6 Ways to Stay Focused During Summer Months

*As originally posted on grasshopper.com*

It’s summer, and outside your window you see luscious green grass, sunshine, and, well, a thousand different distractions. There are so many reasons for you to fall out of your business routine and just go out and enjoy the nice weather.

But entrepreneurs and business owners who stay focused (even during the summer lull) are the ones who benefit when fall arrives—and when everyone else is scurrying to get back on track.

So how do you stay focused during summer months? Here are a few ideas.

Shift Deadlines and Meetings to Mid-Week

Because so many weekends are jam-packed during summer months, Mondays and Fridays can be slow days for everyone. Shifting your important deadlines and meetings to Tuesday-Thursday helps you focus on the mid-week crunch so you can wholly enjoy your weekends. Plus, your family and friends will reap the benefits of having your full attention over the weekend when you’re not stressing out over what lies ahead on Monday.

Take a Company Retreat

Allow your team to get recharged and refreshed with a getaway where you can focus on new ideas, goals, and team building (rather than the details of the daily grind.) Even if you’re a soloprenuer—take at least a few days to unplug and re-center your mind. It’s okay to give yourself a break every now and then!

Not sure where to go? Here’s just one idea: Camp Wandawega is a favorite camp-style wonderland for creative companies like Studio Gang, Land of Nod, and Anthropologie.

Start (or Join) a Book Club

Participating in a book club during the summer months is a great way to spark conversations and to be deliberate about self-education. You can start a group book club internally, or, if you’re a solopreneur, look for local or online book clubs you can join.

Your summer reads can be business-oriented or purely for fun. Either way, research shows that reading helps improve your writing skills.

Form New Healthy Habits

With longer days and warmer temperatures, summer is the perfect time to form some new healthy habits that you can carry out through the rest of the year.

This might mean:

• Waking up earlier
• Starting an exercise class or running schedule
• Making time to journal
• Breaking up with caffeine
• Drinking more water
• Reducing your negative thoughts and complaints

Not sure how to stick with it? Tim Ferris wrote about his 21-day experiment with taking on a new healthy habit and how he used a simple rubber band on his wrist to be mindful about the change.

Learn Something

Attending a conference or taking an online course can help expand your mind (and your personal network) in ways that dramatically impact your business. Through education, you might unexpectedly find a new process that improves efficiency within your business or meet a new referral source that boosts your income.

Conferences like Double Your Freelancing (for freelancers) or the Yellow Conference (for creative ladies) are just a few of the many options out there for you this summer—and we’ve got a whole list of online courses to check out.

Take Lunch Outside & Go for a Walk

Something as small as moving your lunch to a picnic format can help you stay on track throughout the rest of the day. It allows you to get some Vitamin D, changes up your view, and allows your mind to get a hard reset before re-entering work mode.

After lunch, escape for a quick walk through nature: Studies prove that people who spend time walking through green spaces away from noise and traffic performed better on a mental health questionnaire had had less blood flow to the subgenual prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain where brooding happens.

Be Intentional: Stay Focused During Summer Months

The summer months might seem like a great time to slack off and enjoy the outdoors all day—but if you can stay focused, you’ll be ahead of the game when sweatshirt weather arrives. Use these tips to make this season your most productive season of the year.

Kaleigh Moore

Kaleigh Moore is the founder of Lumen, a company that helps individuals and businesses expand their reach through social media, copywriting, and design.