10 Little Ways to Make Your Life More Fun This Fall
Fall is a good season to be a little decadent, especially once it’s cool enough to linger in a hot bath or spend an afternoon baking something you’ve been craving. Even your morning coffee deserves real whipped cream occasionally.
There’s pleasure in letting an ordinary day take longer than it needs to, starting with a slower morning routine that gives you time to enjoy it. With the holidays approaching, now feels like a good time to enjoy a few things you’ll wish you had time for later. These ten ideas are an excuse to slow down and have a little fun before your calendar fills up.
1. Give your errands a fall upgrade
Saturday feels different when there’s something on the itinerary you actually want to do. That bakery you always drive past could be your first stop, with a coffee for the road and something flaky to eat before you get home. If the leaves have started turning, the longer route might be worth taking, too.
2. Wear something that makes you smile
Somewhere in your closet is probably something you love but rarely wear because the occasion never seems quite right. The dramatic coat, perhaps, or those ghost earrings with a very short annual window. Take them to the grocery store. You’ll get more enjoyment out of wearing them on an ordinary afternoon than saving them for plans you haven’t made.
3. Make dinner feel like an event
Soup straight from a carton makes a perfectly lovely dinner, especially in your favorite bowl with some good bread alongside it. Once you’ve cleared a place at the table and lit a candle, you might even feel like sitting there awhile. Give your own evening some of the care you’d put into having someone over.
4. Take yourself on a reading date
A café window seat and a book you can’t put down could easily account for your entire afternoon. Choose whatever you’re in the mood for, including the messy romance you’ve been pretending you don’t want to read. It’s a pleasant way to get out of scroll mode for a while. With your phone tucked away and nowhere urgent to be, someone else’s drama can have your full attention.
5. Make time for an intuitive reading
An intuitive reading can begin with something you’re excited about, like a creative project or the possibility of dating again. Bring your curiosity to a Keen advisor and see which questions you’d like to explore during a reading. Afterward, give yourself a little time to consider the perspective they offered and what you want to do with it.
6. Make something delightfully unnecessary
There’s a particular satisfaction in hanging up a decoration you made yourself, even when it’s a little lopsided. An afternoon with a friend, a few pumpkins, and whatever craft supplies you already own is plenty to work with. You might enjoy the whole thing more if you skip searching for an example and see what you come up with.
7. Give your chores a soundtrack
You probably still know every word to an album you haven’t played in years. Put it on the next time you’re folding laundry and see how long it takes before you’re singing into a rolled-up pair of socks. The towels will eventually make it into the cupboard, though the best song may require your undivided attention.
8. Start a fall tradition you’ll actually repeat
The traditions that stick tend to be easy enough that someone says, “Should we do that again next week?” Sunday cinnamon rolls made with store-bought dough are a strong candidate. So is a Friday scary movie with a friend who loves talking through the plot. A more satisfying social life can start with plans this simple. Keep the effort low enough that you look forward to them.
9. Leave someone a little surprise
Finding your favorite Halloween candy on your desk can improve an otherwise unremarkable afternoon, especially when someone remembered which kind you like. Do that for a friend, or send the old photo that still makes you laugh whenever you find it. If the exchange turns into a proper catch-up, all the better.
10. Make a tiny fall wish list
Before another weekend fills up, think about what you’d be disappointed to miss this season. An orchard visit might need a little planning; baking an apple crisp could happen tonight. Write down three things you’d love to do, then put your favorite on the calendar while there’s still room to make it happen.
Something on this list probably sounds especially good right now. Start there, whether it means putting a book in your bag for tomorrow or inviting someone over for dessert this weekend. You can work out the rest of your fall plans over a second helping.
