Seeing the Summer You Want
Thinking back to past Summers, have you ever had thoughts like these as August comes to an end?
Why didn’t we do very many of the things on our Summer Bucket List?
I really meant to spend more time with my friends, what happened?
That was a whirlwind, and I am so burnt out.
This was supposed to be the Summer when I mastered that habit, but day-to-day life got in the way.
I feel guilty for not taking advantage of the flexibility we had while the kids were out of school.
Did we really only go to the pool three times the whole Summer?
I’m disappointed in myself for not working on that goal.
I feel like all I did was nag kids and break up sibling squabbles, why didn’t we do more fun stuff?
What end-of-Summer regrets have you had?
Sound familiar? I suspect we’ve all been there. It takes intentionality, focus, and support to have the kind of Summer you can look back on with satisfaction. My LIGHT Up Your Summer program is about creating the Summer you want. It includes, among other things, various tools to help you keep your focus where you genuinely want it. Here’s one such tool to get you started.
The Summer 2023 Visual Planner provides a bird's-eye view of your summer activities, helping you assess your commitments, identify gaps, and find balance in your schedule.
Use this planner to see the empty spots in your calendar, and be intentional about how you will fill them—or not. Sometimes we “feel busy” until we see the planned events along with the blank space. It’s possible that you have way more blank space than you thought.
On the other hand, you may find that your Summer is already scheduled to the brim. You may want more free time, and decide to cancel a few things, or you might love it just the way it is.
Here’s one way to use the Summer 2023 Visual Planner.
How to use the Summer 2023 Visual Planner
Here are a few pointers for using the planner. Feel free to do it your way - make it work for you!
Identify broad categories, such as vacation, summer camps, recurring appointments, projects, and me-time.
Using the key, assign a color to each category.
Fill in the planner, using lines, dots, or even shapes in the appropriate colors.
Step back and take a look at your planner. Do you notice any gaps or areas where you're over-scheduled? How much me-time do you see? Does this high-level view inspire you to make any changes to your summer plans?
If you found gaps, how do you want to fill them in? Do you yearn for some relaxed, slow Summer days - would you prefer to leave them unscheduled? Or do you have a goal that you really want to work on, and see an opportunity to allocate some focused time to it? Maybe you’ve noticed that you actually do have time for some bigger things, like a vacation, or a house project. Perhaps you’ve noticed that you have a bit of time available most days, and want to dedicate it to that habit you’re building.
If, rather than finding gaps, you discovered that your Summer is booked up, do you want to change anything? Maybe you’re perfectly happy with it as-is. Or perhaps you’ve realized that your Summer has more of an “all work, no play” vibe than you prefer, and you get intentional about adding some fun. If most of your time is allotted to family, work, and house responsibilities, you may recognize the need to add regular me-time, even if that means canceling something else.
The Summer 2023 Visual Planner is a great way to kick off your Summer with clarity and intentionality. It’s just one tool of many that I’ll be sharing during the LIGHT Up Your Summer program. If you’d like to join our Laid-back & Intentional Goal-getting Habit-forming Team, visit this link for more info. I’d love to support you in creating the Summer you want.