I live in New Jersey where school starts after Labor Day. The summer count down has one month remaining. Teachers at my school report back in just two weeks. Days left: 16.
This is the point in my summer where mixed emotions become pretty intense. I recognize that I haven’t done half the things I had hoped to do this summer, and realistically, I cannot achieve most of what remains. On the other hand, my mental health requires me to live with structure. Too much unstructured time actually leads to depression for me. I want to return to work, but having also finished my summer bucket list.
Summer Bucket List How To:
Make a realistic bucket list. What would make your summer feel like summer? What goals do you have? What things can you only do during the summer such as the beach or a trip to a seasonal amusement park? What would help you relax and refresh? If you wrote a list earlier in the summer, you’re going to have to trim it down to fit the remaining weeks you have left.
Prioritize a balanced list. Divide your list in to categories such as social, chores, goals, fun. Then prioritize within each column. Which friends do you most want to connect with? Which room in the house needs the most attention? What book do you want to read?
Make a calendar. Obviously we all have things that must be done that need to be organized (driving our kids places or going grocery shopping). This year I used a note pad and wrote down each day on a separate page and made a list of things to accomplish. First I added things like doctors appointments and meetings. Then I added daily tasks like Bible study or exercising. People trump things, so I prioritized make plans to see people and filled in around those plans. Next I added tasks to be completed, both chores and goals. I needed to balance both of those. This summer, I didn’t clean as much as my house required, and I didn’t write as much as I hoped, but I did enough of both. I also made a plan to read for fun every day as well.
Accept defeat. Seriously, you will never get to do everything you want to do in life. That’s okay. Incomplete just means you’ll have to plan to do some of these things later: next month or next summer. If we finished it all, that would mean we didn’t have big enough dreams to begin with.
Plan a fun fall. What can you schedule into your fall now from your list to make sure you don’t put off all your relaxation until next summer? This gives you something to look forward to. Plan a dinner with friends. Pick a Saturday in October for a day trip. Print out a few recipes to try out on the weekends after the kids head back to school. Buy that book. I have dinner plans with friends in September that we couldn’t fit into the summer. Pro tip: Don’t plan too much for September. Spread things out or the start of the school year will be overwhelming.
Enjoy your summer!
One thought on “Summer’s Last Ditch Efforts”