How Learning to Manage Downtime Can Be the Best Thing You Learn This Summer
What are you doing your last summer before college? Maybe you are going on a special trip. Maybe you’re working. Maybe you’re catching up on the shows you didn’t have time to watch during the school year.
If you’re used to a hectic schedule, you may find that this in-between is difficult. While you may have more “free” time, you probably feel like you don’t know what to do with the downtime you have on a daily basis. Between going on a trip or working a job, you feel like you’re just trying to kill the time before the school year starts.
Learning to manage your downtime this summer can be one of the most useful accomplishments you achieve during summer break. This skill is one you will use over and over again in future summers. So how can you deal with the boredom and loneliness that you may feel? Invest your downtime in these 4 important areas.
Invest in relationships.
You are entering a new stage of life—adulthood. Most of the relationships that you develop will be different than your past relationships. Your friendships, romantic relationships, and even family relationships will be different from what they were in high school.
This summer is a good time to analyze and invest in important relationships. Start by analyzing your relationships. Sometimes taking a step back in your romantic relationships, family relationships, and friendships is important. Why? Your relationships reflect who you are, who you want to be, and who you will become.
So how can you analyze your relationships? Begin by identifying what people in your life are most important to you. Narrow these people down to a list of 5-10. Ranking your family, boyfriend or girlfriend, and friends will feel odd. Remember this is just an exercise, and it’s feeling weird is probably a good thing.
Now think about these 5-10 people. What characteristics do they have that you want to imitate? For example, when I think of one of these relationships, I have a specific person in mind. This person is incredibly kind, encouraging, and thoughtful. These are all areas in which I would like to grow. I want to be more like this person.
If, however, you can think of few to little things that you would like to mimic from these relationships, you might want to reevaluate why you’re close with these people. Unfortunately, some relationships only drag you down, changing you into a person you know you shouldn’t be or don’t want to be.
As a side note, sometimes family members can be the relationships that drag you down. I would encourage you to make these people a part of your life in at least a small way regardless (unless the family member is physically, sexually or emotionally abusive). Family is important and cannot be replaced with any other relationship.
Continue to invest in important relationships. This may mean making more time for relationships you already have, but it may also mean beginning new relationships. Be willing to do both, even when spending time with that person isn’t always convenient for you.
So how can you invest in already established relationships? Being a true friend requires that you give as well as receive. Learning how to invest in relationships means you need to know these people well. Discover their likes and their dislikes as well as what they value.
For example, some people value merely spending time together. They do not care that much about what they’re doing. They care far more about with whom they’re spending time. So, with this kind of a friend, you would want to make sure that you spend quality time with just that person where you can enjoy each other’s company.
Realize that the things you value or like may not be the same. Intentionally plan to communicate care for that person in a way that that person will appreciate. Your investment will not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Choose to invest in the important relationships in your life. When college begins, you will have less time to devote to relationships back home. So choose to give while you have the time to do so.
Invest in personal growth.
This summer is the perfect time to work on yourself. What areas do you want to improve in your life? What skills do you want to develop? What bad habits do you want get rid of?
Start by making a list of these things. They don’t have to be big. In fact, the more specific they are, the easier time you will have improving them. Then, pick 2-5 of them from your list, and write out what specific outcome you want to see by the time college starts.
Next, write out the steps you will take. Find an accountability partner—a sibling, a parent, a friend, etc. Figure out what consequence you will give yourself if you fail to follow your steps.
Here is how this could look like in action: You want to start establishing a good exercise routine before going to college. You decide your goal for the end of the summer will be to exercise for at least 20 minutes, 5 days a week. You break down this goal into steps: you will run for 3 days each week, and you will use weights on the days in between. You know you should start small, so you decide during the first week you will run at least 1 day and use a workout routine for 2 days. Once you establish this routine, you up your running to 2 days each week. Then, not long after, you push yourself to the full routine. You tell your friend that if you miss one day of exercise, you have to buy his or her meal next time you eat out. This is motivation for you, because you’re trying to save up for college.
Another way you can invest in personal growth is to prioritize hobbies. That’s right, hobbies. Hobbies matter. Sometimes hobbies can give you insight into who you are and what you truly enjoy. In addition, they can open doors to jobs.
Hobbies include anything that you do merely for pleasure. They can include things you would do even if you had to pay. For example, when I was in high school, I enjoyed art. I was not particularly good at drawing or painting, but I enjoyed creating things. I experimented with different mediums of art throughout high school. While I can’t say this hobby turned into a career, I can say that thinking outside of the box and creating unlikely pairings has influenced my job now.
Choose to invest in your hobbies this summer with your downtime. You never know how these little things can benefit you in the future. Pick one or two things you truly enjoy, and invest good amounts of time to developing those skills.
You will not regret investing in growing personally. Choose to use this summer break to grow yourself. Once school starts, you will have little time for anything but schoolwork.
Invest in reflection.
Assessing your past choices provides opportunity to learn and grow. Whether you regret your decisions or not, looking back on the past can help you plan for the future. Use this summer as a time to reflect.
In my post “4 Realizations You After Graduating From High School,” I share feelings that you may experience after this big milestone of high school graduation. These 4 realizations are completely normal and taking some time to reflect on each of them is smart.
First, reflect on the fact that life truly moves quickly. Reflecting on the fact that life moves quickly will help you choose to make wise choices. Think about what you want to accomplish in the next 5 years and who you want to be in the next 5 years. These goals won’t happen by accident. You have to intentionally plan for them.
Second, reflect on the fact that your choices matter. Considering what past choices led you to where you are today can be a healthy practice. Although you cannot change the past, you can use the past as a lesson to learn from for the future. Be intentional about your choices rather than resigning to your feelings in the moment.
Third, reflect on the fact that expectations become higher. Now that you are an adult, your decisions carry more weight. They have a longer impact and greater consequences. Choose to accept this responsibility and take ownership of your life, education, grades, etc.
Fourth, reflect on the fact that relationships change. Your relationships with your parents, siblings, friends, and boyfriend or girlfriend will change. In fact, they’ve changed some in high school already. Once you are separated from these important people, your relationships will continue to evolve. They won’t be the same for better or worse.
As a word of caution, do not get stuck in reflection. While some reflection can be healthy, getting stuck in constantly analyzing everything can cripple you. Choose to reflect, assess, learn, and move on. Do not get stuck in an endless cycle of reflection. View your past mistakes as lessons from which you can learn and plan for the future.
Invest in your health.
I once chatted with a college freshman who shared this concern: he wished people had told him how important it is to take care of his health before he came to college. I have to say that staying healthy at college was not my strong point. While I worked hard to get enough sleep and eat regular meals, I didn’t prioritize exercising. I regret this choice.
You have to make a choice now, before you even arrive on campus, to make your health a priority. When school starts picking up, you are often going to have to choose between studying enough for your test and getting sleep, between spending some time with friends and eating a healthy meal, or between exercising and finishing reading for a class. These choices can be difficult, because both choices are good things. How can you possibly make a choice?
Start setting up patterns of healthy living this summer. Prioritize sleeping, eating well, and exercising. Staying up late and waking up late on a regular basis may let you socialize more, but both habits set up bad patterns for when the school year starts. Start creating a more regulated sleep routine now, so that when college arrives you have already established in this good habit.
For example, start making yourself be in bed, lights off, and phone away by midnight each night. Even if you struggle to fall asleep, your body will eventually adjust to this sleep schedule. Choose to wake up by at least 9 every morning, even when you aren’t working. Charge your phone somewhere far away, causing you to have to get out of bed to turn off your alarm. Creating a good night and morning routine now will help you be prepared to stick to a good pattern in college.
Eating healthy during the summer is difficult. There are so many delicious but unhealthy foods that are part of summer activities. While you certainly can indulge in the occasional fatty or sugary food, do not make these kinds of food a regular part of your diet. Your body needs good fuel to help you perform well even when stressed.
Choosing to eat well now will help you once you reach college. You will be used to passing on the bad foods and choosing the good foods. When others are gaining the freshman 15, you will maintain your weight.
Staying active is key to staying healthy. At the beginning of the semester, students usually have big plans to stick to an intense exercise routine. But, as life gets busy, they soon stop exercising as much or even at all. Get yourself into the habit of exercising regularly now, so that when college starts you are in a good routine.
The hardest part of exercising is sticking to a routine, so start with the goal of faithfully sticking to a routine. For example, start everyday with a simple task of a few exercises like pushups, sit-ups, crunches, etc. Make yourself stick to this routine no matter what happens. Then once you consistently stick to those few exercises, add days of more intense working out like running or biking.
Learning how to handle downtime now will help you be miles ahead of other college students and adults. Take time this summer to invest in relationships, personal growth, reflection, and health. You find that managing your downtime well will truly be one of the most valuable skills you possess.
