This Season Doesn’t Have to Look Like Your Last One

There’s something we don’t say enough: It’s okay to outgrow your old rhythm.

The way you moved last season, last year, or even last week doesn’t have to define how you show up today. Yet so many women get stuck chasing a version of themselves that no longer fits. We try to recreate old momentum. Reclaim old habits. Keep up with the pace we used to move at. And when we can’t? Cue the guilt.

But here's what no one talks about: every season requires something different from you, and it’s not always more.

Sometimes, it's less…

Less hustle.

Less pressure.

Less perfection.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is pause, reassess, and shift.

Seasons Change, So Should You

Nature gets this right. Trees don’t cling to leaves that no longer serve them, and bears don’t fight rest when their bodies call for hibernation. But us? We’ll try to power through exhaustion, blame ourselves for not feeling motivated, and shame ourselves for needing to slow down.

But you're not a machine. You’re a human with cycles, seasons, and shifts. And just like nature, you were meant to evolve.

Your morning routine that worked pre-pandemic may not feel nourishing now. Your energy in your 30s may not match your energy in your 40s, and that’s not failure. That’s growth. And since I just turned 50, everything is changing.

Stop Forcing What No Longer Fits

One of the most common things I hear from women is, “I used to be so productive—I don’t know what happened.”

And my response is always: Maybe nothing happened. Maybe it’s just time to do it differently.

The routines, systems, and strategies that got you through your last season might not be aligned with your current reality. Maybe your capacity has shifted. Maybe your values have evolved. Maybe you’ve just changed, and that’s allowed.

It’s not always doing more. We have to do what matters now.

Honor Your Current Capacity

This is your permission slip to stop overcommitting. To stop acting like you're the same woman you were a year ago. To stop pretending you're operating with the same energy, the same bandwidth, or the same circumstances.

Instead of asking, “How can I get back to where I was?” Ask, “What would support me where I am right now?”

Alignment isn’t about going backward, it’s about building from where your feet are planted today.

That’s what routines are for. That’s what structure does. Not to box you in, but to hold you when life feels like too much.

When the Vision Is the Same, but the Method Needs to Change

You can still have big goals and a big vision for your life, but that doesn’t mean the path will stay the same. In fact, it shouldn’t.

What worked in a high-energy, high-capacity season might not serve you during a slower, reflective one. And that’s where the Balancing Acts come in.They’re not rigid routines. They’re flexible frameworks designed to adapt with you and not against you.

Your Focused-48 task might look different now. Maybe instead of writing a whole chapter, it’s outlining three bullet points.

Your Morning Ritual might be 10 quiet minutes with coffee instead of a full wellness routine and that’s still valid.

This season isn’t about proving anything. This season is for protecting your peace while still progressing toward what matters.

You Don’t Have to Earn Rest or Justify Ease

We live in a culture that celebrates doing the most. But the women I work with are tired of burning out for the sake of productivity. They want balance. They want ease. And most of all, they want to feel like they can breathe.

The version of you that’s softer, slower, more intentional…

She’s still strong. She’s still showing up. She’s still worthy of every dream you’re building.

You don’t need to chase the high of constant output. Sometimes, the breakthrough comes when you give yourself permission to do less and still call that success.

A Season of Shift Doesn’t Mean a Season of Stuck

If you're in a slower season right now, don’t mistake that for failure. Maybe you're not behind, maybe you're just in a chapter of quiet preparation. Of internal work. Of rest before the rise. Every blooming season is preceded by one where the roots run deeper.

Let this be your season of depth. Of nourishment. Of building a foundation that actually supports the life you’re designing.

And if you're in a season of momentum? Beautiful. Ride the wave, but don’t cling to it when the tide shifts. Honor the flow. Trust your rhythm. Adjust with grace. The more we release the pressure to be who we were, the more room we create to become who we’re meant to be next.

You’re allowed to evolve.

Your routines are allowed to shift.

And your version of balance is allowed to look different today than it did yesterday.

This season doesn’t have to look like your last one. It just has to serve the you who’s here now.

Ready to align your routines with the season you're in? Check out the book Balancing Acts to start building a life that works with you and not against you.

Carla Erskin is the founder of Bossingly® and the author of Balancing Acts. Bossingly® provides products and services designed to help goal-driven women reclaim their time while creating work-life balance. The goal at Bossingly® is to provide productivity tools and strategies to help you add a little balance to your bossy lifestyle.