This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small fee for anything purchased through a link (at no cost to you.) I only promote products that I fully support. You can read my full disclosure HERE.
Summer is wearing on and you may be starting to feel like its a bit of a black hole for productivity especially if you’re self employed! Between bored kids, vbs, and day trips to the park, you might feel like the words summer and productive just don’t belong in the same sentence!
Fortunately, my friend Sophie, who writes about balance and slowing down at My Cup Runs Over has come up with some great tips for balancing work and summer fun, and she’s agreed to share them here today!
FROM SOPHIE at My Cup Runs Over
When you’re self-employed, finding time to get work done during the summer can be a serious challenge. The kids are home—and likely in need of entertaining—and you’d love nothing more than to pack a picnic, load everybody in the car, and head to the lake.
Unfortunately, you still have a business to run. Just because the sun is—finally—shining and the kids get a nice long break doesn’t mean we get to shut down our computers for two months and live it up. (Unless you are one of the lucky few who does get the summer off, in which case, stop reading this immediately and go enjoy it!)
But balancing work and fun in the summer doesn’t have to be onerous. With a little bit of planning and preparation, you can take advantage of the flexibility that summer offers and have the best of both worlds.
So grab your notebook, pen, and calendar and let’s start making some plans!
Like the rest of the year, being productive and balanced in the summer is all about time management mastery. In this article, we walk through a six-step process to answer the following questions about your time:
Here is an overview of the the six-step process we’re going to follow:
Write down your answers to these questions:
Print a copy (or two) of the Time Estimator Table below and estimate the hours needed to complete each step. Add all of the numbers up, then factor in a ten percent buffer for unforeseen activities. Add the buffer to the subtotal to find the Total Time Required
At this point, it’s a good idea to do a reality check. Summer break is about nine weeks long. Subtract from that any weeks where you will be on vacation or are not planning to work. Let’s say that’s two weeks. You’ve got seven weeks left to work with.
My initial Time Required came out at 364 hours. At seven weeks, that would mean fifty-two hours/week! Not happening!
If you find yourself in this boat, go back to your goals list and either cross off some of the less important items or rethink some of the steps so they can be done in less time.
Consider the parameters that will affect your summer schedule.
Many factors will affect how much time you plan to spend with your kids this summer, but chances are you will need some level of help. I’ve put together a freebie for you that will cover formal and informal, as well as part-time and full-time options for a variety of budgets and age ranges.
Plan your kids’ activities to ensure that you have enough hours available per week to match your Total Time Required over the course of the summer.
Next, enter everything in your calendar. I highly recommend using an online calendar, such as
Google’s because you won’t have to enter repeating events more than once and you can access it from anywhere.
Now, when I say ‘enter everything’, I literally mean everything. Or at least, as close as you can get. Maximizing your time means knowing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing at any given time so that you don’t waste time trying to figure that out. I recommend entering things in the following order:
Knowing this in advance may result in a little disappointment and force you to re-evaluate your priorities, but it will eliminate the guilt you feel at not being able to do everything you wanted. Here are some examples of things I put on my calendar.
If you’ve made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back. You’re doing awesome!
It takes a lot of work to do that much planning and prep but it’s about to pay off.
Take a look at the next page for some ideas on how to get the most out of your non-working hours.
I hope this guide has helped you plan a productive and fun summer.
Thanks for those fantastic tips Sophie! Don’t forget to head over to My Cup Runs Over to grab your freebies!
PIN ME
Session expired
Please log in again. The login page will open in a new window. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.
There are some really great tips here! I wish I would have found it at the beginning of summer 😉
I’m saving this to help me plan my days in general… thanks!
The “Be Present” advice is soooo pertinent to me. Thanks for the advice 🙂