One of the best parts of getting absorbed in another world is getting to test-drive a different way of moving through life and come away with a slightly better sense of what you want from your own. Maybe it makes you want to dress differently, stay out later, start writing letters, ride a motorcycle, or simply stop spending every day exactly the same way. Sometimes, the right movie, TV show, book, or album is enough to remind you that your routine is not actually a binding contract.
That’s the idea behind this guide. We’re borrowing some of the moods, possibilities, and little fantasies we find in media and seeing what they can unlock in real life. Not by recreating anyone else’s perfect Autumn, but by becoming slightly less passive about our own. Treating your life like it’s worth noticing is a good way to remember that you are too. So steal what sounds good, skip what doesn’t, and completely reinterpret our advice if that gets you somewhere better. The point is to figure out what you want more of — and maybe pick up a new favorite or rediscover an old one while you’re at it.
A good place to start is music. The right soundtrack can make an otherwise normal day feel different with very little effort on your part. For us, Autumn always feels like Taylor Swift season, meaning Red and Evermore inevitably find their way back into rotation. Maybe Taylor isn’t for you, but we do recommend listening to an album from start to finish. Finding 45 uninterrupted minutes can be surprisingly difficult, which is exactly why it’s worth doing.
You can overlap that time with going somewhere for no particular reason, an underrated pastime that’s highly effective for maintaining basic sanity. Drive to a town you’ve never bothered to stop in before. Walk through a neighborhood you usually just pass by. Take yourself to a diner. Go window shopping. Become a regular somewhere. Do the stupid seasonal thing. Choose something you would never classify as "productive" and see what happens when you have something inspiring in your ears. Moody records make especially good company for that kind of wandering, so we also recommend Tender Buttons by Broadcast or Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira.
Of course, sometimes the last thing you want to do is wander anywhere. Perhaps it’s been a long week, and the second you have free time, all you want is the couch. Completely understandable. Exhaustion doesn’t make you immune to inspiration, though. Even when you don’t have much energy to give, you can still let something new reach you. Try an easy watch like Empire Records (PLEX, YouTube), Little Miss Sunshine (VOD/Digital), or Rebel Without a Cause (VOD/Digital), all full of messy people making messy attempts at figuring out what they want. If TV feels easier to settle into, try "Everwood", a sweet small-town drama that quickly makes you feel at home in its world. Rest doesn’t have to mean checking out completely. And while rest is important, so is giving yourself something to be excited about on the other side of it.
When you do feel ready to rejoin the world, don’t immediately default back to practical. A lot of what makes life feel stale isn’t that it’s bad; it’s that we’ve stopped making active choices about it. Burlesque (Disney+/Hulu), Uptown Girls (Prime, Pluto TV, Tubi), and even Zoolander (Paramount+, Pluto TV) will have you dressing for the day you want rather than the errands you have. Sometimes, even just trading your beloved sweats for jeans when you absolutely don’t need to is enough encouragement to strut rather than trudge.
And clothes aren’t the only everyday necessity you can make more fun for yourself. Since you’ve got to eat anyway, every once in a while, make it an event. Maybe that means trying a new recipe. Maybe it means making an old favorite properly instead of rushing through it. For culinary inspiration, choose according to your preferred cortisol level: throw on "The Bear" (Hulu) if you’d like to feel behind schedule in your own kitchen, or opt for Ratatouille (Disney+) if you’d prefer a bit more levity. Or put on whatever music makes chopping vegetables feel cinematic. We’ll trust your judgment on that.
Lastly? Read. Watching and listening can carry you somewhere, but reading makes you build more of the world yourself. That makes it especially good at getting you out of your own head for a while. If you’ve never read the books behind some of your favorite movies, familiarity makes for an easy way in. Love Greta Gerwig’s Little Women? Read Louisa May Alcott. Just saw Practical Magic 2? There’s a whole series behind it. Love Clueless? Read Jane Austen’s Emma. Want something spookier? Go for IT (some pun intended).
Above all else, once the book is set down, the headphones come off, or the credits roll, pay attention to what stuck with you. It might be a clue to what would make your own life feel a little less automatic. And really, the least romantic parts of our lives are usually the ones we stopped choosing. Question your defaults. Let yourself be moved by the feeling that another way of living is, even briefly, possible — because it is.
