AN AUTUMN BUCKET LIST

Oh Autumn. How beautiful you are. But how difficult you are to actually love.

I always struggle at this time of year, as the sunrises get later, and the sunsets get earlier. The transition between light and dark mornings takes a lot of getting used to.

For example, in summer, I can sit and write articles at 7am, it’s a good creative time for me. But come late September and early October, and I can barely string a sentence together before 9am. Which, as someone who uses her before-work time for her blogging hobby, makes things a little difficult.  

Not Just Me

I posted something similar over on my Instagram stories earlier this week, and I had quite a few messages from people agreeing. Winter itself might be okay, but the getting from summer to winter via autumn is tough on the old motivation and mood levels. It is good to know it’s not just me – I’m not that far off normal – but equally means that this is something that needs to be dealt with.

One friend replied to say that she’d been inspired by others who had created autumn bucket lists to help beat the autumn blues. They are hitting season head on with a bunch of positive – and fun – goals and activities, rather than getting to bogged down in the length of the days and nights.

I mean, an autumn bucket list? I’m here for that. Of course! It could be argued I should have been the one to come up with the idea myself – I’m a big fan of lists like this to focus my mind and benefit my mood. It’s something I’ve used as a coping mechanism quite a lot over the years, such as the list I wrote when I turned 25 and felt like I would be 30 far too soon, and the UK bucket list I wrote in summer 2020. Not to mention my big monster of a one-day bucket list, which hasn’t had much love recently I have to admit.

Autumn So Far

Autumn has been pretty decent so far, even if things have been less productive than I would like. Based on the season starting at the autumn equinox, I have celebrated 20 years of marriage, had a fantastic walk in the Malvern Hills for Ordnance Survey’s Get Outside Day, have been confirmed as an OS Champion for another year as well as an Ambassador for the National Outdoor Expo 2023 (use ZHOMES to get your tickets free!), and I’m currently packing ready to head to Athens for a city break.

If we go back further and work on the meteorological calendar, which has autumn starting on 1 September, I can add in a lovely (but very wet) week riding my motorbike around the south west of England and Wales, as well as a great time at Comms Unplugged, a conference come retreat for communications professionals based under canvas on a field in Dorset. In that time I also went paddling in the sea, had a lovely walk on Cleeve Hill catching up with a friend I haven’t seen for four or five years, went kayaking on the River Avon, and wandered up the famous Gold Hill in Shaftesbury (yes, humming to myself).

You see how writing things down can help you realise just how much you get done?

Autumn Bucket List

I gave this autumn bucket list idea some thought for a couple of days, and have come up with this list of seven things. Not massive adventures or adrenaline fuelled one-off challenges, but a selection of goals for me to work towards this season.

• Get One Hour Outside every day – and challenge you to do the same. Can I do it? Will you join me? My annual One Hour Outside challenge will be returning in November as normal, but here’s to a head start through October.
• Have fun in the Lake District. The idea is to enjoy a route up and over Red Pike and maybe Haystacks, a bit of a rematch after finding it so tough on my UK Coast to Coast hike this time last year. I know attempting that is weather dependent, so I’ll stick with my goal being to have a nice time walking, making the most of a few days away, catching up with a friend, and seeing some great views.
• On that topic, I also pledge to finish my Coast to Coast Adventure Journal series of blog posts. Hopefully the fifth instalment will be with you some time next week.
• Keeping with blogging, I also want to catch up on a handful of review posts I’ve got in the pipeline. I’ve been fortunate to agree a couple of collaborations this summer, and I need to keep my side of the bargain. Posts featuring the oh-so-comfortable Isobaa loungewear and my Aquaplanet inflatable kayak are coming very soon. And, wonderfully, both of those mean I will certainly need to do more relaxing and more kayaking this autumn, too!
• Writing is very much indoors based, so let’s get back outside. I want to enjoy getting cosy outside as well as inside this autumn, by having at least a couple of campfires in my back garden. An excellent excuse to consume many toasted marshmallows.
• To offset those marshmallows, I should also be moving more. You know, actually doing some real exercise, rather than relying on my lunchtime walks and occasional day hikes to keep me fit. Because, well, they’re not enough. This may involve joining a gym, but also it very well may not! If I can go into winter feeling a bit fitter than I do now, I’ll call this one a success.
• Get to know my new Crockpot Turbo Express by trying a good handful of recipes (I filled the freezer in preparation!). Want to know what I cook in it? Let me know – it could mean the return of my Weekly Blog Series (which I’ve paused until after I’ve written my Coast to Coast posts). So far, I’ve made mushroom soup (a version of my own recipe) and American Goulash (basically a cheeseburger in a bowl).

There we have it, seven things I will be prioritising this Autumn. I could have included more, but this isn’t about making my life difficult, but rather about using this tool to make my life better. Nothing too challenging to achieve, but a list to focus my mind on doing positive things rather than worrying about how dark it is. I’ll let you know in six-or-so weeks how I get on.

What’s on Your Autumn Bucket List?

Could an autumn bucket list help you this season? If so, let me know what you include, and I’ll do my best to encourage you as we work on this together. If nothing else, I hope you will give One Hour Outside a go – you can keep up with what I do with my daily outdoors time over on Instagram.