School's back in session—don't panic

Our Focus Mode feature, plus the science behind looking for beauty.

Onward Weekly

Onward Team

September 1, 2026

How many of us still feel that unsettling jolt of panic set in around the start of September, even years after finishing formal education? It feels nearly biological: September = school starts, which means more work and higher expectations.

We're fooling ourselves if we think that, after 14-18 years of formal schooling, our bodies would simply forget the tension that comes with a new school year just because we graduated.

While summer is coming to a close and maybe you didn't get out to the beach or frolic in the sun as much as you would've hoped, just know: with fall comes the joys of focus and rewards of harnessing your productivity in the healthiest ways.

Bite-sized knowledge

The science of the September reset.

Behavioral scientists refer to the sudden surge in motivation around dates like September 1st as the "fresh start effect." A 2014 study by Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman, and Jason Riis found that aspirational behaviors spike at these "temporal landmarks" because they give us an excuse to wipe the slate clean and pretend that our summer procrastination doesn't count.

However, with this transition into the fall, the new positive routines can bring about judgment if we aren't able to adopt them as quickly as we'd like. In our efforts to go from the chill summer days to the highly disciplined autumn routines, we can bring unnecessary pressure and thus, cause us to abandon the routines after feeling like a failure.

Give this a try

Track systems, not destinations.

Rather than tracking how many pages you wrote that week or calories you burned working out, pridefully count the times you sat down to write or got yourself to the gym.

Outcomes are the reward for great systems.

New In Onward

Easily customize your Morning Routine.

We've made it even easier to customize your Morning Routine by adding or deleting steps within the feature itself.

Simply hover over one of the steps on the left panel and click the minus sign (-), or add a routine back by hovering over the routine title under 'More Routines' and clicking the green plus sign.

Build sustainable routines.

Sign in to Onward, plan your work, create some habits, and start a routine that you can continue for the rest of the year!

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