Summer planning, Part 2

 

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been doing some planning for summer.  I've been using some prompts I've had for awhile; I think they may have been an earlier version of Jess Connolly's Summer to Thrive.  I've had them stashed away in one of my blog fodder folders for years, I guess, with "Summer" scrawled at the top. 

 I know that to some, the summer is half over, but for me it is really just beginning -- and I want to squeeze every bit of goodness out of it.  I thought sharing these prompts and my answers might be an encouragement to someone else.   So here are a couple more questions and my answers:

5.  Rhythms -- instead of planning every minute and day differently, the author of these questions suggested that we establish rhythms for our summer days.  It was mentioned that we could also look at rhythms from the perspective of what to do each month of summer.

I wasn't sure how helpful I would find this idea, but I made a stab at it.  For the months of summer,  I chose the following themes:

* June -- planning and projects
* July -- celebrate and travel
* August -- relax, refresh, regroup.

For daily rhythms, I came up with the following, taking into account the things I absolutely must do:

* Early morning -- physical and spiritual health
* Morning -- homemaking chores and work (Etsy shop)
* Early afternoon -- ministry (phone calls, blogging)
* Afternoon -- ministry (Sunday School lesson prep); supper prep
* Evening -- relax, regroup

I've been pleasantly surprised at how well daily rhythms work for me.  They give a simple structure to my days.  It's amazingly helpful to set up my days in this way and to get most of the work and chores out of the way in the morning.  

I recently heard about a principle called the one-minute rule (or something similar).  If a task can be done in a minute or less, do it right then.  I tried this for a day and was absolutely stunned at  how much I accomplished that day, so I'm incorporating this into my life.

 6.  Lastly, some prompts for the fun stuff of summer.  There was a whole list of these and I chose the most applicable to me, to answer.

* What books do you want to read?

I want to finish Hope Again by Charles Swindoll, and finish a study of The Fringe Hours, by Jessica Turner.  If there's time I'd like to begin and complete a study of Own Your Life,  by Sally Clarkson.

* What trips do you want to take?

This summer, probably not many long trips, but possibly some getaways within New Hampshire, Maine, or Vermont.  Possibly some day trips to NH state parks.

* What fun foods do you want to make?

S'mores, iced tea, corn on the cob,hot dogs, main-dish salads, maybe homemade ice cream.

*  How do you plan to rest?

Downtime at our cottage, time at a friend's cabin up north, picnic suppers at the lake.

* What kinds of dates do you want to go on?

Ice cream dates, a seafood supper or two, picnics.

* Where do you want to serve?

Hospitality, mentoring, teaching, writing, helping out at a summer camp.

* What new hobbies do you want to try?

Watercolor, plus find time for some loved older hobbies like embroidery and cross stitch.

* What fun adventures might you have?

Exploring some new-to-us state parks or hiking trails; maybe following the NH Ice Cream Trail; exploring some back roads.

 There you have it!  My simple but helpful-to-me summer planning.  I hope that thinking about these questions will help you to enjoy every moment of summer.  It has certainly been a help to me!