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This post is based on an episode of The Glow Up Guide Podcast. Press play below to listen, or keep scrolling to read the full article.
Welcome!
We all know the feeling. You say every summer that you’re gonna stay productive and do great things this summer. And that lasts about three days before we go back.
Before we know it, three months have passed in the blink of an eye and school starts in three days.
So let’s talk about a summer routine you can actually stick to. It’s not insanely difficult or impossible to stick with. Anyone can give it a try. I promise you, it works.
Reset Expectations
At The “Glow Up” Guide, having a productive summer isn’t about waking up at five every morning and doing two hour workouts like everyone on social media seems to say. It’s about balance.
Do some productive things, but also make sure you’re taking breaks and having fun. Hang out with friends, sleep in a bit, eat ice cream. After all, this is your break from school before you go back to that chaos for ten months.
A good routine should work for you. You shouldn’t be fighting for your routine. It should not control every second of your day, make you feel guilty, or become yet another source of stress.
The Actual Routine
Morning
You can sleep a good bit during the summer. I do it too. But don’t sleep the entire day away. Eventually it goes from resting a little extra to too much. Sleep is a great thing. But there is also too much of a good thing.
Once you wake up, try to not immediately go on your phone. I know, it’s so tempting to check what we missed throughout the night, but going on your phone first thing in the morning really isn’t the best for you.
When you first wake up, your brain is still trying to fully wake up too. Immediately going on your phone can make you feel even more sluggish. Try waiting a little while before checking it.
If avoiding your phone first thing in the morning feels impossible, check out my 5 digital detox strategies that actually worked for me for realistic ways to spend less time scrolling without deleting every app.
Drinking a glass of water right when you wake up is a great habit to implement. A lot of us these days really don’t drink enough water. I’m one of them.
So drinking a glass of water right when you wake up can help increase your water intake, especially since you probably need more water during the summer.
Summer is all about sunshine. When you wake up, open a window or get some sunlight. I have a massive window in my room. I barely use my lights in the summer because of that. Natural sunlight is one of the best feelings.
Midday
The middle of your day is when your actual living happens. Try to do one productive thing. That can be anything from summer reading, working on a project, or volunteering. This helps you stay on track during the summer.
I always talk about how important exercise is on my podcast. Summer is a great time for exercise. Everyone always says they don’t have time to work out, but now you have nothing but time.
You don’t need anything fancy, just take yourself outside on a walk. Perfect weather for it.
Another great thing you can do is hang out with friends or family. Summer is also about spending time with loved ones. Make those memories.
Looking for more ideas to fill your free time? My anti-doomscroll bucket list with 100 fun things to do instead of scrolling is packed with screen-free activities you can try all summer long.
You may not get to spend that much time with the people you care about during the school year, so make the most of the time you have now.
Evening
One thing you can do to wind down for the day is resetting your space a little bit. Clean one space. Put those papers away. Make your bed. Do something small. Even five minutes is more than enough.
Do one calming activity before bed. That can be anything. You can meditate, read a few chapters of your latest book, or journal your thoughts. Anything that works.
I know that since there’s no school, it’s really tempting to stay up late into the wee hours of the night. But please don’t do that. Go to bed at a reasonable time.
My mom forces me to be in bed by eleven most nights, and that’s the only reason I can get my sleep schedule back together when school rolls around again. Please try to sleep enough. It matters so much more than you think.
When Things Fall Apart
It’s summer. Summer has next to no structure for most of us. So it’s perfectly okay if things don’t go as planned every single day. You are gonna have those random days that just aren’t it. That’s just fine. Beating yourself up about it is not.
Not every day will be perfectly balanced. Some days are gonna feel really chaotic. You might have trips and such planned for the summer. But falling a little bit off track doesn’t mean you failed.
What really matters is whether you get back on track or not. One messed up day is never the end of the world.
Conclusion
As you can see, routines don’t need to be perfect. They need to work for you. You don’t need a perfect summer routine. You just need one that makes your life a little easier to live in.
Image Credits
- Hero image — Photo by Ansiveg on Pexels.