When summer comes, for a lot of us, it’s time to rest, relax, and recharge, or it might even be time to let loose and party! Whichever is the case for you, summer is sometimes not a time when we’re concerned with being productive or working hard. However, despite that, it’s an excellent time to get ahead or get to work, especially if you’re still in school, are a teacher, or work in another profession that has the summer off.
Since most people take summertime to be a time to relax, using this time to get ahead of them at work or otherwise is an excellent strategy. In this guide, we’ll teach you about some of the most productive and best productivity-boosting tasks that you can tackle over the summer to give yourself a leg up on the competition.
Summer Camp
While most summer camps cater to children or teens, there are even a few summer camps out there specifically made for adults. If you’re a child or teenager who’s on summer break, going to camp over the summer with or without some friends is a great way to learn some new skills and meet new friends. The same goes for adults, too!
Even though adults might find it more difficult to fit something long-term like a summer camp into their schedules, even a night of camping the old-fashioned way is a great way to de-stress and come back ready to be motivated and productive. A change of scenery is an excellent way to get this breath of fresh air and renew your energy at work the next week.
Not all teens and children will be keen on the idea of spending a week or two at summer camp, especially as the world has become more and more digitized. However, camping out is an excellent way to learn useful survival skills that tech-minded children might not otherwise learn, and there are hundreds of different summer camps out there, to boot.
If your child doesn’t like the idea of a traditional summer camp, you might be able to find a different style that suits them. Alternative types of summer camps that you might consider are:
- Faith-based camps
- Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts camps
- Sports camps
- Weight loss camps
Learn Something New
One of the main points of attending a summer camp is to learn valuable new skills. However, if a camp isn’t for you, you can always go after a skill that interests you the old-fashioned way. Over the summer, you should have more time in your schedule to devote to learning something new that you might not have during the rest of the year.
There are a lot of reasons to pursue learning a new skill during the summer. For one, if you make a point to learn something new during the summer – especially something intellectually stimulating, like a new language – you retain more of the skills and concepts that you learned throughout the year. Sitting completely idle over the summer or not challenging your brain at all can result in losing some of this knowledge.
If you have the time to learn a language over the summer, that’s great! However, if you don’t, try pursuing something a bit less ambitious, like a new skill or familiarity with a new program. If you’re not very familiar with the functionality of Microsoft Office or similar programs, for example, learning such a thing might positively impact your job performance, too, or even impress your boss!
Take a Class
The logic of taking a class follows that of learning a new skill, but the difference in a class is that you’re learning in a group setting that’s directed by an expert in the subject. Learning in a class setting gives you the opportunity to learn from someone who knows the ins and outs of the subject, and it also lets you meet new people and socialize (within reason).
On top of that, there are hundreds of thousands of different classes you can choose to take! You could take a class every summer for the rest of your life and still not finish them all. That’s part of the beauty of classes; if you can’t find a class available in something you’re interested in, you simply haven’t looked hard enough.
If you’re having some trouble with what kind of class you’d like to take, consider these examples for inspiration:
- A dance class, such as ballroom dancing, Zumba, Hip Hop, or Tango
- A class in a new skill, such as woodworking or welding
- A class in a subject that’s always piqued your interest, like psychology or animal science
- A class in a computer-related skill to help your performance at work (or school)
- An interior decorating class
Make Exercise a Habit
Most Americans don’t exercise as much as they should. As much as 80% of Americans are lacking in the exercise department, actually. If you’re one of the few that does exercise as much as they should, you should be very proud! However, if you’re one of the majority who doesn’t, consider using your summer time off to build some healthy exercise habits that you can sustain into the future.
Even if you can only keep to your exercise goals for the summer, this is still better than lounging and doing nothing for the whole season. Hopefully, though, by setting some exercise goals and sticking to them throughout the summer, you can maintain them going forward, as well.
The amount of exercise that a person needs depends on their gender, weight, metabolism, and diet, so it might not be readily apparent at first how much exercise you need, especially if you’re looking to lose weight this summer. However, there are many resources available online to help you figure out your BMI and your optimal exercise level, so make liberal use of those.
Give Back
The summer is an excellent time to take some of your extra free time and use it to give back to your community. Instead of focusing on yourself and your summer body over the summer, try focusing on those around you instead by helping out at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, or another place in need. If you don’t have time to lend, consider donating money or food instead.
Even if you do just a tiny bit to give back – something as simple as complimenting a stranger who looks like they’re having a rough day – you’ll find that it will be repaid to you eventually, and you’ll feel better about yourself, to boot. Giving back in the community is a great way to feel better about yourself, lift your spirits, and feel good about your community.
Start a Project
Summertime is a great time to start a project that you’ve been meaning to address for a while. Whether this project is something around the house, like renovating your bathroom or cleaning the gutters, or something more creative like building a fence or writing a book, summertime is an excellent time to get started.
When you’re a student or a teacher who’s off in the summertime, the days can sometimes end up running together and losing their meaning. Having a project that you’re working on a bit every day helps you measure these days and keep track of them again. In addition, starting projects in all sorts of new things can be a great way to feel out your talents and get an idea for the future career you want if you’re a student.
Vacation
Although taking a vacation is one of the more common options on our list of productive ways to spend the summer, taking an actual summer vacation has its share of benefits, too. For one, taking a vacation, whether you go alone or with friends and family, is an excellent way to melt away the stress of your job or from the previous school year. It’s a great way to get out of the house, too!
The appeal of a vacation lies in its ability to relieve stress. However, just because you want to relieve some stress doesn’t mean you need to sign up for massage sessions at a five-star resort. There are many ways to relax on vacation, not the least of which involves visiting tropical islands, but some other locale ideas include:
- Ski lodges
- Mountain cottages
- Famous cities
- Historical landmarks
- Tourist destinations
- Foreign countries
Your vacation doesn’t have to be created with the intention of being relaxing, either! If you’re looking for a productive summer, maybe you want to visit a new place for the experience that it will give you, which is just as wonderful. While vacation spots are often mind-clearing and relaxing in their own way, you don’t need to visit one for that reason alone.
Go out on the Town
If you’re a student, you might find yourself on campus in a city or state where you’ve never been before. If this is the case and if you plan to stay there over the summer, consider exploring the area! If you’re going to be living on this campus for several years while you finish your schooling, this is an even greater idea.
This can apply to teachers, too, especially if you’re working at a new school. If you’re going to be working there for a while, get out and learn about the town you’ll be living in! For colleges, there’s usually at least some semblance of a town that sprouts up around the college’s campus, and some campuses are nested inside large, thriving cities.
Many large college campuses make use of public transportation to help their students get about, and sometimes this transportation can extend into the greater city as well. If you’re spending the summer on or near your college campus, this makes it exceedingly easy to explore and get to know the area!
Redecorate
Depending on your style and how frequently you change décor themes in your home, you might already swap your decorations and themes our a few times per year. However, if you’re not the type to do this, consider redecorating your home or residence over the summer instead!
Even if you only redecorate your home once or twice per year, summer is an excellent time to decorate for several reasons. Firstly, if you live somewhere with a seasonal climate, your home can benefit from changing out cold-weather furnishings to warm-weather ones. This might include things like clothes, drapes, blankets and bed linens, or even rugs in your house.
If you’re not one to really change your décor, consider at least changing between winter and summer furnishings for the above reasons. Using proper season-friendly furnishings like thermal drapes, heavy or light blankets, and rugs can help regulate the temperature in your home and can affect how much you pay for your heating and cooling bills!
Learn Yourself
If you do nothing else during the summer, take the extra time you have available to do some introspection. When we’re working or attending school, we often have precious few moments to spend on ourselves and get to know ourselves better. How can you be expected to know what you want to do for the rest of your life if you don’t know yourself first?
While the process of “finding yourself” is different in type and length for everyone, it can have benefits that reach beyond finding your dream job. Finding yourself helps you to:
- Learn both your flaws and your strengths
- Take pride in your unique self
- Know your own self-worth
- Find the drive to accomplish what moves you
- Promote self-awareness
Every person on this planet is as unique as a fully-formed snowflake, and this allows us all to discover a beautiful and different person underneath our exterior. Finding yourself will give you a decided advantage over others in your life who haven’t done the same, so think about giving some time to this venture over the summer when you get a few minutes to do so.
Internships
Summer internships are of special note to college-goers and graduates, especially since some schools and academic paths require an internship as a graduation requirement. More than just being a requirement, though, summer internships help college students find where they excel, try new things, an explore what the working world has in store for them.
The majority of college internships are unpaid, but don’t let this fact stop you from finding and pursuing one. Trying many internships across a company or product is an excellent way to accrue experience and get to know something better.
Plan Ahead
When you have the summer to yourself to spend however you’d like, it’s beneficial to plan out how you’re going to use that extra time. For example, if you want to rise up to the level of manager in your chosen company before the next year, you should probably get to work! Recording your future dreams and goals helps you to achieve them better, and it makes them feel more in-reach, too.
Planning ahead will also help you make the most of your summertime. For example, if you have designs on experiencing more than one fun summertime goal over the course of the season, recording what you have in mind to guide your efforts is an excellent way to keep yourself on track.
You don’t need to have your whole life (or even your entire summer) planned out before you record your summer ideas and goals. Having at least a basic idea of what you’d like to pursue, though, can help you shop better, plan further, and waste less time in the process.
Catch Up
Summertime is the best time of year to catch up with old friends! Summertime is the time of year when your old acquaintances and friends are also most likely to be free from work and school, so catching up with them during this time of year is much easier (and, in many cases, much more enjoyable because of the abundance of available summertime activities)!
Because of all the fun activities, you can do with a friend during the summer, where and how you reconnect with your favorite old acquaintances is very flexible. Try doing any of the following to rekindle your friendship with an old acquaintance or buddy:
- Going to the movies together
- Visiting a local beach
- Eating at a local food joint
- Visiting a local attraction, such as a pool or lodge
- Going out of town together, such as you would on a road trip
Not every option will be appropriate for every friend you’d like to catch up with. If you’re interested in pursuing a relationship with an old flame, for example, you’ll want to take much different steps than you would for a high-school best friend. Since both of you will have many options to choose from in the freedom of the summer, though, you’ll be able to find an activity for any situation.
Finish Work
Unless you’re a teacher, student, or similar professional to the above, it’s unlikely that you’ll receive the entire summer off as most teachers and students do. However, sometimes just the stress-free nature of summertime can be enough to make it feel like you have more time off than usual! Of course, your productivity might fall along with your urge to work with the warm summer months, too.
To combat this, make sure you’re ready and willing to handle whatever work comes your way this summer, but make sure to finish up any large or pending assignments as summer sweeps in, as well. Doing this will help you to lighten up your schedule for summer, helping you make the most of the nice weather and plentiful activities while you can even if you still need to work!
Be careful not to let your summer work sit too long if you have some. If you’re a student, you might have been assigned work to complete over the summer, and you probably don’t feel like doing it. However, the sooner you get this work done, the more time you’ll have for more interesting activities, so it’s better to get your lingering work and homework done right away if you can.
Check your Faith
When we’re busy with work or school, we can sometimes let the attention we pay to our faith life or ministry slip or drain away slightly. While how this affects you is a question shared between you and your deity, it’s important to take the time to restore this faith during your extra summer days.
While it may be much more tempting to spend time outdoors exploring the sunshine and enjoying the weather, it’s important to remember that all of the creation around you is a part of your faith or religion, too. This should be included in whatever worship you indulge in, regardless of what denomination, nationality, or belief school it follows.
Work on You
While finding yourself over the course of the summer is wonderful, doing so isn’t nearly as valuable unless you plan to do something with the knowledge you’ve gained. What will you do to improve yourself now that you’re deeply aware of your own strengths and failures? Will you make your strengths stronger, or will you shore up your weaknesses? Will you do nothing with your new information?
There are many ways to put your newfound knowledge to use, but one excellent choice is to use it to overcome one of your most persistent fears. Pick out one that troubles you frequently or every day, or something that makes you rethink your actions on a regular basis.
Different types of fears require different diagnoses and different treatments. The fear of bees, for example, will require very different treatment than the fear of commitment would. As such, being aware of what you’d like to change and how you will go about changing it is invaluable. Several of your options for overcoming a persistent fear are:
- Exposure therapy, which is exactly what it sounds like
- Talk therapy, which is better for theoretical or traumatic fears, especially those having to do with your psyche or with other people
- Create a detailed game plan for how to approach and address the fear, potentially with the help of a therapist
- Educate yourself on the fear to try to reduce its impact on you
Fear is a funny thing. It can be rational or irrational, consistent or sporadic, visible or invisible. Moreover, everyone has different fears that apply to them and define their life. However, taking the time in the summer to work with these fears is a great way to further define yourself and leave those fears behind.
Jobs and Hobbies
If you simply can’t find enough to do with yourself over the summer, consider finding another side job or picking up a new hobby instead. This is especially true for those who are out of work or school during the summer and have a gaping hole in their usually-bursting schedule. The beauty of a hobby is that it can be picked up or put down as needed, but if you’re willing to get creative, you can find jobs that follow the same principles.
Consider something small and manageable like becoming a dog-walker for several of your neighbors, for example. This type of part-time work doesn’t need to interfere with your usual work when the summer ends, though you might be able to adapt it to fit in with your previous schedule after summer is over if you’d like to keep doing it.
Hobbies are similar to skills, but they don’t need to depend on learning a new skill, either. You could take up something largely independent of skill such as scrapbooking or photography if you wanted. While you would inevitably build skill in your desired area while you pursued it over the summer, the purpose of a hobby is not to build a skill, but to enjoy yourself or create something.
Start Saving
If you don’t already have a savings account active, now is an excellent time to start one, especially because there are so many attractive things to spend your money on during the summer! Not only will setting aside a small amount of your money within a savings account help grown your own finances, but it will also help regulate your summer expenditures (which can sometimes grow out of control).
If you’re working over the summer, that’s all the more reason to begin saving now and start reaping the benefits over time. If a savings account doesn’t gain enough interest for your tastes, consider investing your extra funds in a money market account, certificate, or another high-yield source instead. You can even make a challenge out of it and see how much you can grow your funds by the end of the summer if you’re a savvy investor.
Be careful to treat your money carefully, though. While the other sources we listed above gain higher dividends than a standard savings account does, it’s also much more difficult to retrieve your money from such an account before the account is mature.