happy "no new things" day 2026!
01 Oct 2026preface: if you’re curious in the evolution of this experiment/thought/practice, here are the last 5 posts about it: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
happy (eighth) no new things day!
see below the line break for the regularly scheduled programming about no new things day! up here i’m just sharing a few thoughts about what i’m noticing this year.
- NNT day snuck up on me this year! i celebrated the equinox (including having a fun insight about the tension between the energy of the aries full moon (“do it right now!”) and the fall equinox (“now is a time for balance on the way into the dark times”)) and didn’t remember consciously that i should start to do something different.
- thankfully, the rhythm of doing this practice for many years in a row made me feel like something was missing late last week. and then one moment while meditating it hit me: “it’s time for no new things!” the sense of relief that swept in was pretty epic.
- it feels surprising but saying no has started to feel neutral and sometimes even good as i’ve practiced NNT day over the years. i’m realizing this because it’s in contrast to how BAD saying no used to feel. there’s probably some lineage trauma in here but imma leave this here for now… :)
celebrating no happy new things day is part of my commitment to slowing down so i can be in right relationship with fall and winter (at least as far as i understand them where i live). once no new things day has come, i say as much no as possible to new asks for my time, attention, or energy.
i’ve found that, at least in my work life, things tend to ramp up in the weeks following summer, often co-inciding with when school starts. but when i say yes to new things in the fall, that creates a context where there’s a bunch of new stuff competing with everything i’ve already committed to finish. i’ve learned that if i can say a lot of no during fall (and early fall especially), i can start to slow down by around thankstaking. then when winter comes around, i can actually be really slow.
i’ve learned that that slowness is a great way for me to be with the energy of new england winter. in winter, i have learned that i feel way better when i can do less, read more, have fewer commitments, spend more time inside being cozy (cozy, cozy).
of course, there are exceptions to the “no new things” boundary (imho, boundaries are permeable; barriers aren’t). they include things:
- i’ve already committed to but need more energy
- that fit with or achieve several priorities of mine at once
- that would really help someone out who i feel accountable to
- that feel value-aligned and contribute to my long-term individual, relational, or community wellness
sometimes there are other exceptions, but beyond those above, i try to keep exceptions to an extreme minimum.
it’s wild to have been in this practice for 8 years but it’s getting better and better each year. one year i connected with someone who takes the last two weeks of december off completely and… i’m doing it this year! next year maybe i’ll take the last three of december off. :O
words / writing / post-processing
~489w / 7 min / 3min