How to *summer* correctly
From someone with little to no experience in the matter
I’ve been seeing a lot of those “May is aptly named because it may be rainy or it may be sunny” and I couldn’t agree more. Right now, I’m sitting on the shared terrace of my apartment building in a tank top writing this, hoping to also catch some freckles in the meantime. Yesterday was lovely too and I even went for an evening walk in the woods with Finn after spending the whole day at school, simply to enjoy the gorgeous sunset. However, this weekend was gray, rainy and cold. Like “please can we go inside and hold a warm cup of coffee”-kind of cold. And from what I can tell, the next few days are going to be like that. So, I welcome this parentheses of fake summer that is today.
It’s got me thinking though, because there’s nothing like a nice sunny day to give me decision fatigue. You know you should be taking advantage of the nice weather, but how? Should I simply take a towel and go lie down on the grass outside my house? Mm too many kids running around, and probably some (a lot of) dog pee. Should I take a walk? Sounds nice, but also a little hot. And I’ll need to bring water for Finn. Okay but if I’m bringing water for Finn I might as well bring a little snack for me too, to fill out the bag a little more. Oh okay, so we’re making a trip out of it? Then I might need an extra sweater in case it gets cloudy. Or a bikini top in case it gets even hotter. In that case we should probably get ourselves to some body of water. Which means we need to take the bus. So I’m bringing lunch for myself. Can I buy lunch there or do I need to prepare something to bring? And so on. And so on.
Please tell me I’m not the only one.
My lovely reader
suggested a sort of “summer routine” where you do something each day, every day, like having a dip. I’m sure everyone who has kids is thinking “um yeah, my whole day is more or less aa repetition of the day before” but for me this was the simple yet spot on reminder I needed. I try to start my days in a similar fashion, by having an alarm set at the same time every morning (I’m still two weeks away from summer holidays so I do still have school), which I’m planning on continuing all throughout summer. It’s “really good for you” to get up at the same time each day and Finn needs his morning walk so it’s kind of a non-negotiable. And when we come back from our 30 minute morning walk, it’s time for breakfast for the both of us. And then?
I really want to make this summer count. Whether it’s my last summer being single or the first of many, I want to know that I showed up for myself and enjoyed it. Properly. I don’t want to wake up in the beginning of August thinking “oh shit, there’s only a few weeks left of summer - where did all that time go?”, you know? And so, I need a strategy. Something to stick to, that helps me feel on top of things. I’m sure it will be adjusted and re-adjusted as needed, but here’s what I’ve got so far.
A daily wake up call, at 07:30
A walk with Finn, ~30 mins
Daily movement for me, ~30 mins
- This includes, but is not limited to, workouts. Can also be stretching or yoga or idk.Breakfast, at about 9
Free play (no screens unless writing), up until lunchtime
Lunch, at about 12:30
Afternoon activity, up until about 17:30
Getting ready for dinner + making dinner
Dinner, at about 18:30
Cleaning up after dinner, taking care of any other chores (vacuuming, washing, etc)
Wind down time
Bedtime, at about 22:30 (includes reading)
And obviously, if needed, I will break out of this schedule to allow for fun days with friends or activities that take up the whole day. But I think it’s good for me to hold myself accountable to at least a lose form of structure. Free play can be sunbathing, painting, knitting, writing, reading magazines or anything else that feels like a hobby or a frivolous activity done just for fun. The afternoon activity is meant to be something where I get out of the house and “do something”, like swimming, shopping, going for a coffee, training Finn, going for a bike ride to a *destination*. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else but it does to me. Oh and there are multiple hidden dog walks in there obviously, I just haven’t written them out because I do them spontaneously. Should I schedule them?
Should weekends be scheduled the same way? Or do I include a little special drink on Fridays? Or a going out-time slot every other week on the Saturday? Anyone who is expert level at being single and living by yourself, and has experience in having no job for summer, please enlighten me with anything I’ve missed or haven’t accounted for.
I should also mention that I will probably be going to my sister’s for at least a few weeks during summer but we’ve already discussed having a joint general schedule to follow in order to a) have reasonable expectations and b) not bicker the whole summer away. Time will tell if we actually manage this. This will also mean a lot of adjusting after the three-year-old which I’m honestly happy to do. (When I’m by myself, I’m the kid I have to schedule for.)
I hope this post can be an inspiration to anyone else who is kind of mildly dreading the long looong days of summer and the cascade of insta stories of people having the time of their lives. We’re in this together and you’re not alone in feeling alone a lot of the time. This schedule is obviously meant to be discarded if and when something really fun and inviting and social pops up. I will also be sharing my summer bucket list with tips on which activities I’m planning on doing or trying this summer. So *stay tuned*. I’m joking obviously. About the stay tuned, not the bucket list.
Love the idea of having a schedule so summer just doesn't disappear! I'm not working full time at the moment so should take advantage of that.
and then of course, there's the concept of "yeah, it's summer but i have a job..." lol who are all these people who don't have to work from Memorial to Labor Day?