Everyone who knows I’m a teacher likes to ask me how I’m doing about going back to school about half way through the summer. I swear, after the 4th of July, neighbors, friends and family members ask me when I go back and how I’m feeling about it. It used to get in my head. It used to stress me out. If you are growing tired about having those questions pummeled at you throughout the late summer months, here are some techniques to try to make each day count as the summer winds to a close…
- Try to make each day count…whatever that means. It could mean staying in your pajamas all day or tackling some of your nagging tasks.
- Create time in each day to do things you both want to do AND need to do. Making each day count doesn’t mean just staying busy, but also making time for quiet and even doing nothing.
- Choose to spend time wisely, instead of letting moments slip away. Make sure that you schedule time for yourself and you keep those appointments! Spending time wisely could even mean letting yourself sleep in or take a nap throughout the afternoon.
- Practice mindful awareness try practicing being present in activities you are engaged in. These activities could include: driving, walking, brushing your teeth, running errands, weeding the garden, etc. Studies have shown that when we bring focus to even mundane activities, our lives become more satisfying.
- Try something new, go somewhere new or do something new before summer is over. It doesn’t have to be crazy, expensive or far away. Go to a new restaurant, try out a museum on a rainy day, make an appearance at a local farmer’s market, spend a day rekindling an old hobby or discovering a new one.
- If you must, plan for those times when you need to get back into school mode. Schedule those days and let go of the possible worry, stress and anxiety on the other days. It may be helpful to write down notes to yourself during those times of worry, but try not to give them much thought until you are scheduled to work on school preparation.
So hopefully these are some easy ways to make each day count as the summer winds down for all of us. Although the end of the summer is bittersweet and many of us don’t want to see it come to an end, rest assured we will only have another nine months before we get to start our summers over and do this all again. I don’t know about you, but summer vacation is one perk of our job that I never want to trade! Make these last few days count!
