Now that I am really into the groove of summer vacation, I want to share with you some advice about summer expectations. Every spring I tell myself that the summer will be the best one I've ever had and completely hype up the season for myself. As you could imagine, these expectations I had set for myself were really hard to meet. The past two summers I felt that all I did was work and when I wasn't working, I was sitting at home moping about not having a great summer. I had so many regrets that I wasn't doing more with my time. Towards the end of last summer, I started to change from being a sluggish and noncommital bore, to making the extra effort to make something useful out of my day.
This summer I have really tried to make the most of every day I have off, and tried to be productive. I don't mean productive in a way that I get a lot of errands done or a to do list checked off, but I mean that I have made the most of my time. I go to the beach, spend quality time making amazing memories with my friends and family, read books, write blog posts, or take my dog for a walk, just to name a couple of things. I ask myself multiple times a day, "Is what I am doing right now going to make me happy when I look back on my summer?" This is my guiding summer question, and I suggest that you ask yourself the same thing!
Now you may be saying "Meghan, what about Netflix?...that doesn't seem very productive!" I have really tried to limit the amount of Netflix/TV/YouTube I watch on my days off. I let myself watch some while having my morning coffee, and somedays its really nice to have a lazy/slow morning to let myself recharge a bit (especially after working three 12 hour shifts in a row)! If I let myself be lazy in the morning, I make sure to make the afternoon/evening really productive.
On the days I work a long shift, I can't run home and go right out with my friends or John or even just stay in and read because I am usually falling asleep the second I get out of my car. So I have to make the most of my day while I am at work. I thought I would find this difficult, but I have had a stroke of luck this summer with my job. Compared to the past few summers, I really love my job and it gives me a lot of personal satisfaction. I have more confidence, feel more capable and feel like I make a difference in others' lives. When I walk into a shift with all these feelings, how could I not have a productive day??
To wrap up this rambling post, I challenge you to spend your time like you should spend your money...carefully and with confidence that you are doing the right thing with it! Make the most of everyday so you do not look back on your summer or your life with regret that you did not spend your time doing things that were important to you!
To sum up this post in one picture...?
What are you doing this summer to be productive?
I've been trying to be more mindful of how I spend my time this summer, too. It's definitely not easy with Netflix, but some days you just gotta treat yo'self ;). xx
ReplyDeleteExactly! And here's a secret...sometimes I try to be productive (like blog) and watch Netflix at the same time!!
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