Once again, summer has given us ample sunshine, plenty rain and, most importantly, glorious time off from our studies. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to go camping and roast some marshmallows. However, I would like to focus on something a bit more serious than a perfectly crisped marshmallow (as vital as they are), and that something is your plan for these two months off. Yes, you should have a plan; if you don’t yet have one, please continue to read on: I’ll help you set something up.
So, July and August are two of the most precious months students have, but as I have argued both in the past and will argue today, your summer is better fulfilled and more satisfying… if you actually accomplish something. That something could be anything from travelling to working out to working a summer job flipping burgers. Your goals are completely up to you. But the only universal truth that they all share is this: They all cost time, so it’s vital to not waste a second of it. It’s just too valuable. Therefore, I’d like to discuss some tools you can use to keep you focussed and maximize your time management in order to accomplish your goals.
Set them
Do this on your first day off. You have been looking forward to this time off so badly, but if you have no goal, you have no motivation. You need—need!—goals. You could set a goal to get in great shape and gain five pounds of lean muscle, or you could set a goal to read a book a week and increase your reading comprehension. Whatever your goal, make sure that there is some rock-solid end result—that’s what a goal is. 5 pounds of lean muscle is a good end result. Increasing reading comprehension is, too. On the flip side, the last thing you want to do when setting goals is be flimsy and say, “yeah, I think I’ll read a bit this summer,” or “I dunno. Maybe I’ll work out and see if I like it.” If you are soft with yourself, you will not accomplish anything. You will have to set a solid end GOAL that, once you’ve reached it, you will know that you have succeeded.
If you are one of those individuals that struggle to find things to strive for, consider this metaphor: A pro golfer knows what his weakest club is. He knows it, and every time he has to swing it, he clenches his gut and grimaces and thinks to himself, it should be better. It could be better. So what does the pro do? He takes that club, his weakest one, and will hit a thousand balls and then a thousand more down the driving range until—guess what—that club becomes his best. I believe that this approach works well for students who need to set goals. Identify your weaknesses and work diligently to improve them. Once you have your goals, you should…
Allot Time to Completing it
Allot: To give or apportion (something) to someone as a share or task. Not to be confused with “a lot,” which is a large quantity. Allotting is tough to do. It requires planning, and you will have to give or apportion something—such as working out, reading, or whatever it is your goal is—to yourself as a share of time. That means you’ll have to think ahead—not something many of us are good at, but that will come with practice.
You can begin to allot your time to your given task right away. Plan your week on Sunday or Monday or whenever, but the idea with time allotment is that you mentally prepare yourself to doing that task for a set number of hours, and in order to mentally prepare for doing that task, you need time to think ahead, plan, and organize yourself. It’s just like having Yoga classes at 8:00 in the morning. You have to plan for that event: Set the alarm, eat breakfast, plan for traffic, arrive on time, etc., etc.. Planning and allotting your time well ahead of the eventual task is essential to reaching your goals.
Work Dead-End Jobs (beware the caveat)
OK, so we’ve all had these jobs. When I was fifteen, I worked at Calaway Park. That was back when the minimum wage was under $6.00/hour. Ouch. However, I had a goal, something that I wanted very very badly—so badly that I’d work 9 hour days for $54—and that something was a lime-green Kawasaki ZX-6R. I saved every penny from that job, but as I was only 15 years old, I couldn’t realistically buy a bike, but that didn’t stop me from planning for it and fighting for it and working hard for it.
These jobs are extraordinarily valuable. They teach you hard work, motivate you to educate yourself further, and give you connections that you will use your whole life, so don’t devalue these jobs. If you are working one of these jobs and have a goal, however, this is when you’ll really grow as an individual. You can save money for something that really matters, like education or a car or even a down payment on a house (if you are really, really good at saving money). If, on the other hand, you spend all the money you make on trivial things while never working towards anything, you are basically wasting your time. You are trading in your time for cheap junk. Not a worthy investment, I’d say.
Find the Motivation
I will end this article on, hopefully, an inspirational note. Your summer is your time. Your time. Your time. As you grow older and become the incredible individuals your parents and teachers have been striving to mould, you will realize exactly just how precious your time is. Don’t waste it, not a second of it. Your older self will be crippled by your inaction now. But if you can’t find the motivation to better yourself from within, look outward. The people who love you want you to succeed even more than you do, so if not for you, do it for them. Happy marshmallow roasting!