Growing up, summer vacation for me always started at the end of May, right around Memorial Day. School usually resumed right before Labor Day, giving me almost three full months of glorious vacation.
These days, school still gets out about the same time of the year, but with a year-round type school schedule, students now return closer to the first week or two of August.
You can imagine how surprised I was when as I began to fall in love with the New England area to learn that school there didn’t get out until the third week of June and doesn’t resume until after Labor Day. While all we Southern folks are lamenting the end of summer in July, the New Englanders are just getting started.
Why is this important? While our schedules may be slightly different, we still have plenty of time to set and reach some summer goals.
Goals? In the summer? Really?
Yes!
(And I’m not talking about the goal of having a “beach body.”)
Summer is a time for vacation, relaxed, slow days, and more restorative time. So why do we need summer goals?
Summer goals reinforce that you are intentionally bringing more downtime, relaxation and fun into your life.
Goals don’t always have to be about achieving a great accomplishment or churning out an excruciating project. A goal can be just as simple as being intentional with your life.
For just a moment, let’s fast forward to the middle of August. How do you want to feel when you reflect on your summer? What will you hope you have done? Are there places you want to go? Movies you want to see? People you want to spend time with? How will it feel knowing you did most or all of them? How will it feel if summer ends and you don’t have those experiences?
Let’s be intentional with our summer, set some goals, and have a ton of fun crossing them off. I’ve created a short list of summer goals (which honestly could also be called summer to-do’s). Download them here.
If you’ve followed me long, you know I subscribe to the viewpoint of what you schedule happens. While actual goals are more than just adding something to your calendar, if you want an authentic summer experience this year, be proactive. It could be as simple as writing in “Movie Night” or Googling “movies under the stars” on a Monday to be ready for the coming weekend.
Schedule your fun activities. I promise it won’t take away any of the fun.