Autumn is upon us in Cologne and the swirling leaves are like sands through the hour glass of this year. In this article I wrap up the month of September and Quarter 3 of 2025 in my projects, life and events.
Many of these priority projects are part of my Twenty 25s, which I reflect on below, these being actions/habit/leading metric statistics of actions within my control. I take a peek at results and following metrics as relevant as well, such as students, clients, subscribers, followers, engagement, income, profit, and so forth. Then there are the special events, connections, and moments that make up the memories of a season.
Reflecting in this way provides inspiration and accountability.
What do you do to reflect, review, and refresh quarterly or seasonally?
Smokin’ September
SeptEMBER brought the last gasp of Summer in Cologne and I basked in the warmth, as well as events such as:
- Harvest Moon, Autumnal Equinox
- Apples, Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Wear Flannel, Denim Jacket
- Romantic Anniversary with Ela (and then her Dad’s 80th birthday celebration)
- Oktoberfest at friends’
- Orthopedist & MRI Appointments to solve the mystery of my hip pain, prescribed more Physical Therapy…
Back-to-School Spirit
Shared some of my favorite perennial resources in September:
- Autumn Equinox Magic article: Acknowledging the subtle and dramatic changes from season-to-season is one of the ways I like to celebrate life. Seasonal rituals help me celebrate each transition, acknowledge how I’ve learned and grown and what it’s time to let go.
- My Building Momentum by Seizing the Back-to-School Mood: Ambiance, Supplies & Action article from last year helped me make this school year’s plans and bucket list activities
- Back-to-School Yoga video on YouTube is a 50 minute practice to get in the studious spirit
Creative Challenges
My creative process supports me through it all, not just financially since that is my profession, but as a Teaching Artist, Choreographer, Movement Educator & Coach, I get to explore my soul’s expression, my Being.
Primarily through dance & movement, yes, but also through words of prose and poetry, on video, in collage, crafting, journaling, stamping, color, sketching in various media. Through creations and interactions in courses, discussions, workshops, coaching sessions, and community events.
Bullet Journaling & Planning
I shared my initial monthly setup in my Seasonal Book on Instagram here with school/office supplies, scholastic themes, squirrels & apples, then the flip-through video above shows what happened with my goals, glows, media favorites, and events “after the pen.”
Updated my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Logs, Annual Collections, and set up my October spreads over the course of the month, continued to savor writing my Morning Pages and notes with colorful inks in my fountain pens and cherished the shades of the changing season in nature and culture.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga, studio classes in Ballet continued and my “Feel Good” well-being elective courses began again, plus I was in planning to start teaching for the Advanced Dance Program in October!
Writing & Publishing Articles
In September I published 3 articles to the blog here at ablythecoach.com, bringing my Quarter 3 total to 11 and Annual total to 28. This is a great place to find out what I am up as well as other experts and creators who I recommend in long and short-form writing.
September’s new articles:
- Summer Verses to Swoon For article: feel the warmth of those long lazy days anytime with verses suitable to summer.
- Artful August – 2025 Month 8 Reflection article: that month I continued my “Swashbuckling Summer” and “Splits this Season” series and kicked off a “Flights of Fancy” series and enjoyed late-summer harvest. For me, it turned to be a pretty whirlwind season. Although we didn’t take any longer trips out-of-town, there were good warm times outdoors and outside the city as well as productive work on creative projects and a decent amount of teaching smaller summer holidays classes.
- You Need a Smile File, Creative! – Remembering Acknowledgement & Praise to Stay Inspired & Motivated Article: One of a slew of tools to refresh, inspire, and motivate when we feel down or burnt out. Take a peek into my own collected notes of thanks and gather your own evidence of acknowledgement and love to stay inspired and motivated.
Filming & Sharing Videos
I published 4 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel on the topics of dance, creativity, and purposeful living in September:
- Swoon-Worthy Summer Verses – Poetic Inspiration for Movement & Creative Living – Seasonal Poems video: Poetry provides inspiration in all seasons and moods, and there are so many sumptuous verses about the summer.
- August Flip & Reflection – Creative Journal BuJo Plan & Memories video, where I page through the month’s entries in my seasonal book and glean goodies
- You Need a Smile File, Creative video: How do you counteract the natural survival reflex of negativity bias and inevitable criticism that meets a life of creativity? Enter the “Smile File” of praise, thanks, and acknowledgment from others. One of a slew of tools to refresh, inspire, and motivate when we feel down or burnt out.
- Notebook Ecosystem Fall 2025 – Techo Kaigi – Current Journals of a Teaching Artist at Back-to-School video, a behind-the-scenes tour of my current notebook & journal lineup along with some of the utensils I use to write in them.
These videos brought my Quarter 3 total to 14, and annual total so far to 39, right around where I want to be.
Connecting: Email & Social Media
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter. It lights me up to see new subscribers there as well as responses to me missives.
I sent 2 Email Newsletters in September, for a total of 11 in Q2, 24 in the first half of 2025:
- Sweet Summer Poems, slowly shifting to an Early Autumn mood, where I also asked about sending less frequent email newsletters since my Fall schedule is going to be very nutty. Feedback was supportive!
- Academic Year & Autumnal Equinox inspirations, August reflection in which I announced I was moving to sending monthly email newsletter “digests” October-December to help balance teaching demands.
In addition, I posted 8 times to Instagram, bringing my Quarter 3 post count to 24 and Annual total so far to 68.
Twenty 25s in 2025
My “Twenty 25s” are a playful way to track various leading metrics, projects and activities I wish to keep an eye on this year.
In Quarter 3 I completed another three “25s” for at total of 14/20 so far, getting closer! Particularly taking action toward the remaining categories in Quarter 4, for example on track for Books Read, working on Pieces of Choreography, Music practices, and Letter-writing.
Media Musings
My September in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Reading
Books
- One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune was just the last summer reading fling I needed
- Evocation: Book I in The Summoner’s Circle by S.T. Gibson, personally liked the characters and interesting modern relationship dynamics go, magic is fitting for my fall reading flavor, but the writing style with lots of description of the characters’ internal emotional states wasn’t my favorite
Still reading along on some of my nonfiction picks (also scripture, personal growth):
- Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib
- Someday is Today by Matthew Dicks
- 365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection for Every Day of the Year collected by Allie Esiri
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Playlists, Songs & Music
So delighted to enjoy and update my Savoring September playlist on YouTube with early autumnal tunes to move to, including:
- “Early Autumn” by Ella Fitzgerald
- “September in the Rain” by Bing Crosby
- “Plie: The First Leaf” by Trisha Wolf
Monthly Viewing Highlights
Mostly faves from September with a few quarterly standouts, I plan to select my top influences annually.
Series
Out and about this month, didn’t catch any new films, but had a couple standout series.
- “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” was our latest science fiction and I got quite attached to this cast of characters!
- “Wednesday” Season 2 was a good way to get into the idea of Spooky Season approaching
- We binged “The Four Seasons” Comedy-drama series with Tina Fey and a bunch of other favorite actors, laughed, cried, were sad there are only 8 episodes
Questions for Reflection
- What September & Q3 memories are you saving?
- Which events in Q4 are you most excited for?
- What are you creating, planning, practicing, enjoying?
- How will you make the most of this season?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Float in 2025 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
- Twenty 25s in 2025: Analog Project Planning & Action Tracking, Creative Bullet Journal Style Article
- April Adventures on 2 Continents & an Island – 2025 Month 4 Reflection Article
- May Replay – 2025 Month 5 Reflection Article
- Leaps & Bounds in 2024 – Reflecting on a Year’s Highs & Lows Article
- March was for Mindfulness & Women’s History – 2024 Month 3 Review & Quarter 1 Wrap-up Article this time last year
- Quantum Leaping into 2024 Word of the Year Article
- Twenty-Four 24s in 2024 Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Article
Further monthly reflections for 2025, special workshops and collaborations in dance, coaching, creative living and more coming soon.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties,
taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education