How to plan and create a healthy and fun summer before the season ends
As I sit on my deck enjoying my breakfast and coffee, I think, “Ah, summer really is here at last.” Breakfast on the terrace is one of the luxuries I enjoy in summer.
One of the challenges of being a work-at-home career professional is that if I don’t have a networking meeting or a lunch date, it’s easy to go an entire day without going out. So I make it a point to spend a portion of each day outdoors. Since lunch may well be too hot to sit out, summer means having breakfast on the terrace.
This is just one of the rituals I use to make sure summer is truly a unique time of the year. We wait for it all winter, and then it goes by so fast. I want to make sure that in September when they ask me “How was your summer?” my answer will be “Great!”
Very often I hear others reply, “It was good. You know, work like any other time of year.” That’s an unfortunate answer, because summer is different. There are opportunities that come up in the summer that won’t come up again, unless of course you’re lucky enough to live in a climate with pleasant temperatures year-round. But even then, with a little effort, it’s possible to create summers that really stand out from the rest of the year and are filled with fun and healthy activities.
1. Visualize your last summer. What would you like to do this summer that you couldn’t do during the rest of the year? Write down your ideas both big and small. Go to the beach, have a barbecue, have a picnic or learn to surf! Think about the things you did as a child that made summer special. Riding a bike, treats from the ice cream truck, reading in a hammock! Keep the list visible and start scheduling some of these things on your calendar. If you only think about them, it is very likely that the summer will fly by without them happening.
2. Spend as much time as possible outdoors. Research has shown that sunlight can improve your mood by activating secrets of mood-enhancing chemicals and reducing or stopping the secretion of hormones that cause melancholy. The options are endless. Outdoor meals, coffee breaks outside the office, walks after dinner. Change your exercise sessions indoors to outdoors. Maybe even try something new, like rollerblading, tennis, or swimming in the city pool.
3. Savor summer fruits and vegetables and support your local farmers market. The abundance of seasonal produce available at this time of year makes eating healthy during the summer a doddle. If you’re lucky enough to have a local farmers market, you can make grocery shopping fun instead of a chore. Vendors love to share recipes, so don’t be afraid to ask and experiment with some of the lesser-known product varieties you’ll find.
4. Plan a vacation, even if it’s just for a day. There’s nothing like time off to refresh and rejuvenate you, as long as you truly turn it into a vacation. Set your out-of-office email autoresponder, ditch the business magazines and grab a juicy novel, and let your office and colleagues know you’re not available. If you can’t get away for an extended vacation, take a mini. A day out can do the trick, and local hotels often charge a nominal fee to spend the day at their pool and spa. Take a long weekend at the beach or in the mountains. Check the parks and recreation departments in neighboring cities, and you may find some walking and biking trails you didn’t know existed.
5. Light up! Swap out your favorite perfume or cologne for a light, fruity or citrus-based scent. Replace heavy makeup with tinted moisturizers and lip glosses. Enjoy easy or no-cook light meals like salads, cold soups, sandwiches, or even breakfast for dinner. Put away the heavy comforters and treat yourself to a lighter blanket or nice sheets. On cooler nights, open the windows and turn off the air conditioning. You’ll save on electricity and reap the benefits of fresh air. And if possible, take advantage of customer and associate vacations and lighten your workload.
6. Stay healthy. Be sure to wear sunscreen, exercise early in the morning or at night to avoid excessive heat, and increase your water intake. If you bike, hike, or camp in wooded areas, use insect repellant sprays and check your body from head to toe when you return indoors. When gardening, wear long sleeves, pants, and light gloves. Know what poison ivy looks like and check the area before you dive in. Heed warnings of high tides or jellyfish on the beach, and don’t dive into lakes or streams that aren’t clear for swimming.
When September arrives, I hope you look back and have memories of a great summer. Remember, they don’t happen magically. Plan it and the next two months will be filled with good health and lots of fun.
