It’s September. So reboot your year.

Today is a special day in France.

It’s la rentrée, the first Monday in September. The day the country gets back to work after the long summer break, and usually a time of celebration.

The new academic year starts almost everywhere, of course. Usually we’re all braced for the deluge of social media pictures featuring children in their smart new school uniforms, looking cute and perhaps a little nervous.

Parents who have been juggling work and children wave an emotional goodbye at the school gates – while perhaps breathing a slightly guilty sigh of relief.

But for the French, it’s not just about going back to school.

France is a country whose rhythms, more than most, are still dictated by the seasons. Especially in the summer, when children have two full months off school.

In August, their parents tend to join them, and the whole country takes on a sleepy, absent air. Many businesses close completely, and there’s a mass exodus out of the cities as pretty much everyone takes a holiday of at least two or three weeks. 

Paris is dominated by tourists in August, with a slightly eerie feeling that the real business and bustle of the city are on hold. Across the country, it’s not unusual for restaurants and local shops to pull down their shutters for the month while the staff and owners leave for a well-earned break.

But this long summer pause means that the start of September also feels special. La rentrée translates literally as re-entry or return, but means so much more than that. It’s a welcome return to the familiar rhythms and routines of daily life.

Businesses reopen with signs declaring ‘Vive la rentrée!’ and favourite restaurants start serving customers again. Politicians return to work looking tanned and ready for the battle of the party conferences. It’s the busiest time for French publishers, with their biggest books usually scheduled for September. The cultural calendar restarts, with announcements of new events.

More importantly, the social calendar resumes. It’s a time to reconnect with friends after the holidays, catch up on the news and hopefully enjoy a last few weeks of sunshine before the crisp autumn weather sets in. 

It’s a perfect time for a reset.

A couple of years ago, I decided not to make any more new year resolutions. A family illness had made our Christmas exhausting. It was cold and dark and although I knew I should be ramping up my efforts at the gym and putting renewed energy into work projects, all I really wanted to do was curl up with a good book, and catch up on a few box sets. 

But the start of September feels like a good time to take stock, to make new goals and plans. To focus on health while the shops are still full of fresh local produce and the weather is still encouraging you to get out there and move. And to make a big push in your career or business now that everyone has their minds fully on work.

So today, I’m celebrating my own very British version of la rentrée. I’m taking time out to write and reassess. To set intentions for the year ahead, and choose the main task I want to focus on, month by month. 

If nothing else, it will mean I finish 2019 strongly, getting lots done in the fruitful final third of the year. By the time the nights draw in, I’m hoping I’ll have gathered enough momentum to get over my usual January/February slump. Or to feel I’ve achieved enough to go into my semi-hibernation without guilt. 

Here’s how I plan to do it, in case you want to reboot your year.

Make a list of all that went right in the last 12 months.

Take note of what you’ve achieved. What you’re proud of. If you keep a journal, have a look through it. We tend to focus on what didn’t go well, and forget what did. It’s worth taking an hour to remember and celebrate your achievements, before making a new list of things you’d like to get done.

Now, think about your ideal future.

Before you launch into list-making and goal-setting, take some time to project 10, 20 years into the future, and imagine how your life will be.

Where are you living?

Who with? Who do you hang out with? How do you spend your days? What is your income? And how many hours do you work for that? What do you do for fun? How are you contributing, or making a difference in the world?

This matters, because we often set goals from the head, not the heart. Or stride off down a path that leads to a place we don’t really want to be.

Once you know your ideal destination, you know what direction to take. And it’s often not the way you thought it should be. 

Then focus on the year to come.

If that’s where you’d like to be eventually, what could you do in the next year to move towards that future?

Think about your health: could you eat better, move more, learn to meditate or handle stress better?

Wealth: would you like to pay off debts, save more, invest in new skills or knowledge?

Relationships: who are you spending time with now, and how would you like that to change?

Environment: is there anything you could do in the next year that would bring you closer to the home/work/setting/lifestyle you imagined?

Career: what shifts or upgrades do you need to make? What new habits and routines might help? What do you need to start, or change?

Contribution: how will you make a difference?

And finally, focus on the next three months.

Now break your annual goals into bite-sized chunks, things you can realistically achieve in a month or so. Keep things small and manageable, so you don’t get overwhelmed. Then dive right in and get on with it.

Vive la rentrée!