How to Make the Most of Your Summer
I write this from a balmy, sunny Glasgow. A description we don’t often get to use round these parts! In fact, last summer we were hard pushed to get just two consecutive sunny days. 2025 has treated us differently and we have had week-long stints of gorgeous sunshine. It’s glorious.
When the sun shines it can feel very tempting to down tools, ease the foot of the metaphorical peddle and slow right down.
Despite this blog’s title, I’m all for this! If the summer gives you the opportunity to work a little less and play more, then grab it with both hands. That does not mean, however, you can’t make progress, within your business or life, towards your goals.
I wanted to put the word "productivity" or “productive” in the title of this blog, but a bit of fierce self compassion kicked in and stopped me. Productivity is a very tricky concept in our modern world. We are not machines. We should not be delivering the same, consistent output all the time and often, being productive is equated with that.
I’m also aware, having lived through a few phases of life, that the summer can look incredibly different depending on your circumstances. Ten years ago my summer, as a single parent with a 4 and a 7 year old, was a massive juggle, trying to give them the best of me whilst also trying to run a couple of social enterprises and a freelance practice. Twenty years ago my summer was full of making theatre with other people’s kids; building temporary theatres on patches of waste ground and making magic happen in communities that rarely got to see much spectacle. And 30 years ago I was frolicking about the beaches of Newquay trying desperately hard to look cool, mostly failing, but having an excellent time regardless.
Back to the present, my summer has shifted tone again. My 17yo is away for a month volunteering at a summer school. My 14yo is whizzing about with pals, forming bands and only needing my taxi services and (endless!) financial support. So I do have a bit of space, however a lot of that is filled with some fabulous work so I’m heads down most days until the sun hits my desk around 4pm and I sneak out to the garden to top up the vitamin D.
It can be very tempting to take this ease and run with it so you completely discount the summer and write it off. There are LOADS of reasons why this might be a silly idea. Yes, it’s harder to get in touch with folk when people are dotting about on holiday and yes, of course you deserve a break… but maybe not 8 weeks worth.
The summer is an excellent time to get things done precisely because it’s quieter. If your business or life doesn’t revolve around holidays/tourism/festivals, your inbox is likely to ping less, people are likely to ask less of you. And let’s not forget the light; the glorious light mornings; the daylight filled evenings that go on and on. Pretty much all acts of creativity are easier when it’s light and it also gives us more energy for that creation. Couple that with things being quieter and you have excellent conditions for making and creating.
Thanks to a recent article in the Ideal Home Magazine (Productivity Hacks, August 2025), my free weekly planner has been really popular recently. Hello if you’re reading this after finding out about me in there!
It struck me that July is the perfect time to use the planner too, so you can stop the gentle ease from getting too hazy. Although the planning ahead part is really useful, I think it’s the initial pages in the planner that are the most important - those looking back on the previous week, acknowledging your wins and progress. We can be so critical of ourselves, including berating ourselves for not doing enough. I hear it all the time from my lovely clients, many of whom start a call with something along the lines of “it’s been a rubbish month… I’ve hardly got anything done”, only for us to find, when we start to discuss further, that they actually got lots done but hadn’t recognised the progress.
So whether a little origami-inspired mini-zine planner is your cup of tea or not, take a moment to reflect on your little wins from last week. What were your highlights? And what can you learn from the last 7 days that you can put into the next 7?
This process is, of course, adaptable for looking at a month past and ahead, a quarter or a year. Or I invite you to gently rebel from my suggestions and shape something that uniquely suits you. Whatever you choose to do, regularly remind yourself to acknowledge your achievements, your progress (however small) and celebrate all the wins!
PS the pic at the top is definitely not the view from my garden. I wish! It's a lovely bougainvillia draped balcony in Crete last year, but I thought it suitably summed up summer :)
