SUMMER PREP

Whether you’re a college student or a high school student, this week marks the end of term, the end of finals. You’ll soon have packed away your files, returned library books, and checked to make sure that you got credit for everything you did. You are now looking forward to your summer life, be that job, travel, chilling, or study.

You might think about using this wrap-up and your summer to get an edge on fall. To do this with minimal pain, as part of putting paid to your months of effort, book time with yourself to do three things: Review. Reward. Recapture.

Nothing heavy and intense–you’re done with that for this term! Time in reflection will take very little effort and you will find you have primed the engine when you enrol in September.

Review:

As you’re packing away your courses, jot down for each course what went well, and what you will do differently next time. Five to ten minutes only for each course. Also review and note what worked well with your self-management focus, study, and time tools.

Reward:

This is critical. Schedule those rewards you’ve promised yourself–and take them! If you don’t, you’ll not believe yourself the next time you build rewards into your motivation scheme. If you have to put aside a reward because of time or money, reschedule or modify–but take those rewards!

Recapture:

If there’s one benefit my students mention over and over about our work together, it’s the improvement in their grades and their lives because of the time management skills and habits we’ve worked on.

Summer is when you can strengthen these skills and benefits without getting compulsive about it. On the one hand, with no classes and nothing to study for, it’s easy (too easy!) for all structure to fall off, and that much harder to pick it up come fall. On the other hand, summer is a chance to try new routines, new ways of taking breaks, new focus times, new sleep patterns, trying new scheduling apps  . . . 

If you’ve decided to develop new habits this summer, be kind to yourself. Keep it down to three small changes, or chunk one major change into three manageable chunks.

For example, when I moved into my first place, I wanted it to be a presentable and comfortable place to hang out with myself and my friends. Knowing myself, I knew that maintaining a Martha Stewart level of presentation was not going to happen. Or if it happened for three days, it wouldn’t happen for three months.

I was realistic. I picked just three areas to maintain: Make the bed before breakfast. No clothes on the floor or furniture–they’re hung up or in the laundry. And no dishes in the sink. Yes, other cleaning needed to get done from time to time. When the spirit moved me or if I was entertaining. But with those daily three habits, every morning I came down to a tidy kitchen, and every day I came home from work to a place that didn’t nag me.

The take-home here isn’t housework. It’s if you’re targeting a change, keep it down to three doable components.

Oh. How could I forget! Scheduling. That daily habit of reviewing the day, scheduling the day, the week. Keep what works. Experiment with the best time of day. Try out new apps or try a new paper calendar (many academic calendars start in July). Always have something to look forward to in your scheduler and on your calendar!

So carry on carrying on with your time management.

It’s part of being kind to yourself.

Next week: the summer sprint. Connect with me for planning the challenge of getting 13 weeks of work done in six weeks, and still having a life: [email protected]

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.