Most people look at routines and habits as tools to grow and better themselves within their professional or academic lives, but the buck does not stop there! After all, many of us want to stay on track and get stuff done in our personal lives as well. Whether that means taking on and dedicating yourself to new hobbies, spending time hanging out and connecting with friends, or finding mindfulness and focusing inward, let's try it with routines this summer 2021.
Make it a Statement
It might seem easy to think of things that you would like to begin now that it is summer and people feel more confident about socializing, but just pick one for now!
Make it a sentence long statement and write it down somewhere noticeable. Our suggestion would be to take your favorite summer photo or find one on Pinterest and set it as your iPhone or computer background. Some examples are below.
We are big fans of lowering that initial bar here at Brili and think starting with one simple over arching goal for this summer can be powerful. Make it light and yes of course slightly ambiguous, don't be too specific! Specifics, usually get us tied up spending more time overthinking things than actually doing them. "Have Fun" is good but give it a little more than that, focus then on the "who with?", "the where?" or most importantly "the why?".
Routines Are Creative
Whether you believe this or not right now is not the idea. When I or anyone else on the Brili team thinks about routines, we see all the different ways in which you all, our community, have shown us they can be done successfully. There is no one right way to build a routine, there are better and worse techniques and it is about finding the technique that works for you.
Staying on time has far more benefits than just staying clean and getting things done. Routines conceptualized the right way can work wonders.
Treat this summer as your period of getting to know routines and structuring your time for certain things. Bring yourself and your creativity into as much of your routines as you can, summer is a great time to experiment!
Keep This In Mind
Continue to look at routines in a new light, as flexible, as unique, as extensions of your creativity in structuring your own time. Approach each routine you create with that conceptualization and you summer "goal statement" in mind. Make sure to add at least one task to every routine you create that is creative, fun and works towards your "goal statement" for the summer.
You may think that summers are a time to throw structure to the wind and "enjoy life to the fullest", but not all of us know what that looks like. Not all of us can let go and trust everything will just workout. The possibilities you open up when using routines as a tool to build on your interests, stay connected with family and friends and have some fun, will make this summer of 2021 something to remember!