Guide to having the ultimate productive summer

For most students, summer means lazying about, watching TV, and scrolling through tiktok. That might sound appealling, but is it actually enjoyable? Most people like doing something, and chances are that you won’t have a great summer if you spend it doing nothing all day. You don’t have to make a billion-dollar start-up, but doing something productive this summer will make you feel a lot more fulfilled.

Identify your priorities

Before summer starts, figure out what you actually want to prioritise. If you just want to relax, that’s fine – that’s a completely respectable priority. Alternately, your priorities might be getting ready for the new school year or doing extracurriculars. Whatever your priorities are, make sure you know what they are and what rank they’re in. You sometimes might have to prioritise one thing over another, (like whether to go out with friends or go to an internship) so make sure you’ll be ready for that.

Set some goals

Now that you know what to focus on, set some goals for yourself. Make sure that they’re SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Setting clear goals makes it much easier to achieve them because the roadmap to reaching them becomes a lot more obvious. As a result, you’ll be able to achieve your goals much faster!

Have a project

It’s important to have something to keep you occupied this summer so that you don’t just rot. Try find a project to work on. This is a great way to have fun while exploring one of your interests. It’s also a great way to keep you motivated because you’ll have something fun to work towards. Choose a hobby, then go all-in: a cool project might be crocheting a blanket or making a youtube channel!

Make a calendar

There can be a lot going on during the summer, so make sure you have some sort of system tracking where you’re meant to be. Make sure to note down all your trips, hang outs with friends, internships, or summer camps that you might have. Personally, my favourite way to do this is through Google Calendar, but any sort of planner or scheduling software works.

Find time for fun

Summer is not all about “optimising productivity”, it’s also about having fun. Remember that when you get older, you probably won’t have a 2-month-long summer break, so make the most of this. Make sure that you set aside a few hours each day to work on your hobbies, catch up with friends, or just watch a movie. Give yourself time to relax, and don’t feel pressured to be constantly productive.