I think most people would agree that summer is one of the best times of the year.
Personally, I love summer. It’s a time where one can spend lots of time outdoors, and pursue activities like beach volleyball and having barbeques with friends.
Even though the summers are a time for rest and play, I can remember my best summers as the ones where I worked on something meaningful, like for example working at a job that I really enjoyed.
The summers where I didn’t do anything meaningful were the ones I didn’t feel were so fun.
Even though the summers should be a time where you can rest and “do whatever you want”, the truth is that if you are not progressing you are stagnating.
If you don’t continue working on yourself and progress towards your goals, you have a high risk of developing bad habits, acting on impulses, and not feeling so good about yourself.
That is why it is super important to balance working on something meaningful while also having time to pursue fun activities.
One of the most meaningful activities you can work on is self-development, and implementing better habits is the ultimate way to strengthen yourself and grow as a person.
That is why in this article, we present 5 habits for this summer to develop yourself while also enjoying the summer.
Also for all the Youtube lovers out there, check out the video at the end of this article!
Let’s get started!
1. Journaling
This is an awesome summer habit to start with, and it is super flexible because you can do it however you like. There are so many benefits of journaling which include:
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- Improved memory skills through deliberate repetition of your experiences.
- Remembering incredible memories by documenting your experiences.
- Lightening your heart, by writing thoughts and feelings on paper.
- Designing a great day, by reflecting upon what makes your days good.
- Improved writing skills from constantly revisiting the pencil and paper.
Use this summer to the best of your ability and make sure to document it all in your journal. By writing a journal you will be sure to remember this summer as one of the best ones you’ve had so far.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of keeping a journal and how it can improve your life, make sure to read “9 reasons to start a journal today”, so you can find the inspiration to start right away!
2. Cold Showers
An awesome habit that is just in line with the summer season. There is no better time than now, to begin with cold showers.
There are so many health & cognitive benefits of taking cold showers. Some of them include:
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- Reduced stress levels
- Higher levels of alertness
- More robust immune response
- Increased willpower
- Weight loss
- And many more!
The absolute best thing about cold showering is how alive you feel afterward, and the challenge it brings every morning.
After having a cold shower I feel so much better and more alert throughout the rest of the day!
Try it out and see how cold showers will elevate your summer days. Read our blog post about cold showering so you can learn how to get started right away!
3. Daily exercise
This one seems obvious, and maybe not so difficult to implement during the summer.
This is absolutely the best time of the year to spend the majority of your time outside, and also to incorporate daily exercising into your day.
There is so much research on the benefits of exercise it is almost impossible not to have stumbled across it before! According to HealthLine, some of the best benefits of exercise are:
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- It can make you feel happier
- It can increase energy levels
- It can help your brain health
- Improved sleep
- It can reduce pain
- It can help skin health
In summary, there are so many health benefits of exercising.
For me, the best part of exercising is pushing my body to the limit and sleeping like a baby afterward, and also the feeling of being fit and strong!
Maybe you are wondering how you can incorporate exercise into your day. The easiest is to start incorporating daily exercise into your morning routine.
Exercising during your morning routine means that you will have accomplished the most important task of the day first.
Make sure to read our blog “3 steps to an amazing morning routine” so you can learn how to incorporate exercise into your morning routine and get started right away!
4. Early rising
This one will maybe raise a few eyebrows…
Summer…? Waking up early…?
Hear me out. By waking up early I mean waking up earlier than 10 am at least. I get that you want to have the summers as a time where you can sleep until however long you want but the sad truth is…
The later you sleep, the more tired and depleted you will become.
Our body’s natural rhythm is to wake up with the sun and go to bed when it is dark, so follow your body’s natural rhythm and go to bed when your body tells you to.
Skip the three more series episodes, the social media scrolling, Youtube, and late-night gaming. Trust me on this one.
So how can this work during the summer? Well, the key is to make this habit sustainable, and see where your priorities lie.
If your priority is your health and well being, then go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. A sustainable and good rising time during the summer could be 7-8 am, and sleeping time between 10-12 pm.
Design a perfect summer day and see where your perfect rising and sleeping times are.
Want a challenge?
Maybe you want to give yourself an awesome challenge? Then I highly recommend that you read our blog post about why you should wake up early.
Personally, I believe that waking up at 5 am is the king of good habits.
If you want to give yourself an awesome challenge I highly recommend trying it out. The reward will be worth the effort.
If you’re interested in trying it out, check out our blog post on how you can wake up at 5 am so you can get started right away.
5. Set up goals (using the SMART method)
Without concrete goals, we have no aim, and without an aim how can we know where we are going?
“Without a goal you can’t score” is a very common but very true saying!
Even though the summer should be a time of relaxation and play, working towards a goal is an essential part of feeling joyful and happy as humans.
Learn how to set up goals for this summer, maybe even go further and set up goals for the rest of the year. That way you will know what to focus on this summer so that you can progress towards something better in the future.
So how do you set up goals? One way to do it is through the SMART method. Here’s how it works. A goal should follow these criteria:
S – SPECIFIC – You need to know exactly what it is you want.
M – MEASURABLE – It has to be measurable, how will you know when you will achieve your goal?
A – ACHIEVABLE – Is it in your power to accomplish this goal?
R – REALISTIC – Can you realistically achieve this goal?
T – TIMELY – When do you want to have accomplished your goal?
Through using the smart method, you will have all it takes to set up good and valuable ensuring that you will succeed.
Of course, you need to put in the work, and using SMART will help you know what to work on.
We all want an amazing summer, and the best way to make a great summer is to know what you want to achieve and how you want to spend your days.
It is through knowing this that you can design a plan and live out the best summer days you have had yet!
Productive vs Relaxed (the battle)
Maybe one of the struggles with the summer and having the freedom to pursue whatever one wants is the balance between productivity and rest.
We need both a goal to work towards, but we also need to rest, recharge our batteries, and enjoy life.
That is why it is super important to design a perfect summer day so that you can see how much time you spend on your activities, and how your days want to look like.
If you want to go deeper into learning how to balance productivity and relaxation, and how to design a perfect summer day, make sure to listen to the podcast episode about summer habits.
Also, check out this video to learn more about these summer habits!
Summary and last notes…
In this article, you will have (hopefully) learned the steps that you can take and the habits you can develop to make this the best summer you’ve had so far! The habits that we encourage you to pursue this summer are…
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Journaling
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Taking cold showers
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Exercising (and developing a morning routine)
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Early rising
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Setting goals
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Good luck, have an awesome summer and speak to you soon!
Gustav
Gustav
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