FOMO: Your Adult Back-to-School Era
Remember when we were younger and the end-of-summer feeling started creeping up on us with the slightly colder nights, shorter days, and the CNE in full swing? (for my Ontario girlies).
Maybe you even noticed some leaves starting to change colour outside.
This meant it was time to start thinking about the beginning of the new school year. Whether you actually enjoyed school or not, it was a time to start fresh, buy a new agenda, and get your new class schedule.
As an adult and a corporate girly, that feeling of starting something new or looking forward to a change in routine doesn’t happen like it used to. Work tends to keep you in the same routine forever, leading to boredom or straight up burnout.
Unless you have a really cool job that lets you be adventurous and excited, and in that case, are they hiring?
Everything that came easy to us when we were of school age are areas of our lives where we have to be intentional as adults. I’m talking about our social lives, exercising, and learning new things.
So, in the spirit of back to school season, here’s what you can do with the back to school feeling:
Find 1-2 topics you’re curious about. This can be something that builds on your current skills or something completely different that younger you had zero interest in. Find articles, books, Youtube videos or even Reels about your topic of choice and read or listen with curiousity. Not for the sake of passing a test or doing a presentation, just for the sake of curiousity. Take the pressure off yourself.
Treat yourself to a cute little notebook and pen and jot down some interesting points you’ve learned about your topic.
Some broad topics to consider:
Psychology
History
Entrepreneurship
Writing
Content creation
Right now, I’m learning about finance and the stock market. I’ve come across free articles online that breakdown unfamiliar terms and how the stock market actually works. These articles take about 5-10 minutes to read and then I put them away until the next day.
There’s no deadline for me to acquire this knowledge but I know that learning about finances will help me in my personal life. That’s what is motivating me to keep reading.
Even if it won’t necessarily help you in a practical way, your topic can be a great source for breaking out of that mundane routine that work causes and keeps your brain “fresh”.
If you want to take it a little step further, find someone who wants to learn with you! start a club! do an actual presentation! Do whatever it takes for you to think of learning as an opportunity instead of a chore, like we often did when we were younger.