Labor Day Is the Real Start of the New Year. Here’s How to Get Ahead so You Can Thrive All Year Long
Our Founder and CEO, Dana Haller, wrote this article for Thrive Global in August 2025.
What if, instead of resisting the end of summer, we embraced it as a collective reset? A cultural pause before momentum builds again. In reality, September marks a more natural new year — not just for parents and students, but for professionals, households, and anyone living within a constant state of juggling.
The end of summer brings a clarity and urgency that no other time of year can match. Offices fill up. The group chats fire up. Bosses are back. Clients respond. School is in full swing. The calendar comes back to life and structure returns to households that have been happily improvising for months. Whether you’re a CEO, a solo operator, a corporate director, or the Chief Juggle Officer of your household, there’s an unspoken agreement: it’s time to focus.
That shift comes with a heavy cognitive burden: a recent U.S. study found that mothers shoulder approximately 70% of all household mental‑load tasks. Early September has always marked a critical season for planning, coordinating, scheduling, and anticipating what’s next. This month can quickly become chaotic and stressful. Proactively making small adjustments now is not just helpful—it’s essential. It creates the clarity, capacity, and focus required to meet the months ahead with purpose, resilience, and the ability to truly thrive.
As September 1st approaches, don’t just see it as the end of summer. Look at it as a beginning: the unofficial — and perhaps more meaningful — new year. Here are six areas to reset, reframe, and get ahead this season:
1. Work
September is your moment to show up strategically — with energy, ideas, and urgency. It’s four months of crunch time before the holidays. Show up fresh and regain your focus. Implement these intentional habits to streamline your workday.
Purge and organize your inbox. Just like your closet, a cleaner space will allow you to focus and look ahead with what you need to do. Try the 4D method. Delete. Delegate. Do. Defer.
Delete any completed tasks or unwanted emails you don’t read.
Delegate to someone else’s plate whether a teammate, partner, or spouse.
Do complete what you can respond to quickly.
Defer to a folder on items you can respond to in the future. Just don’t forget about those.
Strategically plan your calendar. Identify which meetings are your priorities. Pay attention to deadlines. And don’t procrastinate on important conversations.
Start the review process now. Whether you are responsible for your own review or the reviews of others, create a review folder and start adding notes. The better organized you are the easier it will be to highlight your work and thoughtfully provide feedback to your team.
2. Health & Wellness
Forget resolutions — think routines. September is the time to build sustainable wellness habits. Reset your sleep, eating, and workout patterns now — before holiday chaos creeps in. You’ll thank yourself in December.
Set your fitness goals and identify the activities that align with your schedule. This way when the calendar becomes packed, you will have an established regiment for your wellness lifestyle.
Schedule doctors appointments. Book doctor’s appointments before deductibles reset. Use the fall to baseline your health so you start with a clear view of your health in January.
Develop a meal plan. Whether you are looking to establish healthy eating habits or reduce wasteful spending, September gives an opportunity to review grocery and meal planning.
3. School
Help your family and you adjust to new expectations, schedules, and responsibilities. The structure you build now will carry your family through the school year.
Early to bed. Early to rise. No matter the age of the student (or parent), the morning can be the toughest time of the day. Establishing a set bedtime and knowing what time to wake can alleviate the struggle to rise and shine.
Morning prep. The rush to get out the door has a ripple effect across the whole family. Create a night-before system of lunch making, outfit selecting, and bag packing to eliminate chaos of pulling it all together in the morning.
Screen-time schedule. As they return to the classroom the use of laptops and phones will fill students’ days and nights with schoolwork. The start of school can offer a start of balance and productivity. It is also a good time to reset social media use.
Manage your calendar. As you set into your rhythm of fall activities, take inventory of the amount of time every activity absorbs in your schedule.
4. Travel
Still riding high from your summer break? Leverage that energy — and start planning your next trip. September and October are ideal for snagging flight deals, especially for spring break or holiday travel. Booking now means fewer headaches later when prices spike and availability vanishes. The purpose of a vacation—and the holidays—is to recharge, celebrate, and disconnect. Give yourself the time to plan now, so it doesn’t become another source of stress later. Remember you’re meant to return energized, not exhausted.
Before you know it, the holidays are here and spring break creeps up on you. Don’t wait to book your family trip. You can score some discounts now if your travel is flexible and you book in advance. And we all know we become less flexible the closer we get to the travel date.
Do your research. It seems every year has a new hot spot. Consider last year’s top destination for your vacation.
Earn your vacation. As December approaches, there are more opportunities to score more points or earn more miles. Use this to your advantage. Sign up for the loyalty program and put those points to work.
Get ready to re-book. This is ultra-planning once you are on vacation. If you are really enjoying a certain destination, consider booking for next year. Hotels will often comp days if you book well in advance. Read the fine print, chances are you will be able to cancel if your plans change. But if you can commit there is upside to planning!
5. Finances
Before holiday spending begins, take stock. Review your accounts, credit cards, and budgets. Adjust your spending habits now to avoid holiday financial stress. Financial clarity in September = fewer regrets in January.
Spending audit. Each season brings a different range of costs. Summer may have been a little more fluid and the fall may be a great time to save. Regroup on your spending and take inventory of your bank accounts.
Budget forecasting. Before the holidays creep into your wallet, now is the time to budget for the larger expense season. September gives us time to plan and save.
6. Holidays
Yes, the holidays will be here fast. Before you know it, stores will be stocked with Halloween gear — and holiday decor is just weeks away. Use this quieter moment to get ahead: order costumes, make plans for gatherings, start gift lists, book travel, maybe even snag those matching family pajamas now. A little prep now means way less chaos later.
Order Halloween costumes now. Yes! Start the conversation with the kids this week. Identify their characters and theme. Then purchase the costume now. Store it away for a month and make yourself Halloween ready with no last-minute scramble.
Set plans. Don’t wait to ask your family what the plans are for the holiday gatherings. If you must travel or host, knowing now will let you prepare both mentally and logistically.
Track purchases and monitor sales. The desperation of gift giving can get the best of you in December. Slowly build your holiday purchases over the next four months to give yourself a head start. This will allow you to take advantage of big sales at all the stores. Don’t forget to keep a running list of the gifts you buy so you don’t overspend. And start wrapping early so you’re not burning the midnight oil in December.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire life to reset this month—but that post-Labor Day start is a clean slate disguised as a new season. Most of us are already carrying a full mental load. By creating routines now, you will establish momentum that carries through to the busy holiday season. When schedules get packed and the pressure builds. So, treat this season as the new beginning it really is. Start slow, start small, but start with intention. September is coming— use it to launch the last few months of 2025 and prepare for 2026!