Summer is here and that means that my work hours, schedule, routines… they are all changing up.
In this update, I’m taking you behind the scenes and sharing what this year’s summer routine looks like.
But first, a success tip: Consistency and flexibility might feel a little at odds with each other, but I’ve learned that the only way to stay consistent is to be flexible.
Never feel bad to change the schedule, flip the routine on its head and try something new. Every season will need adjustments. School’s out, classes have ended and I’ve completely shifted my schedule and focus. Here are the changes I’ve made for summer…
One: My summer work hours
And here’s the best part, I feel absolutely NO guilt. I used to. For years if I was working, I felt guilty for not being with the fam and when I was with the fam, I felt like I should be at my computer. It took a lot of mind-shift and organization, but eventually, I was able to let that go.
We only have 18 summers with our kids and this is #18 with my oldest… So, yep! I’m only stepping into my office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the rest is family time!
Two: Our summer dinner schedule
This summer we decided to divide up dinner duty! Everyone gets one night a week (there are 5 of us) and that leaves the last two nights as date night and “fend-for-yourself.”
The girls will make awesome dinners. I’ll tackle Sunday dinner. The hubby’s night will most likely always be take-out, which I’m great with because yummy and no dishes. And the boy, well, he’ll probably make us frozen pizza every week. But as long as he makes me my cauliflower, I’m good with that too!
Three: Our family summer bucket list
I want summer to be full of memories, but if I’m not intentional, it can end up feeling like the rest of the year, just with the kids having a lot more screen time.
That’s why we like to start summer with a bucket-list that we all work to build.
One of the things on my bucket list was to go spend some time with my dad, so I made that the first thing we did. P’s last day of school was Friday and we were riding the ferry over to my dad’s on Monday. We spent 3 amazing days with Grandpa! We went to a movie, played many games of pickleball, walked to town for ice cream and crepes (not at the same time) and just slowed down. It was perfect!
When scheduling summer, I do my best to get all family fun on the calendar first (same thing for the holidays) then I build the rest (think appointments, interviews, projects, and meetings) around the fun!
Four: My summer eating & exercise plan
My non-summer routine has me up at 5am every day. I actually love getting up early, but really intense workouts on top of a 5am wakeup is problematic if I want to stay up past 7:29 pm. It’s a whole thing.
But now that summer’s here and the 5am alarm is off until September, I’ve got more time to work with.
So, I’m waking up at 6:15 and taking my first hour to really push myself and see what this body can do!
I just finished 30-Day Breakaway (a couch to 5K running workout) and now I’m switching over to 645 (for my Beachbody friends).
I’ll be working out for 45 minutes, 6 days a week, plus I’m going to add in some 2 to 3-mile runs a couple days a week so I don’t lose the endurance I built up over the last 4 weeks.
My plan, (my dad would be laughing right now, “you always have a plan don’t you Leah?” Yep, I even plan to not have a plan — I’m not even kidding!!).
Anyway, the plan is to work my booty off till September so that come that 5 am alarm, I can switch to maintenance mode and bring my workouts down to around 30 minutes/5 days a week. I really want those fun before and after pics where I can be like, whoa!
As far as eating, after reading this and this, I’m trying 3 big changes:
1. I drink 2 cups of water with one whole lemon squeezed in immediately when I wake up. I make it the night before and have it waiting on my side table. (here’s why.)
2. I’m trying out high micro-nutrients. My biggest switch will be starting my day with whole fruits and veggies and not bringing in protein until afternoon.
3. Taylor and I are going to try the 9-day Liver Rescue Cleanse. Not gonna lie, I’m super nervous and don’t know how I’m going to get down 16 ounces of celery juice every morning, but I’ve been trying to figure out my energy for months, so I’m up for it… I think).
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