We are already in the middle of June….Summer is only another 6 weeks!
What?!
That can’t be right.
Yep, school starts back for most the first week of August. By the way I am so glad I went to school when we got out by Memorial day and didn’t go back until Labor Day – I would be ticked if they stole a month of my summer!
Let me guess in your mind summer means slowing down, vacations, resting, relaxing a little more but in reality, well it is just a different kind of busy.
I get it. I do. It happens for a few reasons:
1) Your phone and home are your work place.
Working at home means always working. Remember how excited everyone was to skip the commutes, work from home and have a more simple life. About that, some of us ended up working more hours and having less time off because between the phone and laptop we were never really “off”. The laptop on the island or kitchen table is always there and you literally carry your work around in your pocket on your phone.
We thought it would even out but it seems like we are going to have to set some boundaries or get consumed by all the work that never stops coming.
2) Your brain is tired.
You have done a great job through the last 18 months, you really have. You made so many adjustments, so many new decisions, had so many frustrations, lost moments and all with an unrelenting low-level frantic vibe circulating in the air, your brain is tired.
In part because of #1 above you have a hard time turning off your brain at the end of the day or on the weekend. Your mind doesn’t turn off. So, a couple more things to do feels like 10 times that.
3) You’ve Forgotten busyness is a choice
I stole this from writer/podcaster Carey Nieuwhof but he says it so well.
You’re as busy as you want to be. No more, no less.
Most days this is hard to remember. The vortex of busyness draws you in deeply and regularly.
A few days ago I was on my front porch early in the morning while the sun rose and I listened to the birds. They weren’t rushed at all. Nor were the trees, or the grass. Or the sky.
The chaos I feel is, for the most part, internally generated.
I’m as busy as I want to be.
So are you.
So what do we do to slow summer down?
One of the things I remember most about summers is how the days did seem slower. When I look back I remember as little boys we ran through the sprinklers while my parents sipped Ice Tea. There was time for playing catch in the backyard with my dad and brother. We played family card games at the kitchen table after dinner. We shot hoops in the driveway at night.
Nothing exotic, nothing expensive just spending time doing nothing in particular. When I look back some of those seems seemed to last forever.
I am not trying to go all “Mayberry” on you! The world is different now but the principle is the same.
If you want to slow down, you have to spend time.
It will have to be a conscious decision for you and your crew. But it is worth it.
It you want summer to slow down. Spend time together doing nothing in particular. Grill some hamburgers and eat them as you splash around in the pool. Stream a movie and eat popcorn and M&Ms for dinner. Take a drive to somewhere and cool off for a day or the weekend. Explore a small town or some hiking trails. You get the idea.
By the way, I have no intention of making you feel guilty...just the opposite. You need the break and the slow down. If you do have some guilt twinges....check out a recent message on how to drop your Guilt Baggage.
Summer is half over, make the next half the best half. Spend the time to slow it down!
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