Now that we've all gotten our week of being lazy and avoiding looking at our grades out of the way, it's time to figure out what we're doing this summer. For many of us, this means jobs, internships or professionalism-building activities. But on the flip side, we still tend to find we have a lot more free time than during the year. Most of us (myself included) have used it for just relaxing or binge watching Netflix in the past, but there are tons of things that we could easily be doing this summer to improve our lives. Here's just a few to consider before you click start on the first season of our newest show.

1. Learn a language.

OK, so this is a bit misleading. Learning a language is a lifelong endeavor (speaking from the perspective of a Spanish/French major), but you can get a really good start on your language abilities by spending just 20 minutes a day learning something new! You'll find that if you just spend those 20 minutes where you would have been scrolling through Twitter on a language learning website, then you'll improve immensely by the end of the summer! Many of these can be done on your smartphone (I enjoy playing on them while I'm biking at the gym). Plus you'll impress all your friends next fall by being able to order your food/marg in Spanish at your local Mexican restaurant.

Recommendations: DuoLingo, Memrise, Babel

2. Work on your fitness.

Odds are that everyone has thought about doing a "Get fit this summer and impress all my friends in the fall" plan, and odds are that it didn't work out (I may or may not be speaking from experience). This shouldn't discourage you! With all your free time, try taking more walks, possibly getting a gym membership and going a few times a week or just improving upon your already set gym regimen. Focus on doing activities that you enjoy that are more physical, and you'll find that you're truly enjoying being active. Whether this is running, biking, lifting or hiking, this won't be time wasted.

Recommendations: Discover the Forest, "15 Former Couch Potatoes Share Their Best Tips For Getting In Shape"

3. Read more.

Many of us haven't read a book for pleasure in a long time. Why not change this? Try starting out by reading 20 pages before you go to bed each night of something you've been meaning to read. Soon enough, your inner bookworm will come out. Although you might not have time to continue this hobby in the school year, you'll get a few books done during the summer, and be able to brag about reading all the books before the movies come out!

Recommendations: "Another Day" by David Levithan, the "Miss Peregrine" series by Ransom Riggs, "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling

4. Save up money.

You know when your friends ask you to go out during the semester, and you have to debate on whether you want to eat for the next two days or have a night of debauchery? Well, debate no more if you decide to spend the summer letting the Benjamin's roll in. Make yourself a budget during the summer to assure that you won't spend everything once the direct deposit hits, and then enjoy the little bit of extra cash during the semester.

Optional Challenge: Put the extra cash in a savings account intended for your future after graduation rather than actually spending it the next academic year.

Recommendations: movie theaters (always need summer staff for the summer blockbusters), any fast food restaurant (always hiring), local businesses

5. Explore!

If you have the ability, expand your horizons and visit someplace you've never been before! This can be within your state, your country or the world! There are numerous day trips that can be done from any city to a local state park, or you can take a weekend trip to a bigger city you've never seen. If you're feeling especially adventurous, I'd recommend taking the entire summer to go explore a new country/continent or study abroad in another country.

Recommendations: CEA Study Abroad, Sygic Travel, "Planning for a Backpacking Trip"

6. Volunteer.

Volunteering is by far one of my favorite activities in the world. Spending a summer volunteering is not only a great way to build a resume, but also a good way to get in touch with your community. There are many local and national nonprofits within a fair driving distance of any town, and establishing a volunteering position with those organizations can be rewarding on every level. Many of them can be flexible to find positions that fit your professional interests or personal interests, which will help you out when you're looking for jobs in the near future. Take a friend or two with you and make a summer out of it!

Optional Challenge: Combine the last two steps and take a summer to volunteer abroad! (Just make sure to not take a "voluntourism" trip that has you there for profile picture opportunities rather than actual work)

Recommendations: Volunteer Match, Go Abroad, local nursing homes/animal shelters

7. Work on your mental health.

Let's face it: College is super stressful. We don't give enough importance to the value of mental health in our society, and the summer is the perfect time to work on yours. Everyone handles this differently, but if you start searching for activities that help you get in touch with yourself, you'll see improvements in your stress management abilities for the academic year and an overall improvement in your mental health. If you find those one or two activities that help, then you will be more inclined to include these in your daily regimen during the semester.

Recommendations: mandala coloring, yoga

Any activity in this image

Try one or two of these out, and then marvel at how productive you can be!