Field Note#1: Start Where the Season Starts
From my field to yours: prompts, context, and usable insight.
Field notes takes what we’ve explored in Working Theory and brings psychology into the real world , your writing, your practice, your communities. Always grounded and yours to adapt.
📝 #1 Start Where the Season Starts
From my place to yours: prompts, context, and usable insight.
This week in Working Theory, we explored what it really takes to move from insight to action. A new study on behaviour change reminded us that visualising the outcome (the dream routine, the finished newsletter, the better habit) isn’t enough on its own.
What we need, what our readers need too, is structure, timing, and context.
That’s why we’re looking to the seasons.
In From Intention to Impact, I wrote about the power of implementation intentions, those “if X, then Y” plans, and why the transition into autumn might be one of the best times to start (or restart) your writing practice. And if you’re hoping to guide your audience through change, whether that’s creative, emotional, or practical, this is the moment to begin shaping that support.
This Field Note brings all of that into real life: your writing, your practice, your communities. Always grounded. Always yours to adapt.
🍂 Why This Moment Matters
Autumn, especially September, is one of the most powerful natural resets we get. It’s not just cultural; it’s psychological.
Behavioural scientists like Katy Milkman and Wendy Wood have shown that seasonal transitions and life changes offer rare windows where old habits loosen and new ones are more likely to stick.
✏️ Prompts for the Week Ahead
These are here to guide, not prescribe, use them in a way that fits your rhythm.
💡 For Your Writing Practice:
What’s one existing routine you can link your writing to?
“If I open my laptop after lunch, then I open my Substack draft.”What kind of seasonal energy are you working with right now? Slowness? Planning mode? Excitement?
Can you mark a fresh start date in June, or circle one in September?
Don’t wait for motivation, create a moment.
💡 For Writing That Supports Change:
What are your readers ready for, but unsure how to begin?
Could you anchor your next post or offer around a temporal cue?
“Back-to-school energy without the overwhelm.”
“What I’m rebuilding this autumn, want to join me?”How might you guide your audience with an “if-then” invitation?
“If you’re feeling stuck, then this 5-minute ritual might help.”
🧭 For When Doubt Creeps In
If you feel behind, unsure, or not quite ready, that doesn’t disqualify you from the shift.
This space between intention and action is where most of us live. Especially when we write in public. Especially when we’re building something that reflects our real selves.
Let this be a moment to build with context, not pressure, beginnings don’t have to be big. They just have to happen.
🔒 What’s Next
This Field Note is part of a paired piece with this week’s Working Theory. Both are free to read, but from next edition onwards, Field Notes will become a subscriber-only space.
That’s where the grounded tools live. The quiet rewiring. The shift from spark to structure.
If this resonated, consider subscribing
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From my field to yours,
Leila x