Summer is here - are you ready to make it great?
Summer often feels like a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ season. However, it’s the perfect time of year to step back, evaluate, and see how your year is shaping up.
What’s more, making sure you make time for rest and relaxation can put you in a great place to have a successful end to the year! We’re often pushed to do everything all at once during the summer, but it’s more important for us to prioritize what matters most to us, as individuals and families.
To make the most of these fleeting months, here are a few tips to be more intentional and enjoy your summer:
Evaluate your expectations. What are you most looking forward to this summer? For some people, it’s having some downtime to relax and disconnect. For others, it’s exciting for kids to be out of school or home from college. Whatever it is for you, that should be your number one priority for the summer months.
Maximize early work hours. Longer days and later sunsets mean more time to do what you love and enjoy being outdoors. We’re blessed with so many natural wonders in Wisconsin, so it’s time to put those daylight hours to good use.
Switch up your day. With that in mind, this period of seasonal change is also a prime opportunity to introduce ‘summer hours’. This looks different for different people: for some, it means having a half-day on Fridays. For others, it will mean working from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., instead of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You could even just schedule longer lunch breaks, to give yourself some extra time outside.
Plan ahead. Plans won’t make themselves! If there’s something on your bucket list, put it on the calendar now, so you have something to look forward to.
Block out your calendar. Having said that, you don’t need to plan activities for every single day. However, it can help to block out days or weeks to spend time with family.
Create new traditions. Do you ever wish you’d savored a moment as it’s happening, rather than looking back? Intentionally creating new traditions with friends and family, like beach barbecues with your favorite foods or sunset walks, encourages you to live in the moment with those you love most.
Unplug from technology. I know, you’ll have heard it before… but it’s important. For many people, summer is about spending time outside in nature. Consider leaving your phone at home or switching it off when you venture into the great outdoors, so you can really soak up every minute.
Try something new. We all have our favorite summer activities, but I’d encourage you to also make room for the new this year! Having a fresh hobby you love revitalizes your energy and will put you in good spirits for the summer months.
I hope this list provides you with some inspiration to go out there and have the best summer possible!
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