How many of you have ever turned the calendar page to September and asked yourself “where did the summer go”? I see it all the time with entrepreneurs and, as we turn the page to June next week, I wanted to jump in and give you some tips for taking control of your summer happiness.

“What may be done at any time will be done at no time.”
– Scottish Proverb

We always assume that there will be time.  That there will be time to play, to be with family, to walk on the beach, to go for that bike ride, to stop for ice cream – that there will be time.

Being an entrepreneur is all consuming especially in the start-up years.  When I speak to my clients about taking vacation, they just look at me with vacant stares. ‘Really?” ‘Are you kidding me?” “Who has the money”. And, ironically, ‘Who has the time?”

These are exactly the questions I want to address knowing that people watch what I do, what I have done and what I will be doing to maintain my own summer happiness quotient! I haven’t always had a financially solid business, a fabulous and competent team to support me, a line -up of clients wanting to work with me – in the first few years, it was tough AND I still made time to get away.

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
– Carl Sandburg

I want to give you some of the steps I took, even in the early years of my business, to create summer happiness. Take these to heart and implement them today, ok?

 #1 – GET A CALENDAR. I know that sounds simple – and it is – but my point here is to get (or print) a physical calendar for the 3 major summer months – June, July and August. We are about to turn the page to the month of June so I want you to be ready. Print out a generic calendar from Google – and take a really good look at each of the pages for June, July and August.

#2 – REVIEW YOUR WORK/BUSINESS CALENDAR. I know you probably have a general idea of what lies ahead for you in your business for the 3 major summer months. I get it. Now, I want you to take a really good look at your work calendar and figure out what stays and what can go. Sometimes we have things marked on our calendar that are just there to make us look and feel ‘busy’. You know what I mean by that!

#3 – PLAN SOME TIME OFF. Ok, this is where I usually get the funny looks and the ‘but Pat’ comments. Listen, I re-launched my business a number of years ago and I had NOTHING – no list, no clients, no money. I am smart enough to realize, however, that you’ve got to stop and sharpen the ax (as Stephen Covey teaches so well). Believe me, I seriously wanted to keep plugging away especially since many other business owners in my area here kept telling me that there was simply no business to be had in the summer because ‘everyone’ was away at the cottage. That statement almost made me feel desperate – I really had to control my self- talk and my belief system or I would have simply packed up and packed it in. But I didn’t. I kept an eye on my business plan – I stayed focused – AND I took some time off.

#4 – KEEP IT SIMPLE. You know, by now, this is my motto. I live by this philosophy. In the beginning, a ‘summer vacation’ meant taking Friday afternoons off. Yup – that was the extent of it – and I made it very worthwhile. The key to my success was to GET OUT and GET AWAY from the office. I would hop in the car and take day trips – I was still exploring my new geographical home area. So much to see and do and it didn’t cost me anything. Oftentimes, I would take my bike with me to new and different areas and just enjoy being outside – breathing in the air – and being in the moment. That was it – a Friday afternoon every other week in June, every week in July and back to every other week in August. I felt good about that schedule – I felt in control – and I felt happy.

#5 – WRITE IT DOWN. Get those ‘summer vacation’ days and times into your calendar. Keep that commitment to yourself! For me, now, it’s a matter of pre-planning so that my clients and my team know what I have in store for my summer vacation. It’s also a matter of keeping your word to yourself. Once you have it written down – whether it’s a Friday afternoon or a full 2 weeks in July – keep your word. Remember that ‘the way you do anything is the way you do everything’! This practice spills over into the way you do business.

#6 – HAVE FUN! No one, and I mean NO ONE, wants to be around someone who is cranky and feeling deprived because they simply did not ‘get around’ to making plans for their summer or, worse, who go around with the victim mentality and talking about how busy they are. No one cares! So, make the time, write it down, follow through and be in the moment. Have fun. Create memories. Take some selfies! Tell your face you are having a good time – and it doesn’t take money! There are many, many things you can do that do not cost a penny. I know – I’ve been there!

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”
–  Charles Buxton

What will you plan for your summer happiness? I really want to know – go ahead and post your plans/ideas on my Facebook page and let’s get a conversation, and some inspiration going on this one, ok?

Please share your thoughts!