During the summer months, our schedules tend to open up or slow down compared to the school year. With all of this extra time that the summer months bring us, it is important to utilize that time in a way that will benefit you as a whole. Our suggestion would be to utilize that extra time to engage in some additional self-care activities that you may not have the availability to engage in when the calendar is jam-packed.
First and foremost, take advantage of the summer’s pleasant weather and boost your outside time! It’s so easy to take these months for granted. Being more mindful about spending time outside will not only boost your emotional health, but it will encourage the rest of the family to spend some more time outdoors, too. Spending time outdoors has shown to improve self-esteem, reduce stress, promote creativity, and improve cognitive ability and functioning. In addition, the fresh air and sunshine will innately increase positive endorphins. For more on the benefits of being outdoors, check out The Pragmatic Parent.
Our second summer self-care activity is to put aside multi-tasking. Although it is tempting to multi-task to “get more done,” it is so much more efficient to focus on just one task at a time. Focus on the present moment and limit yourself to only concentrating on one task, despite your temptations to do more. This will reduce the stress of multi-tasking and allow you to go about your day more mindfully – and more efficiently. One great way to be more mindful while doing tasks is to imagine you are doing that task for the first time, talking to yourself through performing the task. For example, if you are brushing your teeth you can say “I am putting toothpaste on my toothbrush” or “I am putting my toothbrush away.” Jaclyn Alper, MA, LPC shares more on “Mindful Tasks” on her blog.
Lastly, make sure to reflect on your day. It’s important to stay mindful throughout the summer days since they feel like they go by so quickly. A fun activity for you and your family to do at the end of each day would be to complete a reflection worksheet or start a reflection journal. This is a fun and simple way to remember all the fun things you did over the summer! Reflecting on your day is a great self-care activity and creates appreciation and gratitude for your experiences. It also allows you to focus on the positives that you experienced, rather than any negatives that may have occurred. Check out these reflection worksheets that you and your family can utilize to reflect on your fun summer days!
Engaging in these three self-care activities is a great way to enjoy more out of your summer and will help you live more abundantly and mindfully. It’s important that we take the opportunity to introduce new self-care activities and enjoy the benefits that summer has to offer! Another fun way to continue your summer self-care routine is to check into Carrie Rad’s youtube channel, where she is focusing on summer self-care routines.
I hope this has served you and you find the time this summer to engage in as many self-care activities as possible. For more ideas on embracing summer self-care opportunities, check out Psych Central’s rundown of 10 self-care activities for the summer!