Creating Personal Summer Goals

Summer is my time “off” from homeschooling so the first week of June is always a sigh of relief.  However, around here the list of summer duties can be never ending as we plant and tend our garden and fields, can vegetables, harvest hay, make jam and get kids to summer activities while also making time to relax. Inevitably, I begin adding more and more items to my to do list. By August, I wonder where the summer went!  I’m sure you can relate! Creating personal summer goals can allow you to use the summer hours wisely, accomplishing and enjoying what is most important to you this summer.

Summer can also be a perfect time to practice creating goals if “learning how to set goals” is one of your summer goals:).  Three months is long enough to satisfy a long term goal planner but still brief enough to feel doable to a short term goal planner.  Learn more about your unique goal setting style here.

So here are 4 tips for creating personal summer goals.

First,  start with just making a rough list of ideas and things you would like to accomplish.

Do you want to plan a vacation to the beach, eat funnel cake at the fair, have some cook-outs, paint your house, start a neighborhood book club, take the kids to the museum, have a garage sale or update your resume?  Have fun brainstorming and write down anything that comes to mind. Sometimes, I ask my kids if they have any ideas too.

Then laugh at yourself!  If your list is anything like mine you realize its too long!  That’s ok.  Right now we are just dreaming.

Next, circle the items on your list that are most important.

Think backwards if that helps.  At the end of summer, you would LOVE to look back and say you did __________ this summer.  I love when I am allowed to focus on what I would be EXCITED to do, rather than thinking in terms of what I feel I should do.  My brain seems to go immediately to what I “should do”.  So, I’m giving us all permission to think of what we would LOVE to achieve this summer.

Prioritize, what is most important as you are creating your personal summer goals.  And then add in a few things that you would like to accomplish after you see what time will allow.

Thirdly, write down the first step you would need to take for each goal.

I learned this concept years ago and found it life changing.  Often we hesitate on our goals because we haven’t mentally made the first decision.  For example, if you would LOVE to take a vacation do you want to decide where to go first or is your family schedule so hectic that you need to find a date that works first, then work out from there.  Or if you would feel accomplished updating your resume this summer what is the first action you need to take?  Do you need to get some resume books from the library, ask your friend to look over your old one or research resume tips online?

What is holding your back from starting to take action on your goal?  Think about it as you are creating your personal summer goals and then make that first decision.

Lastly, create actionable steps.

There is nothing more detrimental to your summer goals than a lack of specific actions.  Make sure your goal is an actual goal and not just an idea.  Goals have action steps and an end date.  So instead of saying, ” I would like to have some friends over this summer,” you can state, “I would like to have 2-3 families over twice a month for a cook-out on the weekend.”

If you have a big goal, like planning a summer vacation, break it down into small steps (setting a date, reserving a hotel, finding pet care, etc) so you can be working toward it a little at a time.

As you are creating your personal summer goals, have fun!  Then, while you work on projects don’t forget to enjoy the process as you complete your goals and learn.  And of course, make time to spend with those you love on those long summer evenings!