This episode was inspired by the enthusiastic response we got to our get-things-done “Clear the Decks” episode 443. People enjoyed that unusual episode so much that we did a “Deck the Halls” episode around the holidays.
Continuing in that theme of the “deck,” this “Sweep the Deck” episode is about getting ready for summer.
As you listen, pause the show to do a manageable, quick one-minute-ish, summer-prep task that we’ve suggested. When you’ve finished listening, you’ll have accomplished a lot.
Because it’s 2024, and we love a “24 for 2024” list, here are 24 items:
- Check your supplies of sunblock and bug spray
- Make a list of three outdoor activities you want to do this summer
- Make a list of three indoor activities you want to do this summer
- Sign up kids—or yourself—for lessons, camp, teams, etc.
- Get a library card for print, audio, and digital books, plus other items
- Evaluate your bathing suit
- Evaluate your sunglasses
- Check and organize your outdoor clothing and shoes
- Schedule maintenance for your air conditioning.
- Recommend the Happier podcast to three people, or rate and review
- Make a summer reading list
- Budget for summer expenses
- Clean your grill and check for any needed repairs or fuel
- Set a time to talk to your partner, family, or friends to figure out summer plans and travel
- Find five items of unwanted summer clothes to donate or discard
- Create a summer playlist
- Clear out your fridge and freezer
- Get your car ready for summer
- Set a goal for three things you want to achieve by the end of summer
- Check your bicycles, helmets, and reflective clothing for any maintenance
- Check your supplies of summer first-aid items
- Add dates of local summer festivals and events to your calendar
- Make a plan for a summer potluck or barbecue with friends or neighbors
- Decide whether you want to do something ambitious with your garden, start an herb box, or buy a plant
Spotlight on a Tool
If you’re looking to design a fun-filled summer, this month’s Jump-Start in the Happier app offers seven days of ideas for incorporating more play into your life. The Jump-Start is free and starts May 19, 2024. Find it on the home screen of the Happier app; download the app here.
Quotation
Every man makes his own summer. The season has no character of its own, unless one is a farmer with a professional concern for the weather. Circumstances have not allowed me to make a good summer for myself this year…My summer has been overcast by my own heaviness of spirit. I have not had any adventures, and adventures are what make a summer.
—Robertson Davies, “Three Worlds, Three Summers”