For those of us who endured the perils of Finals Week, we can proudly announce that summer vacation is here! With that, our first thought is usually, “time to sleep away the cares of the world and be a unproductive member of society” or something of the sort. But before you settle in, here are a few things you should know about managing your time over the summer. If you do choose to Netflix your summer into oblivion though, that’s also an option.
1. Get a job!
There is nothing more dissatisfying than having no income for summer. In fact if you live in the city, not having money could make the summer almost impossible to enjoy. What’s the point of having all of this free time if you end up doing exactly what you would do on any Saturday at school? On top of that, you’re probably not into borrowing money from your parents through the school year either, so savings are a major key!
3. Prepare your mind
No one on earth knows everything! You should spend your summer months with that spirit and continue to feed your brain. IF you have hard courses coming up, start “taking them” this summer. If you’re graduating, start teaching yourself the job now. It can’t hurt to exercise your brain while you’re (hopefully) exercising your body. Make a reading list and get cracking, and try not to get distracted with too much fun.
4. Get connected
Regardless of where you’re working or what you’re doing, always look to meet new people. The summer can be an important opportunity to build relationships that could take you further than you could have imagined. You could possibly even meet professionals who aren’t looking to hire someone right now, but will remember you for the future. Every new phone number from a professional is a networking opportunity.
5. Build your brand
Use this opportunity to build and perfect your résumé. If you're thinking about graduate school, start working on your personal statement and trying to ace the GREs. Make sure you use this time to make yourself as professionally appealing as possible, that way you won’t actually have to do much when career fairs and graduate school conferences roll around.
6. Work on a project
Whether you’re doing research or building something on your own, you should be working on some kind of project to add to your portfolio. Even if you don’t finish, you can still build the skills that you need for the future by doing something productive outside of school. Plus, you’ll get major cool points for doing what you love even when it’s not graded.
7. Don’t stress out!
This is the single most important thing on the list. The summer may seem daunting when you have a million things to do in a millionth of the time it takes to do them. The most important thing to remember is you can do anything. Don’t let everything on your list overwhelm you with anxiety, just tackle it one by one. Wanting everything to happen overnight is the easiest way to stop progress.
So I hope this all has either informed you on some new things that you should be getting done right now, or motivated you to start picking things off of your list. Every time you see something incomplete on your summer checklist, let that motivate you to get something done every day. Stay productive during your summer vacation!
