5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Summer

It can be tricky making the most out of your time in the summer. Longer and nicer days mean desires for more time spent outdoors at the beach, on the patio, on the roads or trails, and everywhere else the sun hits.

Here are a few ways to make the most out of your summer!

Empty your Calendar

In Spring there were was little to no free time: every day was booked. The fall calendar is already filling up as well, but summer is sacred time. The calendar has a bunch of blank squares, and that alone is a sweet reprieve. Summer should be a time for slow and easy, reconnect, and just enjoy the ordinary beauty of full trees, puffy clouds, and popsicle-stained faces. Yes, work goes on and responsibilities still loom, but being intentional in keeping the calendar empty can lead to more enjoyable free time.

Take a Break from Devices

Let’s face it, if our phones get too far out of reach, we feel like we’ve lost an appendage. It’s probably unreasonable to unplug for the whole summer unless you’re moving far away, but in trying to shut them down and put them away for specified blocks of time during the evenings can give way to spending more time elsewhere for board games, R&R, naps, and more.

Create a Summertime Tradition

Find something you can do with family and/or friends that can be repeatable each year and will become something look forward to every summer. Maybe it’s camping at the same campground, travelling far for an amusement park getaway, a golf or fishing trip, or anything else that can take up a weekend.

Traditions are sentimental, nostalgic, and of course: fun. They can me easy to start anew and easy to continue from earlier generations.

Embrace the Routine-less Chaos

Sure, routines make the days flow smoother and our lives a bit simpler. Routines are a great thing to have most months out of the year, but sometimes summer can feel rather chaotic, in the best ways! Feel bold enough to switch even the littlest of things up to add a little anti-routine to your life: have breakfast for dinner, visit a new part of the city, watch a foreign film, etc.

If having no routine at all will throw you too far out of whack (like if you still have infants or toddlers) then create a special summer routine that works for you

Soak Up the Sunshine

Three out of four of us are deficient in vitamin D. It’s no wonder! Take a hike. Climb trees. Catch fireflies. Make mud pies. Jump in puddles. It’s so much harder to be bored in the great outdoors, and the memories made will last forever! Well, at least until next summer’s new memories.