.

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On that note, I wish you an easy back to school season, a surge of motivation as you refresh to your routines, and a semblance of balance as you navigate what this month holds for you.

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