How to Plan in the “Lazy Days” of Summer
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ The mindset shift to make when it comes to summer (or any season of the year!)
⋒ The 4 steps of how to plan in the “lazy days” of summer (and if they are ACTUALLY lazy 👀)
⋒ Where to download our newest freebie that you can use to plan your summer
Before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that I created a free summer planning guide that goes along with this blog post (and podcast episode) that you can download at jessicamassey.com/summerplan!
I recommend reading through this blog post or listening to the podcast episode before filling it out to help you plan a peacefully productive summer ☀️
Listen, you are not alone if when the summer months hit, you have the desire to loosen the reins on your routines and go with the flow a little bit. I am a routine-loving girlie and I feel that way this time of year, too! I start craving more space for fun in my schedule.
And honestly, I don’t think there is anything wrong with living at a more margin-centric pace during the summer… I actually think more people should lean into it and structure their lives around it rather than trying to hustle their way through the whole year.
When I think of summer, I think of cozy picnic-style dinners outside, family vacations, spending extra time with friends, pursuing hobbies – so why not make my schedule and routines reflect that instead of fighting against it? I desire a fluid-feeling summer and I know that about myself!
It is so normal for us to want to lean into a more carefree/go-with-the-flow pace during the summer. There is absolutely no reason for you to beat yourself up or call yourself names like “unmotivated” or “lazy.”
(Yes, I know I used the word lazy in the title but I did that strategically – I knew it would resonate with you and you’d click it BUT we’re gonna talk about some mindset shifts around the word. 😉)
But anyway, I want you to think about the point of each season:
Spring: Warmer and often wetter, seeds take root, and vegetation begins to grow. Plants sprout, tree leaves unfurl, and flowers blossom.
Summer: Temperatures may increase to the hottest of the year, plants grow quickly, and heat waves or droughts may cause trouble.
Fall: Temperatures cool again, plants may begin to grow dormant, and animals might prepare themselves for the upcoming cold weather. You can appreciate the foliage and watch the trees shed and bear themselves.
Winter: Typically has cold weather, little daylight, and limited plant growth. It's time to rest.
Each season has a purpose and they’re cyclical – it’s not summer forever. It’s not fall forever. Seasons come and go and they work together so they can each do their job.
The same goes for us – the way we show up for each season (actual seasons and metaphorically) is gonna look different and that is good and healthy! We are not robots and how we show up isn’t going to look the same every day for the rest of time.
It’s our job to structure our lives in a way that supports where we’re at and where we are heading.
I came up with 4 steps to help you plan in the “lazy days” of summer that are heavily influenced by The 5 Keys to Hustling Sanely so hopefully they sound familiar!
4 Steps to Plan in the “Lazy Days” of Summer
Step 01: Get your mindset right about the summer
In order for you to create a summer plan that you’re stoked about, you have to start by overcoming any limiting beliefs that might be standing in your way. Grab a pen and paper and jot down any thoughts rooted in doubt, scarcity, shame, or guilt that you have surrounding summer. They might sound like:
- “I’m so lazy in the summer. I should be doing more.”
- “I don’t have time to slow down and enjoy some fun.”
- “I always wind up feeling crappy in the summer because the days just get away from me.”
Then give yourself permission to lean into a more margin-centric, fun season without feeling bad about it. Write yourself a summer affirmation that reminds you that you don’t have to carry around the doubt, shame, or shoulds. An example of a summer affirmation could sound like:
- I get to decide how I am going to show up this summer and I am choosing to intentionally lean into a season of rest, fun, and joy without feeling guilty about it.
I know I knowwww it’s tempting to skip over mindset work because it can feel fluffy but I am speaking from experience here – my own and the hundreds of people I’ve coached – when you take the time to do the inner work/mindset work before taking something on, you’re building a strong foundation that affects how the rest of whatever it is, in this case showing up for summer, is going to go.
TLDR; don’t skip the mindset work – it’s going to make everything else easier!
Step 02: Get clear on your vision for the summer.
This is the fun step – you get to think about what you want your ✨vibe✨ to be this summer!
Here’s what I do and what I recommend for getting clear on your vision for the summer:
~ Start by setting the intention for summer.
Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel this summer?”
Maybe in the past, you feel like summer always flies by and you struggle with feeling present because of that. You could write “I want to feel present this summer.”
Then ask yourself, “What do I want to focus on this summer?”
Whether it’s connecting with your family, spending a lot of time at the pool, making memories with friends, focusing on your mental health…get specific about what you want to spend your summer focusing on.
Because if you don’t decide what you want to focus on, your attention will be constantly split in 50 different directions, leaving you feeling spread thin and burned out.
~ Visualize how you want to show up this summer - define the vibe.
I want you to spend a few minutes thinking about what you haven’t liked about summers in the past. Now imagine your ideal summer. What are the vibes of your ideal summer? What would make you feel your best this summer? A good way to frame this – what’s “in” and what’s “out” this summer? Like I mentioned earlier, I do not enjoy a jam-packed summer so that’s out for me… I like having lots of margin and fluidity with my routines in the summertime…. so that’s in.
Examples of outs:
- Working past 4 PM
- Watching more than 2 hours of TV in a day
- Having more than 3 scheduled events a week
Examples of ins:
- Walking in the mornings
- Pursuing a hobby
- Having 1 unscheduled weekend a month
- Frequent pool afternoons
~ Create a summer bucket list.
Jot down a few things you absolutely would love to do this summer! These are “want tos” not “have tos.”
Some examples might be:
– Go camping
– Go to the beach
– Have an outdoor movie night
– Host a cookout
– Have a boat day
Step 03: Define your priorities for the summer.
Okay this is where we are going to get practical – based on the vision you created in step 2, we’re gonna define what our priorities are for the next few months.
It is SO important to define your priorities each season otherwise you’re going to continue treating everything like a priority and then wondering why you feel spread so thin.
Taking the time to intentionally name our priorities helps us know what we want to give our best time and energy to. When I know what my priorities are, it also saves a lot of brain power because I don’t have to think too hard about what I’m saying yes and no to – if something doesn’t fit in with my vision/priorities, it’s a no.
Okay so hopefully I’ve got you on board with why it’s important to define your priorities but now how do you actually do it?
~ Think about what is pre-planned in your life for the next few months.
Are your kids going to camp? Are you traveling a lot? Do you have any events (like family reunions or weddings or a school orientation) to attend? Get all of those out of your head and in one place so you can see them – that way you can see which parts of the summer are full and where you’ve got more margin. Maybe you notice that June is slammed but July is actually pretty chill as far as events go.
~ Revisit your goals for the year and see which ones make sense for you to pursue this summer.
Y’all know I’m all about making sure your goals make sense for what’s happening in your life.
For example, if your kids are out of school and they’re gonna be home all summer, I would imagine that you’re going to want to spend less time working and more time making memories with them…so with that in mind, I wouldn’t set the goal to launch a new product for my business in the summer – because that doesn’t make sense for the summer vibe I’m going for.
I revisited my goals for the summer and actually bumped one to 2025 because I realized that the relaxed vibe I’m going for this summer means I can’t pursue this goal right now – I’ll tell you what it is… launching merch for Hustle Sanely and That’s What She Read Book Club.
Instead of trying to cram that into this summer, I’m just moving it to 2025 because I have more margin there for work goals. For the rest of this year, I already have 2 big work things coming up (launching the business course and planner season). So I had to decide to cut merch from my launch plans this summer and move that to next year so that I could lean into the slower summer I’m desiring.
A goal that does make sense for me to pursue this summer is working on my YouTube channel…YouTube is a hobby of mine that I miss and summer, to me, feels like such a good time to focus on hobbies!
Step 04: Create your summer schedule and routines.
This is where we put everything together from the other steps!
When we create our summer schedule and routines ahead of time, it keeps us present and helps us from wondering where something fits in/when something is going to get done. You can look at your summer from a bird’s eye view perspective and feel good about where everything is rather than winging every day and feeling like summer is slipping through your fingers without intention.
My suggestion for creating your summer schedule and routines is to make a list of habits/routines that will support you daily, weekly, and monthly.
Then take those and your vision and priorities from earlier, and create a new Weekly Routine Outline for the summer. And if you’re like wait what the heck is that? A weekly routine outline is basically an ideal week in your life at a glance…all of your typical routines in a week on a weekly template so you can see how everything fits together.
I’ve got a free workshop called the Chaos to Calm Workshop where I walk you through, step by step, how to build a weekly routine outline. If you are wanting support in how to build this, that workshop is for you!
Once you’ve got your weekly routine outline, create a daily schedule. If you have different types of days, make different schedules for each one.
What do you want the flow of your day to be? Your daily schedule doesn’t have to be time-bound either – you can just write out the order of events if that feels better for you.
I have 2 daily schedules for the summer – one for my work days and one for non-work days. We’re very into our schedules and routines are tools, not chains in the summertime in the Massey household…our schedule guides our days but doesn’t make us feel stuck to it.
Alright y’all that is what I’ve got for you today – how to plan in the “lazy days” of summer. To recap the 4 steps:
Step 01: Get your mindset right about the summer.
Step 02: Get clear on your vision for the summer.
Step 03: Define your priorities for the summer.
Step 04: Create your summer schedule and routines.
And make sure to download the free summer planning guide below to help you plan an intentional summer
FREE Summer Planning Guide
Ready to plan the best summer ever? 😎⛅️
Loved this blog post? Tune into the full podcast episode below!
