Why we don’t need a "lock-in" or "personal curriculum"

I'm striving instead for a reset

As kids returned to classrooms last month, an increasing number of influencers, bloggers, and even Vogue declared it was time for us adults to buckle down, too. Their recommendations: a “lock-in,” “personal curriculum,” or, even better, both.

But I think they got it wrong.

Positioned as a reset, the “lock-in” is a newly branded term that urges us to reconsider our routines and habits and make a plan to “finish the year strong,” as one expert noted in the Vogue article. Similarly, the “personal curriculum” is a concept introduced by a TikTok creator who develops a monthly plan for learning about topics of interest. The Everygirl equates the personal curriculum—which quickly became a trending topic—with a reset.

I don’t think either of these ideas are bad ones; in fact, I practice both regularly, checking in on my goals and progress throughout the year and exploring books, projects, and classes when I’m interested in learning more about, or strengthening my skills in, a specific subject.

But after a particularly heavy couple of months (or, let’s face it, year), pushing myself to reach my goals, working harder to achieve, and immersing myself in a new topic each month feels, well, unreasonable.

I, and I suspect many others based on the angry, fearful, and hate-filled vitriol polluting my social feeds, need a real reset: a return to homeostasis. When we reset a computer or appliance, we do it with the expectation that it will go back to working as it was, not better. The first step is often to power the machine down rather than rev it up.

A true reset is a time:

to step back rather than step up,

to rest and recharge versus optimize and maximize,

to examine our thoughts, feelings, and well-being instead of our 2025 goals list,

to re-root myself in God and His love, 

to try to reflect that love in everything I do rather than strive to achieve more,

to definitely sign off social media for a while.

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I wrote a few months ago about how God speaks to me through words. Before “lock-in” and “personal curriculum” began appearing everywhere, the word “reset” did.

I heard it in a church sermon, and it stuck with me. I began working with a nutritionist whose program name, it turns out, contains “reset.” After I told my doctor about my burnout and ongoing exhaustion during an annual exam last month, she commented my cortisol levels may need a reset. As I described to a new stylist the darker hair color I wanted, she replied with a shrug, “I get it. You want a reset.” And when I opened my September Exhale newsletter, there it was, this month’s blog hop theme. You guessed it: “Reset.”

So here we are.

For the rest of the year, my much-needed reset looks like:

• Saying no to more—unless it’s something that brings joy and rejuvenation

• Regularly putting my inner perfectionist in check

• Creating space for fun, play, and creativity

• Spending more time in prayer and in God’s word

• Being more intentional than ever in how I fuel my body

• Increasing movement—not necessarily in the form of workouts, but in peaceful walks and light jogs in the crisp fall air, as well as extra stretching to release tense muscles

• Getting more sleep

• Reading spooky stories around Halloween, then transitioning into cozy mysteries and romances for the holiday season

• Continuing to build a meditation habit and practice my new nighttime rituals

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This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Reset."