Summertime! It’s when life (supposedly) slows down and you enjoy family, friends, and the great outdoors.
If you’re a writer, the thought of slowing down might freak you out. I get it. My family likes to remind me of the Thanksgiving when I had a deadline hanging over my head. I complained about all the shopping, prepping, cooking, and eating that had to be done. Their perspective helped me change how I thought about the holiday. Yes, I took some time to relax and make memories.
If you’re not under deadline, here are some strategies to help you have a beneficial summer without losing your mind:
Review (or watch) the webinars you’ve paid for that are sitting in your inbox. Give yourself some time to take notes and digest the info that you believed was worth your time and money. Sometimes, I like to review notes from online courses. After some time has passed, some of the points might make more sense.
Adjust your word-count expectations. Adjust them lower, that is. Give yourself a guilt-free break from the grind of productivity. Still try to keep your schedule because writing consistently keeps you in the game. But give yourself the grace of being able to create fewer words per week.
Sketch out some new projects that have been at the back of your mind. Write a few sentences on different books/novels/articles/blog posts that have caught your attention but have been neglected.
Outline a book. Don’t you have a document of “future books” that you’ve filed away? Take a look and see which one deserves to see the light of day. After it’s been off your radar for a while, you might have a fresh take to rev up your enthusiasm for that project.
Read a book on craft. Do you have any books on craft on your shelf that you haven’t read? Or maybe you’ve read it a while ago and reading it again will do you good.
Research. Is there an idea that has been floating in your mind but the research felt daunting? Take a few weeks in the summer to dive in and see if you can pull together all the facts you’ll need for your book.
Read. Give yourself some quality reading time. A few weeks ago, I let my usual busyness go by the wayside and sat outdoors in my chaise lounge to read a 400-word book in just a few days. It was delightful.
Schedule blog posts. Allow yourself time to consider, write, and schedule out some blog posts for the fall when schedules seem to heat up.
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