Season Syncing for Creativity
By Ashley Archambault
You may have heard of “cycle syncing,” which involves making lifestyle adjustments based on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. But recently I’ve embraced what I think of as “season syncing,” or being aware of a season’s benefits and working with them (instead of resisting elements) in order to thrive creatively.
Here are the benefits of each season and the ways writers and other creatives can utilize them to their advantage.
Spring – begins Friday, March 20, 2026, on the Spring Equinox
Think of spring as the true start of the year – of your year. This is the time to begin. Begin all of the new projects you’ve been itching to start in the spring. Begin again, if you’ve been feeling like you need to get your act together. Get organized. Devise big plans. And then get to it.
Spring is the beginning of your creative cycle. It’s a time of birth and rejuvenation – because everything “comes alive” – either again or for the first time – in the Spring.
Summer – begins Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the Summer Solstice, or the longest day of the year
Utilize this season’s heat to your advantage. Spend the summer on your passion projects. If you think of yourself amping up during the spring, planting seeds and starting new projects – then summer should be when everything starts sprouting up. Many of your projects have come to life, and you have some good momentum now.
You could think of yourself as the Phoenix, obtaining new life through the heat, bursting with both ideas and the energy to make them happen.
Fall – begins Tuesday, September 22, 2026, on the Fall Equinox
Were you someone who looked forward to going back to school, who loved the smell of new pencils and the possibility that came with a fresh school year? Then think of hitting the books and become more studious in the fall.
Autumn is synonymous with both harvest and change. A lot of our work comes to full fruition in the fall, we’ve likely formed a routine that’s working for us, and because many creatives are also curious – research often comes naturally. So why not consciously make more time for it during the back-to-school season – whether it’s just things you can’t stop thinking about or topics related to a new idea.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to sharpen your craft, improve upon a skill, or simply study great art. Go to the library, take notes, listen to podcasts, read more nonfiction, and just let yourself get real nerdy with it.
During the fall, the calendar year’s end is in sight, and we begin to reflect and to think about what we’ve accomplished. It's also our last gasp before the holidays, and we ask ourselves: What could I finish before the year’s end?
Winter – begins Monday, December 21, 2026, on the Winter Solstice, or the shortest day of the year
The wintertime begins with festivities that were designed to help us thrive through the most difficult part of the year. I always try to ride out that cozy feeling for as long as I can, because by the end of winter, many of us catch ourselves feeling down and beyond ready for more time outside. That’s because our bodies biologically need sunshine, but we also need periodic rest in order to function. The winter should be that: your time of rest, because when we view rest as a natural part of life and our creative cycle, then we can stop feeling guilty. Guilty for not brimming with energy, ideas, or things to show for all of the hidden mental work we are constantly putting into our craft.
It helps me to think of winter as the part of the day in which you need your sleep. Taking time to rest and recharge is actually required by your mind and body to operate optimally. Think of the winter as your percolation period. This is the part of the year in which your mind is dreaming – processing and filing things away, forming all of those creative ideas that get you excited again about doing your work.
Do what you can (as far as turnout and productivity goes) and view this period of rest as a form of thriving during the winter. Because this is part of the process – this is how you prepare to bloom in the spring.
Ashley Archambault is a writer, mom, and native Floridian. Before writing full-time, she worked as a youth librarian and an English teacher. She shares her lessons in life and writing on My Writing Life, as well as recipes, book roundups, and other cultural musings on the Arrogant Baker blog. Her essay, “How to Know When You’re a Writer,” is part of Indie Novella’s Bread Alone anthology, released in March 2026.