Since coming home after the end of the semester, I’ve been inspired to pull out the highlighted planner and freshen up my living space and figure out how to organize the small mountain of graded essays that I brought back from college. After all, what better way to start the summer than by getting your life together? So make yourself a cup of coffee, put your hair up, and let’s get started.
In celebration of our life organization, I whipped up a new playlist to put a spring in your step while you tidy up life. It’s called “Springs for String.” Be sure to jaunt over to Spotify — go ahead, I’ll wait!
“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” – Charles Bowden
Summer Fun List
When I was a kid, at the start of every summer, my brothers and sisters and I would brainstorm all the things we were looking forward to doing. My mom would scribble them down on a chalkboard and prop it up in the kitchen. We called it our “Summer Fun List.”
Since there are no deadlines filling up the space in my planner, my mind is brewing up ideas for summer fun. I am a firm believer that you should always have something to look forward to. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on ideas for fun things to do this summer!
Habits and Goals
There’s plenty to look forward to, but summer also gives us a great time to catch up on our own personal projects and goals. One of my goals for the year was to write the third book in my trilogy. During the semester, my daily writing was regularly pushed aside in favor of my pressing deadlines. Now that I’m back home, I want to finish this story by the end of July. Roughly speaking, this means that I need to write 1,000 words a day.
Now it’s your turn.What are the projects you want to tackle but usually don’t have time for? This is your chance! Dust off those old dreams and tinker with them a little each day. One sketch, one poem, one page a day — tiny progress adds up. When you reach the end of the summer, what do you want to have accomplished? What habits do you want to have in place? What would make you feel productive and satisfied?
Need some ideas?
- Academic: establish study hours, revise notes in the library, finish all homework in advance
- Creativity: write for an hour every day, sketches, poetry, practice piano, listen to new music
- Inspiration: make a vision board, create a summer fun list, plan your week every Sunday evening
- Spiritual: have a quiet time in the mornings, attend a Bible study, memorize Scripture verses
- Habits: make bed, floss, tidy your room, have tea in the evenings and read before bed
- Intellect: listen to podcasts on commutes, subscribe to blogs or magazines, read before bed
- Social: have coffee with friends, go to the beach for walks, go to local events
- Health: do a whole foods cleanse, meal plan/prep, stretch every morning, reach 10,000 steps
Write it Out
… and this is the wonderful bit where we let loose the highlighters and color-coordinating! Now that you have your summer “fun” list and your goals at hand, it’s time to put together a challenge for you to reach your fullest potential in the next three months. Maybe you’re waking up at 6:00am to go for a run before breakfast. Maybe everyday, you go to a coffee shop to work on a project for two hours. Maybe you’re working a handful of part-time jobs to save up for your travels. In an ideal week day, what would you get done every day? Set a list of daily rules for yourself and take them one day at a time.
Next, whip out your planner and start filling in the days. Whatever goals you chose, make sure you set reasonable daily or weekly markers so you can track your progress. Schedule the fun stuff as rewards for work accomplished — for example, you could buy yourself a coffee if you meet your daily goals of journaling, listening to a podcast, and cleaning out your fridge.
Are you ready for this? The summer is young and you have a whole lot of conquering left to do.
Happy planning!
<3 Olivia Grace
