1. Read
Perhaps I'm a little biased as a Reading teacher, but I think everyone should have a stack of books ready to read when they have some free time. I get a little overzealous with this each year and take home way more than I could possibly read. This year I brought home:
The Secret Life of Bees
Fever 1793
Speak
Paper Towns
Okay for Now
Unwind
A Lesson Before Dying
Kiss Kill Vanish
I also brought home several academic books to skim over the summer, and Mechanically Inclined to read. And I have several academic articles and research reports to look at. And books on hold at the library. And then I bought a new book... So yeah, I went a bit crazy.
2. Improve Your Health
Have you run yourself ragged during the school year? (Who am I kidding? Of course you have!) Take some time this summer to rejuvenate and take care of yourself. My primary goals this summer are to get back to eating healthy meals, and to get on my treadmill! I started the Zombie 5k program forever ago but never finished. This summer I'm committed to completing the program.
Also go and pamper yourself a bit. Get a fresh haircut, a nice pedicure, or a relaxing massage. If you don't want to spend a lot, look for a beauty school or college nearby that offers discount services for letting students do the work. Students in those schools need a certain number of practice hours and they're always looking for new
3. Purge
This can apply to your home or your classroom (if you're crazy like me and will going in during the summer). Chances are you've got stacks of old receipts to file, old gifts you never wanted, clothes that don't fit, outdated class posters from the 80s, and some expired cough drops sitting around. Time to get rid of the junk, and breathe in a sigh of relief when you see how much more open your space becomes. If you haven't already read it, check out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The author does get a little extreme and spiritual with her belongings, but it gave me the motivation to finally get rid of tons of clutter. Also, rolling your socks is the best thing ever.
4. Socialize
When's the last time you talked to your second cousin who has the same unique hobby as you? Was your nephew teething the last time you saw him and now he's applying for college? Now's the time to reach out. Sure, take a few weeks at the start of summer to hibernate and recharge, but then get out there. Look up some old friends, get together with family, go out with colleagues with a "no work talk" rule, or even just spend some quality time with members of your own household. Trust me, being aspie, this is hard for me, but I know there are benefits and it's worth the effort.
5. Make a List
Hmm, maybe this should have been the first thing on this list, but oh well. It's already typed and I'm too lazy to renumber everything now. Plus I want reading to be first because, you know - biased Reading teacher.
Anyway, one thing I find most years is that I let the summer get away from me. A week or two of just relaxing turns into a month and a half, followed by panic of "Where did the summer go?!" and "I didn't do anything!" So if you follow nothing else in this post, at least do this: Take a few minutes to sit down and put together a master list of what you want to do this summer. There should be fun and relaxing stuff, home projects or tasks you need to take on, and some work related stuff you never have time for during the school year.
To make this easier for you I've put together a printable summer planner which you can grab for free here:
Looking for ideas? Here's my list:
So, what are your plans for the summer?
Note: this post contains a few affiliate links for books, which means I receive small commission if you decide to purchase anything through Amazon using my links. I only recommend items I've purchased and used myself, so trust that everything I post is legit, and I haven't received anything free or been asked to post any of these items : )
