I hopped onto Instagram for some pretty pictures this weekend and found a lot of melancholy. People were taking stock of their lives and feeling sad and discouraged. It seemed to be a theme.

It makes sense. It’s Labor Day weekend, and according to a book I just read, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, by Daniel H. Pink, we tend to assess where we are and make big changes on significant days in our lives.

For me, fall is a heavy hitter – it’s the beginning of the school year, Labor Day, and my birthday. Three opportunities to launch into a fresh start, or flop over sideways with a weak wave.

It was fascinating to be reading about this phenomenon of significant days in our lives being a catalyst for change while seeing the real-time effects of Labor Day weekend play out on social media.

I’m feeling the melancholy, too.  We’re at the beginning of a school year unlike any other. Every one of my kids’ academic success will be under my purview for the entire year, for better or worse.

Sure, my oldest is technically attending our local high school for his final year of secondary school, but reality dictates most or all of his learning will probably take place from the comfort of his bed with Mom checking in for status updates. All the others will be homeschooled.

Today, I took another tip from When and started the school year off with a ceremony. Pink suggests different ideas to get something off to a good start. Although it was not on his list, for me, covering the school year with prayer felt like the right choice.

I have several female relatives who are also educators, and we gathered on a video call to pray together. It was brief, but by the time we ended the call, I felt like I had made the mental shift I needed to be ready for the coming school year.

I’ll be planning our days around school rather than our appetites. Or, in addition to our appetites.

I have a big pile of books I want to read with the kids over the course of this year. Some Harry Potter, some emotional regulation, some history, some race. I’m still not sure which ones I want to start with.

Like always, I’ll probably share some of the titles here depending on what moves us.

This weekend signifies a turnover into a new phase. I’m glad I wrapped up When just as Labor Day Weekend was starting. It helped me get into the right mindset for what is to come, and the prayer sealed the deal.

Earlier today, I was listening to another book on audio. It’s long and I’m on a deadline, so I’m listening at 1.25 speed. One of my kids came into the room where I was listening on a speaker and commented on the speed of the narrator’s voice.

I stopped the audio. I told her, “When I press play, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on slowing down the reader’s voice.”

I pressed play. A moment later her eyes flew open. “It worked!” She crowed.  “It worked right away! I slowed his voice down!” And I had the pleasure of watching a lightbulb go off around the nature of consciousness and time, even if my kid may not have realized the depth of what she had experienced.

Time is mushy. Humans operate in it by creating signposts, like beginnings, middles, and ends, to make sense of time and to help themselves get a fresh start when they need it.

If you’re curious about ways you can use the “when” of things to your advantage, Pink’s book is smart, funny, and presents research and science in a way that is entertaining and practical.

As we launch into fall together, how do you want to spend your time? How has COVID changed how you feel about time and how you use it? Are you satisfied with how you spend each day? If not, is there a small thing you could do differently tomorrow to disrupt whatever patterns you’ve fallen into?

Let me know what happens.

I made the shirt I’m wearing in the serene photo above, which rivals Mary Cassatt for its depiction of the quiet transference of mother love. You can learn more about the pattern and hacks here.