During this summer, we all have plans. Either you are working, doing an internship, planning your future traveling around the world, taking care of your family, or something else that probably is a little less productive than the things listed above.
I am sure when you imagine your summer, you probably don't imagine sitting at your desk and working a 9 to 5 job every day of the week. Instead you are probably thinking of your weekends full of hanging with your friends and doing the unthinkable or the usual, whether that's something legal or not. All you remember about summer is the great fourth of July barbecue at your block party and one of your best friends' birthdays. By the way, he is turning 21 this year, so that's one less thing on your list of illegal things to do.
But then, when you are sitting at your desk, all you can think about is how much fun all of your friends are having out tanning at the beach and visiting new exotic countries while you are double-checking the numbers you plugged into the credits side because it doesn't equal the debits on your cash flow chart. You look at the stack of papers you have to go through by the end of the week and realize it is only Tuesday, the day after the dreadful Monday, which means you still have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at work until you are home free (for the next two days).
But worry not, because your friends are only half of the picture for your summer. Even if you are working in a super boring job or internship this year, you have something to look forward to. Improving yourself. Normally, I wait until the school year starts to really start to get back into my working phase, but this year as I am traveling and only working a short bit of time, I have decided that I want to take up a few hobbies.
To get on the right track toward a successful summer, I have decided to do a couple of things that, while not immediately progressive, but are indirectly leading me to my goals. This summer I have taken up reading, writing, exploring, cooking and cleaning. These are some of the hobbies and tasks I need to get better at to be successful this upcoming year. But I also want to learn how to code a bit and how to be a professional photographer and play some video games just to keep my fingers sharp, in case of emergencies, of course.
First and foremost, I made a schedule that tells me when to clean, which days I will experiment with my cooking recipes and, obviously, which days I can travel outside of my close vicinity. Reading and writing I do when I have nothing else on my list of plans for the day, as long as Netflix isn't calling my name, at least.
For the other things I want to learn, I use what is arguably one of the greatest inventions ever created by man to help me find what I'm looking for, Google. Using Google, I search the topics I want to learn about.
Whatever you do this summer, please don't spend it wasting time wishing you were doing something that you aren't. Instead, dedicate your time at work to work and your time with friends to your friends. But save some time to see what you can really do on your own. You might end up surprising yourself!
