Back to school, back to you: why September is your secret weapon for health habits

I've been watching my daughters’ friends prepare for college this fall, and I'm honestly blown away by what "dorm room decor" means in 2025. Gone are the days of grabbing a combo bedspread/pillow set from Bed, Bath & Beyond and calling it a day.

These kids are creating full-on design masterpieces that would make Martha Stewart weep with pride. We're talking custom LED strip lighting that changes color based on their mood, vintage Persian rugs sourced from estate sales, plants that require their own Instagram accounts, and furniture that's been "thrifted and upcycled" into something straight out of Architectural Digest.

One girl showed me her Pinterest board (847 pins deep!) featuring floating shelves arranged in perfect asymmetry, a coffee station that rivals Starbucks, and throw pillow combinations that require a degree in color theory to achieve. Another invested in a $200 desk organizer system because apparently, basic drawers are for peasants.

The pressure to curate the perfect aesthetic before you've even taken your first psychology class is... intense.

The “more, more, more” trap we’ve all fallen into

Sound familiar? Because here we are in midlife, and somehow everything in our world has become the equivalent of that over-the-top dorm room.

It's no longer enough to eat well and move your body. Now you need to track your glucose in real-time, measure your heart rate variability, optimize your circadian rhythms, and follow seventeen different supplement protocols that require a spreadsheet to manage.

Your morning routine isn't just coffee anymore – it's lemon water with Celtic sea salt, followed by meditation (but only after you've journaled, done your gratitude practice, and checked your sleep score), then a specific sequence of supplements taken at precise intervals, all before your red light therapy session.

We've turned wellness into a performance art piece that would exhaust a college freshman.

The psychological trap of perfectionism paralysis

We're living in a world that's convinced us that "good enough" isn't good enough. Whether it's our kids' dorm rooms or our health routines, there's always another layer of optimization, another product that promises to be the missing piece, another protocol that successful people are apparently doing.

But here's the thing about all that Pinterest-perfect pressure: it's working against us.

Research in behavioral psychology shows that when we set the bar too high or make changes too complex, we're more likely to abandon them entirely. It's called the "what-the-hell effect”: when perfectionism leads to an all-or-nothing mentality that ultimately results in nothing.

Why September is your superpower

But here's where September becomes magical for those of us who've been around the block a few times: we have the wisdom to recognize that fresh starts don't require complete overhauls.

September carries this incredible psychological phenomenon called the "fresh start effect." Our brains are wired to feel more motivated to make changes when we perceive a clean slate: new year, new month, new season. But unlike January (when we're recovering from holiday chaos), September gives us that back-to-school energy without the pressure of starting from scratch.

The secret isn't in doing more, it's in doing better with less.

The permission to start small

Here's your September permission slip: you don't need to overhaul everything to see real results.

Pick one thing. It could be going to bed 30 minutes earlier. It could be saying no to one commitment that drains your energy, so you can say yes to something that fills you up. It could be finally staying consistent with your HOP Box.

The college kids with their elaborate dorm setups will learn what we already know: that contentment comes from clarity, not complexity. That sometimes the most revolutionary thing you can do is simplify rather than amplify.

Your September strategy

Your wisdom is your advantage. Your experience is your edge. And your ability to see through the "more, more, more" messaging to what works? That's your superpower.

Ready to use September as your strategic advantage rather than your source of overwhelm?

HOP to It!

Amy Killen & the HOP Team