Written By: Cassandra Vella
When the end of summer break is right around the corner, it’s always important to get yourself in gear for a new school year, or get ready to say goodbye to friends and get back into your work schedule. If you’re a parent, saying goodbye to summer can be a whole different ball game, but procrastinating it may still impact you negatively, so here are some ways to get yourself ahead of the game:
Start Using a Planner
Some schools still provide a small weekly planner before they start their new school years, but if yours or your child’s does not, definitely invest in one before it’s too late. Setting up your daily routine ahead of time for your schedule before and after work and school will save you a lot of stress. Don’t forget to plan adventures outside of your daily grind too!
Set Your Goals
Whether you start making a to-do list daily, weekly, or monthly you’re going to get somewhere. It’s important to always have goals and even a to-do list of steps to reach your goals. Whether you need to complete a summer project without procrastinating, or clean your home before your family arrives from work and school, always remember to split your tasks into baby steps so you know you can actually get everything accomplished. Stay tuned on our blog for an upcoming post solely dedicated to S.M.A.R.T goals.
Get Ready With Rewards
What’s the point of setting goals if your only accomplishment is being left with the “what’s next” feeling? Try adding some mini rewards to your goals. For instance, if you have a boring summer reading project, try setting out some candy pieces or dollar bills between chapters so you have something to look forward to. If your goal involves getting back into a workout routine, research some local fresh fruit cafés and reward yourself with a new smoothie bowl you haven’t tried yet.
Stay Connected
Remember, after summer ends, your friends and family aren’t disappearing forever. Whether you go to a different school than your friends, or you are traveling back home from a fun staycation with family, start planning your next holiday. Set up some trips to each other’s towns or plan a vacation where you and your friends/family can meet up somewhere for a spa weekend. A really awesome trick for keeping your friends or family up to date after you’ve started a new, busy job or added to your family, is setting up a day each week/month to get together. Tuesdays can be for your sister, while Thursdays are for your girlfriends, and Fridays are for the best mom friend. The possibilities are endless with social media, so don’t worry about your friends or family having their own lives or being too far away!
Make sure you know your schedule like the back of your hand before settling into your new post-summer lifestyle. Do what you can to get yourself back into some regular sleeping hours before starting a new job or getting your kids back to school. No matter how down and anxious you feel about the best summer ever coming to a close, just be sure to remember the next one will be so much better and you have a whole year to get ready.