When you're working a full-time job, finding time to enjoy the warm, bright summer weather can be a challenge. This is especially true for young professionals, as many of them are used to having summers off (or, at the very least, having a flexible summer schedule). But there's no need to feel trapped behind your cubicle walls. Go out and enjoy summer!
Here are a few tips for making the most of your summer while working full time.
1. Grab Some Foldable Chairs
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Keep a couple of foldable camping chairs at the office so you and a co-worker can catch some rays during lunch—whether it's in the park or the parking lot.
2. Keep A Beach Bag In Your Car
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Keep a bag full of summer supplies for your favorite summer activities. Having a bag (or, in my case, a backseat) full of towels, sunscreen, and swimwear keeps you prepared for anything. Friends hitting up the pool after work? You're covered. Once the clock strikes five, you can head to your destination of choice immediately.
3. Plan An Office Outing
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Plan an office field trip to the beach, the park, or the pool. Just do something fun so your brain can recharge and refresh!
4. Organize Group Walks
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Get a bunch of co-workers together and go on regular walks around town during lunch. (Or you could suggest a quick jaunt over to the ice cream shop.) This is a great way to get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
5. Eat Lunch At The Park
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When you find yourself eating out, hit up places with a deck, porch, or patio of some sort. Obviously, eating out every day isn't really a feasible option for most of us, so look into alternative ideas as well. Pack a lunch and hit the park for your own little picnic.
6. Organize Office Sports
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Whether it's setting up an official office sports team or just hanging out with your colleagues a few times a week, playing sports is a great way to get out and enjoy the weather. Have a field nearby? Try setting up some slow-pitch softball games. Or see if you can get a basketball hoop for the office so you and a few co-workers can shoot some hoops at lunch.
7. Join A Professional Group
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During the summer, professional networking groups often have fun events like harbor cruises, pub crawls, and outdoor mixers. Find a professional group in your area and make networking fun this summer.
8. Have An Office BBQ
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Get your grill on! Talk to your boss about setting up an office BBQ. Ask everyone to contribute their favorite dish, side, or drink. Fire up the grill and relax! Hey, it's summer after all.
9. Wake Up Early
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Yes, yes, I know...waking up early is an incredibly painful and unbearable experience for some of us, but waking up even an hour earlier has its benefits—especially in the summer. Go for a morning run, putter around in the garden, or watch the sunrise with a loved one. Talk about starting the day off right!
10. Strategically Use Your Time Off
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Strategically use your vacation days around holidays. This way, you can make a potentially long weekend longer without having to use too much of your precious vacation time. Half days are also pretty awesome. It's amazing how much you can do with four extra hours! If you want an early weekend but don't want to burn up your vacation days too quickly, try taking a half day on a Friday instead of using a full day off.
11. Bike To Work
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If you're one of the lucky few who live within walking or biking distance of work, take advantage of it! Not only will you get plenty of fresh air, but you'll also save money on gas, which is always a plus!
There are plenty of easy ways to enjoy summer when you work a full-time job. So this summer, try out a few of these ideas and make the most of the sunshine and warm weather—while they're still around!
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In the interest of addressing issues concerning teens and career direction, it is important to put this into the context of Career ADD.
It is no surprise more teens, college age and young adults are suffering from the impact of ADD/ADHD in all areas of life.
With the pressures of high school and preparing for college, teens who are naturally distracted have an even greater challenge when it comes to making one of life’s most important decisions.
Yet, with even a little structured guidance, teens with Career ADD have a much greater chance of getting on the right track from the beginning. Without this guidance, they can drift into college and life switching majors, job hopping, getting fired and risk losing self-confidence if they lack interest.
For those of you with teens with ADD/ADHD you are likely well aware that your child will do very well at anything they truly enjoys.
On the other hand, they may “forget” to do assignments, lose papers or worse, fail in a subject they don’t like.
I have experienced this, and was fortunate that my son knew his career direction in high school. There were and are still challenges knowing that the ADD is a factor and could potentially keep him from passing classes he does not enjoy.
1. Find a professional to help your child determine a career direction as soon as possible.
The vast majority of students, with or without ADD/ADHD do not know what direction to take. Yet they enter college with the idea that they will figure it all out as a freshman or sophomore.
The truth is they are so caught up just trying to keep up with classes and complete “core” courses, they don’t have time to do the crucial exploration necessary (extremely necessary) to making a decision that could lead them toward career happiness, the first job, and less debt than they would have switching college majors over and over. Add to that ADD/ADHD.
Making a small investment could save thousands and future tears.
The colleges, in general, do not prepare students today to make that critical decision. Career Centers are not equipped to provide the guidance needed to explore who they are as individuals and what makes their hearts sing, and ultimately want to focus on a direction in their junior and senior years of high school or college.
2. Your child must love the direction they choose - monitor their enthusiasm.
So what is the solution? As I have written in several previous articles, it is absolutely critical that those of us with ADD/ADHD do work that is enjoyable and even fun. This, of course, is just as true for us as it is for our kids. Watch how your child responds to their new direction – are they beginning to make connections, do more research and, most importantly, are they getting excited?
When my son purchased a Stephen Hawking’s book on his own, with his own money, I knew we were on to something.
3. No professional? Start with a workbook and take it in spurts by encouraging your child to look within. This will also inspire personal growth.
In my work, I use the What Color is Your Parachute Handbook (2010 Edition) with each and every one of my clients, no matter what age. I have found this tool provides “creative structure” for those of us with Career ADD. There is also a “Parachute” style book for teens that is acceptable too.
However, I have found the combination of the original workbook and personal guidance provides teens with structure and support to make a career decision with confidence. As with adults, teens need to do the inner work and be supported in exploring all possibilities, and to get in touch with what they value and what gives them energy, breeds enthusiasm, which, in turn, provides focus.
This may not sit well with you as parents, particularly if you are set on your child going to college, but not all kids are “wired” to go to college.
Some may lean more toward a career that does not require a degree. Some teens may find that their true nature will lead them toward hands-on careers such as mechanics or electronics, fashion design, art or other areas that can be taught through classes, certifications, workshops, internships or a combination.
No matter, by using the handbook as a tool, you can help them get the conversation started. Ultimately, we want our children to accept responsibility for themselves and love what they do in life.
Doing the inner work associated with developing a positive career direction is a great first step.
Teen career ADD image from Shutterstock
