Tips For Keeping A Little Routine In Your Summer

​Amanda Cain | May 27, 2019

Routine during the summer? Isn’t that the whole point – to escape the routine? Whether you’re out of school for the summer, home from college, or have kids on summer break, summer can throw people and families out of their usual flow.

This definitely isn’t all bad – spontaneous trips to the pool or frozen fruit pops are part of what make the summer fun and interesting! However, there are advantages to having some sort of routine.

There’s no need to be overly rigid (deviation is normal and okay!) – but having at least a rough routine to take care of yourself can help you feel your best and make the most of your summer!
1. Keep a regular bedtime routine.
Feel free to deviate from the school year’s usual 8pm to 6am bedtime (or whatever your usual is). Exceptions, vacations, and sleepovers may occur, but if you want to move bedtimes and wake-up times a little later, just try to keep it somewhat regular. If you go to bed and wake up at roughly the same times each day, you can better plan your meals and activities, and may feel a little more energy.

​2. Plan your summer meals.
Without a normal routine, it can be easy to either a) skip meals, b) not have meals planned, and/or c) just graze on snacks throughout the day. Try to listen to your hunger cues – grab a snack if you’re hungry, and don’t just eat every hour or so out of boredom.
If you’re doing an activity, consider whether you should eat a meal/snack before you head out, pack a meal/snack, or if it would be reasonable to wait until afterwards. If you’re at home more, take advantage of this! Without the need to pack a lunchbox every day, weekday meals and snacks could include fresh-made items like smoothies, oven-baked vegetables, etc.!
The days may look different, but think ahead - consider continuing to make meal plans, to figure out what food you’ll need and how to nourish your body for the week.

3. Keep it active!
The blessing and the curse of having nowhere to be is the tendency to stay in bed, play video games, or watch TV far longer than we would ordinarily. No matter what your schedule each day, schedule something active. It can even change each day, but set aside a time to do something where you move your body – your body in turn will thank you!