WHY THE HECK DID I BUY A PLANNER FOR 2020?
Only in summer does Monday feel like Friday and Friday feels like Wednesday and Wednesday seems to last for the entire month of May. This year, the summer haze seems to be even more jumbled thanks to quarantine and the general confusion that everyone in this world is experiencing. This loss of time isn’t necessarily bad, but it does make organizing hard when your summer has almost doubled in time, extending your otherwise momentary confusion for nearly half a year.
Children and college students, like me, all crave summer because it’s a break from school, a respite for your mind, and the cheapest way to get a tan. I think the magic of summer is how short it is. As kids, we wanted summer to last for years almost, but now, as we are growing up, we realize that we rely on work to make us really respect that summertime laziness.
Adulthood really ruins everything, doesn’t it?
But joy is still rooted in summer. Either from habit or hope, joy comes around every morning you wake up to a warm sunny day, but this year seems different on so many accounts. Summer seems to have lost its zeal.
So how should we approach this summer differently without either going insane or lackadaisical?
Buy a Planner
I know it seems like the whole world is a disorganized mess, but maybe if you put pen to paper, you might be able to create some order for your life. a planner allows for goals, reflections, appointments, and thoughts to be expressed and noted during your weeks. Adding a planner into your daily routine and working on scheduling both work time and time for yourself can help not only your mental health but also allow more scheduled productivity.
Make Goals
Don’t skip over this part. I’m not going to tell you to leave the summer with a six-pack and a new language, but small goals sometimes are the only reasons I get out of bed in the morning. If you keep them small and obtainable, then they become easy to do, thus allowing you to reach your goals every day, all while working towards the big picture.
Challenge Yourself
This is a wonderful time to try and fail. For those of you not going into the office again anytime soon, the large break you get can also be translated into the break you get from interacting with other people. Look on Instagram; there’s a reason so many people are dying their hair crazy colors and cutting forehead bangs. If you don’t like something, you have three months to change it. Summer is the perfect time to find new challenges and keep growing, even while no one’s looking.
Keep a Schedule
This doesn’t have to be as rigorous or enforced as when you were in school, or work, or really just not affected by the pandemic at all, but maintain roughly the same routine every day. Soon our lives will go back to how they were and we don’t really want it to be a shock when we have to get out of our pajamas and actually work during the day. Start working on establishing a routine that is close to what you had so that order will become second nature to you.
Learn and Create
For anyone who is still in college like me, you want the summers off so that you can take a break from learning. Find a new hobby and research it. Look into trends like sustainability and zero-waste to see if they’re actually worth it and doable for you. Learning and creating can produce nothing but positivity, even if you fail a little bit.
I’m not going to lie: this summer isn’t going to be like the other summers we’ve had. I find myself already wanting to go back to school and my enforced routine. If we maintain a healthy and semi-normal lifestyle during the second part of our summer, then the transition back to work and mandated schedules will be easier. Plus, we all need a little stability at this time.
I’m truly sorry for anyone who isn’t looking forward to summer. It really ought to be one of the best times of the year and it seems as though it has been ripped away from us, but we can only make the most of it and see what comes next.
Happy summer, everyone.
