Summer Reflections: Capture Them Now!

Your summer 2020 self will thank you...

Summer can be a magical time, filled with things we love: family, nature, longer days, playfulness, and adventure. Yet, when September begins, I’ve noticed a tendency in myself to dive into what’s coming: school, schedules, logistics, work projects. All this happens without my pausing to recognize what I’ve gained over the summer, reflect on times I cherished, and mine the lessons I’ve learned for next summer. I’m guessing this happens with you, too.

So, pour your beverage of choice and dig into some of the prompts I’ve outlined below to reflect on your summer.

Big, big picture

How would you capture your summer in an honest headline?

Here’s mine: TRIPS WERE ADVENTURE-FILLED and RESTORATIVE; BALANCING CHILDCARE and WORK...SUBOPTIMAL.

The details

What was the flow of summer, week-by-week? Try to get into the mindsets and realities of each week using the present tense. This may feel tedious, but it will help you recall the details.

For example:

Week 1: Kids are out of school. It’s celebration time! I can’t wait for our trips. It’s nice having downtime with the kids. I book a sitter for their first full day off. That is a mistake. I want to have more time celebrating with them.

Week 2: I am balancing work and kids well. They are happy with the babysitter, and it is the right amount of hours working and hanging out with the kids.

Week 3: Fourth of July week. We are going to Montreal. Packing is a bear- I need more time than I have to help the kids pack for a week at camp…

And so on….

When you’re done with the week-by-week, read over the whole thing. What do you notice?

Vision

Thinking back to the start of summer, what was your vision?

How did reality align with that? Where did it miss the mark?

Consider some of these focus areas. How did you meet your needs in these areas?

Relaxing, restoring

Adventure

Learning/growing

Nature

Health/wellness

Home           

Family/friends/connections with self

What else?

What lessons can you learn from the gap between your vision and reality?

Vacation

If you took a vacation, what did you most love about it?

What was hard or disappointing?

What do you want for your vacation next summer?

Were you truly “off” from work? Or were you checking in? What was the impact on you, your friends, and/or family?

If you are a stay-at-home parent, did vacation feel like a break, or more of the same? What would you change or renegotiate for next vacation?

Kids

If you have kids...

How did your childcare plan work out? What needs to shift for next year?

If you are a stay-at-home parent, what did you enjoy about time with your kids over the summer? What would you change?

Takeaways

Read through what you wrote down. What are 5 key takeaways that you want to remember for next summer? Consider putting these into a calendar entry each month starting from March 2020-August 2020. This will help you plan and implement a purposeful summer 2020!

Interested in working with me?

You can book a complimentary, one-on-one coaching session here to see if we are a good fit. My clients say that I’m curious, intuitive, fun, open, warm hearted, have keen insight, and more! They come away from our time together knowing themselves deeply and able to access their power to build the life they learn for.

-Rebecca