Your Simple Summer Checklist
Simplicity This Summer
Schedules are changing, schools are finishing for the year, colleagues are taking vacations, and in general we are in another season of change. Anchoring to a few key routines can help keep the disruption to a minimum while allowing for the fun of summer. How? A good old simple summer checklist!
Anchor Points
Routines allow for efficiency and structure. Sounds boring, but these routines free up our brain space for critical thinking, strategizing, and creating.
Then summer comes, and most people's routines go out the window. Whether it is changes in your household, changes at work, or your own desire to do different things, it can be really disruptive.
My kids finished school last week and I am already annoyed, losing focus, and feeling scattered. And it isn't only me. My kids are also all over the place, physically and emotionally.
They thrive in structure. As much as it sounds fun to have "free time" and "do nothing", after about an hour they are complaining, looking for snacks, and beating each other up. (Oh the joys of elementary school boys!)
I didn't want any of us to lose all of the gains we've made this year - I've built consistency in my physical health and in my business, my boys have built consistency in their learning and reading, and we all built some family structure in the mornings and evenings.
As I saw it all being tossed aside the first day there was no school, I decided we needed to anchor to a few key activities. But without the structure of the school day, it was harder to make sure they happened.
Enter our Activity/Habit Tracker! We decided on a few key items that we want to consistently do, and now we are tracking them daily. Our tracker is simple (I mean seriously, no-frills) which is why it works. If you want to use it, you can DOWNLOAD IT HERE.
Just type in (or write in) the key 4-5 items you want to consistently make sure you do, even when your schedule is inconsistent, and then print it out and leave it somewhere visible. (You can repeat the items on the bottom so you can track up to 4 weeks on one piece of paper).
My kids daily checklist includes: Drink at least 2 water bottles, read for 30 minutes, change food & water for Beardy (our bearded dragon), and drink a protein drink (they eat so many crap snacks, this forces them to replace one snack with a healthier option).
My daily checklist includes: Meditate for 10 minutes, drink 3 water bottles, track my food in my food app, yoga 2xs a week, walk 5xs a week.
How is it working so far?
Like a charm! Honestly, it's going better than I expected. But it makes sense - because we are doing it TOGETHER. We have a visible way to see what we need to do, we can see if we've done our stuff, and we can see if everyone else has done their stuff.
As the parent, I'd love to say I'm a shining example. The reality is that my kids are holding me accountable just as much (if not more) than I am holding them accountable.
A few other reasons it is working so well: 1) My kids are earning rewards for each week their checklist is full, 2) We've made it a bit of a game, and none of us like to lose, and 3) Each of our checklists include something that we ALREADY do consistently (my kids always drink 2-3 water bottles a day, and I already walk at least 5 times a week).
Why add something we already do to the list? Because it's motivating to know that we each will have one thing checked off with almost no effort. It gets the ball rolling. It feels good. And it gives us the stamina to complete and check off the rest of the items.
Summer is a time for fun, memory-making, a break from the routine, and time with family and friends. But it can also eat away at our healthy and productive habits, whether they are personal or professional.
Download the checklist (DOWNLOAD IT HERE), add your activities, print it out, and let me know how it's going! Add in work activities to help you find the focus you need. Add activities to support your physical and mental health. Add in any activity that helps you be the person you want to be.
Find an accountability partner, whether it is someone in your household or a friend that you can text a picture of your completed checklist to daily.
Fun is great. Spontaneous is wonderful. But consistency and routine bring a lot of benefits too.
Get clear on your must-have habits, track them, and then relax into your summer.
Cheers to your simple summer checklist,
Sharon
Want more direction this summer?
Join me and a fabulous group of women for a conversation around creating your stress-free, fun-filled summer! We will create space to think through what we love, what we want more of, where we want to go (literally and figuratively), and the things that often get in our way.
This is a stress-free, come-as-you-are virtual event on Tuesday, June 14th at 7pm. Click HERE to register!
Cher and Carolyn from Inspired Elephant bring Sister Talks to women every month, and this month I will be contributing to the conversation to help everyone get clear on what they truly want this summer and how to create intentionality and boundaries. Together we will create a game plan to achieve the ever-elusive Summer Bliss!
