Have you ever gotten to the end of a summer and been disappointed? I have, many times.
I’m a homeschooling mom who takes time off in the summer and I hope to get so much accomplished. Somehow very little of it gets done. I’m not talking about the fun activities we always manage to squeeze in (barbecues with friends, float trips, swimming, etc.). I’m talking about the projects I can’t get around to doing the other nine months of the year.
This summer I am determined to have a different outcome. I am so excited about the simple solution to my end-of-summer blues that I want to share it with you. In just three steps, you can make a satisfying summer a reality.
#1 Create a wish list.
Dream a little. What would you love to accomplish this summer? Are there any projects that you’ve procrastinated doing that would feel great to get out of the way? Are there things you could do to make life much easier the rest of the year? Or is there something you’ve always dreamed of doing that you’ve never made time for? Add all of these things to your list. At this point, don’t worry about adding too many things.
#2 Consolidate.
Look at your list and combine tasks into weekly projects or areas of focus. For example, would you like to defrost the freezer and clean out the pantry? These tasks can become Organizing or Cleaning. Each weekly project will include a number of tasks required to complete it. My consolidated weekly projects for the summer should give you the idea:
sort clothing
sort and sell books
organize
deep clean
book project #1
book project #2
school prep
video editing
blogging
scrapbooking
freezer cooking
#3 Schedule
This step is critical to making your summer satisfying. Make a list of each week this summer. Because I start school the second week of August, I have 11 weeks from 5/26 to 8/4. I have assigned each of the above projects to a week. If you will be on vacation for a week, that will be your week’s project. Assign projects to logical weeks. For example, freezer cooking is my last project because I want dinner in the freezer before I start school. Otherwise, start with top priority projects. For me, that’s sorting the kids’ clothing for the season and selling books we no longer need.
Schedule time at the beginning of each day to work on that week’s project. If your schedule doesn’t permit you working at the beginning of the day, make sure you work on these projects during the first part of your work period. Why? You’re more likely to accomplish your wish list if you work on it first.
What if you want to do something that will take more than one week? You can either assign it to more than one week or schedule it on a daily or weekly basis. I will be spending more time than a week each on blogging and book projects, but those weeks I will devote extra time to them.
What if you planned to finish a project in a week and you don’t? I don’t anticipate spending every day of the week on my planned projects. Things come up and I love being spontaneous in the summer. If I spend just one day a week on each of these projects, I will be thrilled! But if it’s really important that you finish a project before moving on to something else, you can definitely edit the schedule. If you have your projects in order by priority, you’d simply move everything back a week and the lowest priority project would be dropped from the summer schedule to be worked on another time.
I can’t wait to hear about the projects you have planned and to see if these steps make this summer a more satisfying one for you. What’s the first project on your list?
This week I tested whether taking a vacation could improve my productivity. I’ve actually been testing it for the past two weeks. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see my plans for this test.
How Taking a Vacation Saved My Sanity This Week
Focused my efforts before leaving. Getting ready to go on vacation made decisions about what to do so easy. I had a wonderful closed list of tasks to work with and I finished them all.
Restored my motivation. While on vacation, I had plenty of time to read and think about my goals for the summer and next school year. I have returned as a woman on a mission with a lot more energy to boot.
Gave me time to focus on what matters most. The time with my family gave me a better perspective on the tasks I face each week. So much of what I worry about just doesn’t matter.
How Taking a Vacation Made Me Crazy This Week
Couldn’t avoid everything. Being a blogger and a mother of six means you can never really “go dark.” I had to do some work while I was gone, but thankfully it was minimal.
Did Taking a Vacation Help Me Get More Done?
Yes! And I think I will realize the benefits of it for several weeks. One thing I did that made this an excellent vacation was plan nothing for the day after I returned. I was able to clear email, handle a few urgent tasks, do laundry, grocery shop, and more.
**UPDATE**
Vacations are still saving my sanity. I usually take a vacation with my whole family once a year and with my husband, too. Even more importantly, I take a vacation every Sunday now. The break motivates me so much for the upcoming week.
The Productivity Approach I’ll Be Using for Week 16
This week I’ll be testing David Seah’s 7:15 AM Ritual. Every morning at 7:15 AM, David chats with a friend or two online and commits to a task he wants to jumpstart for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, he reports his progress and experience. I considered doing an online chat with a friend who is in a different time zone. We agreed that making an email commitment to our 15-minute task and then reporting back will work better for us. We’re afraid that a chat would become just that!
The concept. David’s ritual leverages the power of accountability, timed work, and routine. I’ve tested the power of timed work and routine and find both to be invaluable. I haven’t yet tested accountability, though I would argue that this blog series is all about it! While most people are willing to drop their commitments to themselves, few are comfortable with dropping the ball when a commitment has been made to someone else. I’m willing to bet that accountability doesn’t require face time.
If you’d like to join me this week, here’s what you do. Read David’s article. Recruit a friend who is willing to do the ritual with you. Decide when and how you will touch base each day. Daily commit to a task that you want or need to do; spend 15 minutes doing it; then report back to your accountability partner.
Click here to see how my week of David Seah’s ritual went.
If you’ve tried taking a vacation to increase your productivity, please vote in the poll below.
Here are the links to the productivity hacks I’ve tried so far:
This week puts many of us so much closer to the end of the school year. It can be hard to keep going when nice weather beckons. I have some encouragement and problem solvers for you!
There are few things I love more from homeschool writers than reality. This post from Joyful Mothering describes homeschooling the way so many of us experience it, with the result that we feel we can keep going.
Talk about amusing, this preschool blogger lists the many reasons her preschoolers have thrown a fit. I so wish I had made a list like this! She gives great ideas for avoiding fits in the first place.
Here’s another great family project for kids of any age. Create a museum for your own family members. I think it would be really funny if you charged your family to see it.
If you’re a Christian homeschooler, you’ve heard about courtship vs. dating, even if you only have preschoolers. Susan Evans sparked a good discussion on her blog about the issue. Be sure to read the comments!
This week is all about curriculum and planning for me. I may love deciding what I’m going to do for school more than actually doing it! I definitely love sharing these great finds with you.
Heart of the Matter Online has great advice for those of us who like to shop for curriculum without really considering all the important factors first.
A non-homeschooling friend sent me this great article about what people who learn many different languages use for language learning. I’m not sure if it would be appropriate for homeschoolers (because I haven’t tried them), but it’s definitely worth checking out.
There are lots of great ideas here and even more on the author’s Pinterest site. If you have more time in the summer for experiments (like I do), you might like to do several of these.
Free Homeschool Deals has assembled this amazing list of free resources for doing a butterfly unit this spring or summer. A study of butterflies is truly one of the most awe-inspiring I’ve done with my children.
Speaking of summer, this is the perfect time to create your list of activities you want to be sure to do with your family. I love this adorable free printable and can’t wait to put my list together.
God bless your homeschool this week! If you enjoy this list, would you consider sharing it with others?
We can do school in our jammies, so it’s only appropriate that we can learn how to homeschool better in our jammies, too.
Today (May 13, 2013) at noon central time, I will be sharing how to get school done–tomorrow! I’d love to have you join me for the free live session here. Click the Listen Live button on the top left.
Can’t make it? You can pick up two recorded sessions I did on homeschooling strong-willed kids and disciplining between the extremes as well as 53 other audios for a bargain price. Hear leading homeschool experts like Andrew Pudewa all year long in the comfort of your home.
Before I was a speaker for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, I was an attendee. I downloaded the incredible sessions to enjoy while I was cleaning, working out, and grocery shopping and came away inspired. Can’t afford to buy the audios? Look for more free live sessions this week!
I hope you’ll join me live today or will pick up the audios so we can connect at another convenient time. God bless your homeschooling this week and in the weeks to come.
Many of my newer readers know that I am doing a weekly post for A Year of Living Productively, but what you may not know is that I did another shorter series about irritating people who don’t seem to benefit from many traditional approaches to getting things done. Could that be you?
Today I have a guest post on SteveSpring.org (an excellent personal development/productivity blog) where I summarize what I learned about motivating the rebel living in me. I hope you’ll join me there, but you don’t have to. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do actually. But you already knew that.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
