Forget New Year, for me autumn is all about new beginnings. It must be a hangover from my schooldays when September signified the start of a new school year – new teacher, shiny new shoes and a sparkling pencil case bursting with freshly sharpened pencils and smelly erasers (remember those?). As I got older these new purchases would accompanied by a resolve to be more organised and punctual – sometimes with varying results.

Even though it is now my children (well two out of three of them) rather than me who go off to school at the end of the summer, I have made a list of resolutions for this autumn:

1. Be more adventurous in the way I dress. By this I don’t mean that I’ll slavishly follow trends that don’t suit me but just put a bit more thought into what I wear on a day-to-day basis. As a stay at home mum and occasional freelancer it is so easy to fall into the habit of just throwing on the school run uniform of jeans/T-shirt/flat shoes every morning. So it is time to delve a bit deeper into the wardrobe.

2. Accessorise more. Adding a few bangles or a scarf is such an effective way to update an outfit but often I wear no jewellery other than my engagement and wedding rings. Doing a few more OOTD posts should hopefully help keep both number 1 and 2 on track.

3. Exercise regularly. I am a stop-start exerciser and I’ll be really good for a few months and then I’ll do nothing for for another few months. Over the summer I haven’t done anything at apart from a couple of yoga classes so it’s time to start again and, this time, keep it up. I am a fully paid up member of my local gym so, come rain or shine, there can be no more excuses.

4. Be more organsied. I usually start off the new term pretty well with a weekly menu plan and the kids’ uniforms, PE bags etc laid out the night before. By mid October however they are scrambling around for clean shirts at 8.15am and, come tea time, I am improvising meals (fish fingers again?). This time I am determined to turn my good intentions into lasting habits.

5. Live in the moment. Multi-tasking can be a great thing, allowing you watch your favourite TV show while completing mundane jobs like ironing or folding the washing. But sometimes I find myself checking emails (or writing blog posts!) while helping my son with his homework or playing tea party with my daughter. I am acutely aware that since having children time seems to have sped up and before I know it they will all be teenagers so I am going to try harder to be fully present when I’m with them.

So there you have it, my five point plan to kick start the autumn. And the good thing about making resolutions in the autumn is that new year is less than four months away so if you fail to keep them you can always start afresh on New Years Day!