Time for some self-improvement? Why September is the 'thinking man's January'

With its back-to-school vibe, there’s no better time to engage in a little self-improvement than the first month of autumn. Hannah Betts hails the arrival of the ‘thinking man’s January’
September? Jog on
Hannah Betts4 September 2015

Look about you and you will observe a certain something in the air. The woman sitting next to you at work: has she just joined a mindfulness class? The chap striding past you in the street: is he sporting spankingly box-fresh trainers? You yourself: are you feeling more than a little back-to-school, in attitude rather than new-pencil-case kind of way? More likely to seek solace in a green juice than an Aperol Spritz?

Allow me to confirm that you are totally surfing the zeitgeist here. For it would increasingly appear that September has become the thinking person’s January — a far more logical and propitious moment to seek out self-improvement than when the chill winds of January are laying siege.

Social media is awash with announcements of people commencing detoxes, signing up for half marathons or 30-day squat challenges, and finally ditching the fags. Come mid-September, an otherwise sane friend is embarking upon a ‘three-month, daily self-transformation course’, but only after she’s completed a week with her ‘chi guru’. Another informs me that she is ‘going the full Calgary’ — a reference to wellbeing poster girl Calgary Avansino, she of the lithe limbs and cauliflower couscous.

Why, even Mark Roberts, head of my favourite wine merchant, Decorum Vintners, is contemplating a dry September after a summer of extreme imbibing to keep warm at sodden festivals. That said, my favourite September renunciation is the colleague who tells me he is ‘taking a porn fast’. Whatever works for you, my friend, whatever works for you.

Alas, I know of what I speak (renunciation, not porn). Last September, after 30 years of concerted boozing, I stopped drinking. The day before, I had found myself at a party that started at 11am and ended in the small hours asleep in a friend’s bath. When I add that the party in question was a christening, you will begin to perceive the enormity of said spree. This September, 12 months sober, I have purchased a Fitbit in order to OCD myself into the requisite 10,000 steps (five miles) a day.

Post-summer booze burnout can be even more severe than the post-Yuletide yearning for recovery. WeightWatchers refers to September as the ‘season of renewal’. With 15 weeks until Christmas, beach bodies missing in (in)action start being re-honed into party physiques, and gyms are sweaty with puce-faced newbies. Last year, Virgin Active attempted to cash in on the boom by offering a free month’s membership to those joining during September.

Food and nutrition-wise, The Organic Pharmacy’s Margo Marrone is similarly deluged by customers seeking the company’s detox programme. ‘We always see a boost in sales of around 20 per cent in September, as customers use detoxing as an antidote to summer vacations and a means of boosting immunity ahead of the pre-Christmas slog. A September detox is far superior to January’s. In winter, we use all our energy coping with extreme temperatures. In September, more energy is available to detox. Plus the spirit is rather more willing.’

As for facial fitness, back-to-school Botox and fillers are very much a thing. London’s Botox genius Dr Michael Prager confirms: ‘There’s definitely a school-gate survival-of-the-fittest vibe going on. Understated glamour, pretending to be a hands-on mum with the looks of a supermodel, is precisely what my patients request. And they want treatment in late August/early September so they can claim it’s a holiday glow.’

Others look deeper, contemplating new homes, new partners and new selves while there is sufficient sunshine to foster optimism. Julia Bueno is a North London psychotherapist: ‘I find August a very busy time for referrals: the slower pace allows space for reflection, family holidays can throw pesky dynamics into the frame, and people are thrown closer to their bodies in summer clothes, meaning an influx of new clients in September. The academic year also scores deeply into us. Some people have had over 20 years of the new year beginning in September, something enforced when they have children.’

Vassili Christodoulou, of Bloomsbury’s emotional intelligence mecca The School of Life, concurs: ‘September is the start of our biggest term. After using the summer to reflect, our students dedicate autumn to making change happen, most acutely in their professional lives.’ Perennial September course hits include ‘How to Find a Job You Love’ and ‘Networking for People who Don’t Like Networking’.

20 Instagrams for fitness motivation

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Some take solace in love; dating websites observe a peak with the onset of September. Romantics return from their travels seeking someone to fill their life — or simply their bed — as the nights draw in. A recent Tinder convert confides: ‘In the summer I love being single: staying out all night, snogging everyone in sight. But come September I want to be holding hands and walking through autumn leaves, dressed like a Kooples advert, with someone who’ll bring me soup when I catch a cold.’

As I write, I have just bought two self-help books to cure my shopping addiction (irony appreciated) and can’t stop YouTubing health evangelist Dr Pamela Peeke. I have also developed a Fitbit-tapping tic. As the device is located between my breasts, the effect can be disconcerting. Still, it’s September, the peak of the Fitbit’s popularity: everybody’s going to be tapping their cleavage.

Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahJBetts

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