I’m hoping you’ve had a chance to chat with your family about summer plans, if not, there’s still time! Even if you are reading this in July, I’m a firm believer in the idea that it is never too late to start. Imagine where you can be if you start today. Even just a few weeks of an intentional summer is better than none. If you haven’t already, go back and read the first blog post in this series here. You’ll learn about summer dreaming as a family and how to make plans that are specific for your family’s needs.

From Dreaming to Doing

In the last post I identified themes for my family’s summer: Adventure, Discover and Rest.

1. Take a quick minute to write out your own summer themes. I’ve created this worksheet to walk you through each step. Download it here.
   
   Don’t skip this part! Writing your thoughts out on paper is a powerful tool that helps you process and remember your ideas which leads to better outcomes and follow through (check out this article in Forbes).
   
   Now let’s work on a simple plan to implement your summer goals.
   
   
2. Under each theme set one to three goals you’d like to accomplish by the end of summer break. Try to make them specific and measurable. I strongly suggest no more than three. Summer will go by quickly, and you don’t want to give yourself a bunch of tasks you don’t have enough time to complete.

Here are my themes and goals as an example.

Adventure

1. Take three day trips: Aquatica, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld or Kennedy Space Center.
2. Play outside for two hours every day.

Discover

1. Have family devotions at least three times a week.
2. Participate in Family Summer Book Club via zoom.
3. Teach the boys three new life skills (examples: doing dishes, laundry, learning to cook/bake an item of their choosing, tying their shoes, etc.)

Rest

1. Have at least one family meal every day.
2. Pursue time with friends by having “playdates” at least twice a month.
3. Embrace schedule-free days. (Resist feeling obligated to plan activities for the boys every day of summer break)

With your goals written down you now have a general outline of how you want your summer to look. Remember nothing is set in stone and you have permission to change your mind. These goals are not meant to box you in, but instead be a road map to follow. You are the driver; your goals are just a tool to get you to where you want to be.

Baby Steps

Sometimes when I look at a specific goal it feels completely overwhelming to the point of ignoring it all together. Inevitably weeks or months go by, and I’m discouraged that I haven’t made any progress.

The most success I’ve had in avoiding this disappointment is to make an easy to do list for each goal. Make the items on the list simple and doable in a short period of time. The easier the tasks are to complete, the more likely you are to finish them.

For example, one of my goals is to host a Zoom book club for me and my boys with my sisters, my niece, and my mom. Everyone has already agreed to participate, but here’s a list of tasks I need to complete to make progress on this goal:

• Pick the book we will read
• Set the first Zoom meeting (Date/Time)
• Read the first half of the book aloud to the boys
• Plan discussion questions or a fun activity for the group to do based on the reading

Most of these items I can spread out over the first half of the summer. Suddenly this seemingly large, cumbersome goal feels much more manageable.

Give Yourself Deadlines

Now go back and put due dates on each task you’ve identified. You may even wish to add these deadlines into your reminder app on your phone (or whatever scheduling/calendar system you use) so you don’t forget.

Pivot

Congratulations! You’ve created an awesome outline for your summer.

Your goals and the tasks you’ve written down for each will serve as a road map for your summer break. But like every family road trip, summer break will likely bring you some unexpected detours. From flat tires to bad weather, the best laid plans often must change. Don’t stress or worry, instead pivot and take a detour. Life happens and you’ll need to adjust with it. No need to throw out the plan completely, simply go back and tweak what is needed.

In my next post we’ll wrap up this summer goal setting series with a few tricks I’ve learned that have helped me see progress on my goals and streamline my efforts – think less work with bigger results. You will not want to miss it!

PS: A lot of the methods I use to I set my goals I’ve learned from the experts at Cultivate What Matters. If goal setting is something you’d like to learn more about, I highly recommend you check out their goal setting products and follow them in social media.