5 Steps to Make The Most of Your Summer When You Work Full-time.

As the earth tilts on its axis and the sunlight sprinkles in through office windows onto workers who dream of sipping Mai Tai’s on a beach. The dreaded reality sets in that Monday through Friday 9-5 masses all of the world are stuck staring at computer screens. And after what felt like one wasted summer last year during my first summer working full-time I decided this summer will be different. And here’s the 5 steps I am implementing to make the most of my summer.

A bucket list is wonderful for many reasons. Firstly, if you’re anything like me and you enjoy checking things off a list. It’s a great way to keep track of all you have done and all of what you have left to do. Secondly, it forces you to be thoughtful and intentional with what you really want to do. That way after a long day at work when the decision fatigue eventually catches up to you (because it does) you already have your options listed out. Summer is also only three months so it forces you to be realistic, maybe in the next three months a week-long national parks trip is NOT feasible. But a weekend trip to a local state park is much more doable. Both big and small things should go on this list including: restaurants you want to try locally, big trips you’ve been planning, day trips you want to try, and any local activities that happen in the summer.

As a 9-5-er myself I totally understand just wanting to hermit away on the weekends sleeping all day, binge watching new shows, or doom scrolling. I am totally guilty of all three of them, but the truth is summer doesn’t last forever unless you live in one of those amazing climates – I’m looking at you Texas and Florida. But for me, I live in Michigan and we’re lucky at this point if we get 4-5 months of warmer weather (thanks global warming). All of that is to say we only get 16-20 weekends with warm weather which means you need to make the most of it. Do your laundry and grocery shopping during your weekdays so Saturday and Sunday you can take a day trip to the lake. Or you can leave early on a Friday to get the long drive in for a trip so you can enjoy 2 nights at a hotel you’ve dreamed of staying at. And that leads into my next point.

When you are at work five out of the seven days at work your ‘long’ weekends are going to become your best friends. Personally, this is my first official 9-5 job and it is stifling to go from working weekends and random hours to having a set schedule every week and having to rely on 2 days of PTO per month. IT’S JUST CRIMINAL. But unfortunately this is the life of many Americans so you have to really make your PTO work for you, which is why holidays are wonderful. Now summer doesn’t have many holidays. Memorial Day and July 4th are pretty much it. But Memorial Day is May 29th, a Monday, so you could use your PTO on a Friday and have a 3 night vacation and be back to work Monday morning. OR maybe you want to be a little bit more crazy, leave for your trip May 27th and use 4 days of PTO Tuesday - Friday and have a 9 day adventure. This is the type of stacking that will truly save you from blowing through your PTO and you’re not traveling on the designated holiday because let’s face it holiday travel is a nightmare for all parties involved.

This has been incredibly important for me to learn as I have transitioned from college and retail into the working class with a 9-5 and a salary. My first couple of weeks I would come home and be so tired I would turn off my brain and binge watch yet another season of Gilmore Girls or doom scroll on TikTok for endless hours. And that is its own negative habit I’ve been working on. But it’s made me realize that my 5-9 can be incredibly productive if I allow it to be. This summer I intend to use my 5-9 to tackle some of my smaller goals. And I suggest this to everyone. Your day doesn’t just end at 5pm when you clock out. Invite some friends out to dinner with you to try that restaurant. Have a bonfire in your backyard (if possible). Pack your dinner on the go and go watch the sunset by your local lake. Read some of that book that’s been sitting on the shelf. Fly that kite. Swing in your hammock until it’s dark. Do the things that you can when you are not at work because you will feel immensely better about doing all of those things instead of wasting another summer inside.

Big trips are amazing, they’re hotels, dinners, traveling with friends or family, they’re memorable. But they are not the ONLY way to travel. Your 30 minute trips to a town over are just as memorable as the 4 hour drive trips. In fact I would argue that perhaps the unintended, last minute, shorter trips can be just as magical if not MORE magical than the big planned trips. If you don’t have the money, or time for a big trip that doesn’t mean your summer is wasted. You can find some really wonderful local gems that might be more cost effective near you. I think back to some of my favorite activities from previous summers. For example, waking up on a Saturday morning deciding it was beautiful and I wanted to go out to the lake. So I packed my bags, changed into my swimsuit, brought a sandwich, and a reusable bag for chips. I filled up my water bottle and spent the whole day on the water. The only thing that cost me money that day was the gas I used, but it was well worth it. When you’re making your bucket list if you know that a big trip is not on the docket for you, that’s okay! Look around your area, ask some friends about favorite local or nearby things they do and do day trips!

All in all there is something amazing about the summer. While it can feel like a waste sitting in an office chair 9-5 dreaming about cocktails on a Caribbean beach the reality is, it is your reality for some reason or another (those pesky bills!). But that doesn’t mean you can’t get the most out of your summer. Even if that just means playing yacht rock, drinking a Daily’s Frozen Mai Tai that you got at the grocery store for a dollar, and kicking your feet up as you play ocean sound effects on your TV. That’s you making the best with what you have and I fully support that! Go out and make the best of your summer no matter what!