How to avoid "static summers"

[ZenitYerkes]

When your vacation time arrives it's time to do exactly what you did when you worked but without the work (and waking up later than usual). If you've got luck -and enough money- you can go to your nearest beach to get a nice suntan (or an itchy and painful red tone) and swim in the vast sea for two or three hours until you get bored and walk to your apartment. If you're not, you'll probably stay in home most of the day unless someone calls you or you want to go to your nearest community pool.

Both cases are examples of "static summers", periods of time where the main activity is to stay home with a fan or an air conditioning system, or go out to refresh. Time passes by slowly and quickly at the same time. Track of time disappears, and every day is more or less the same as the previous.

In the end of a static summer, you've got the feeling of having lost your time and regret for not having done all the things you can't do the rest of the year.

How to avoid this?

1. Make a list with all the things you fancy doing on your holiday time; and put a period of time for each (like, "Archery - 1-15th July" or "Swimming classes - end of August"). Contact academies and summer schools that could provide you with the activities you'd like to do.
2. If you're going to do something on your own, such as writing a novel or going handicraft, try to put yourself achievable goals you can accomplish in a day. EG, "today I'm going to write chapter 8"
3. Try to schedule the day, not too strictly (heck, you're in your vacation time) but not ignoring it either. This will help you to make the most of your day. Also, include time for relaxation.
4. Avoid distractions such as "Man I'm alright here on the sofa, can't move", "But it's too hot outside" or "Imma end this game today"; don't end up spending hours looking for nothing on Wikipedia or Youtube. Distractions will keep you away from doing anything.
5. Take the initiative, don't expect anyone to call you -they might be as lazy as you with the summer heat.

Five tips to make the most of and enjoy your vacation time, hey.

I hope this helps people, have all a great summer!

[Hunter of the Glade]

These are some great suggestions.

I already did do #1. Minus the schedule, I just have a list of things to accomplish during the Summer, one being seeing Avatar in August! The first week of July is going to be busy as hell with all the 4'th of July cookouts and vacationing. And in mid-July I'll be working a job. I think this Summer is pretty set for me.

[tallbluewanderer]

Thanks for this, Zenit! Yet again, you've posted something that makes me suspect you may be reading my mind.

I'm definitely having a 'static summer' right now. Most of my RL friends are fellow university students, so they're scattered across the country right now (it's summer break, and half of them just graduated) and I can't really do anything with them -- I'll have to try for your second bullet point, I think. I *definitely* need to work on number four, too.

I made an abortive attempt at starting to write a short story, but that ended up going nowhere. Any advice for a not-terribly-creative creative writer?

[ZenitYerkes]

Originally Posted by tallbluewanderer

Thanks for this, Zenit! Yet again, you've posted something that makes me suspect you may be reading my mind.

I'm definitely having a 'static summer' right now. Most of my RL friends are fellow university students, so they're scattered across the country right now (it's summer break, and half of them just graduated) and I can't really do anything with them -- I'll have to try for your second bullet point, I think. I *definitely* need to work on number four, too.

I made an abortive attempt at starting to write a short story, but that ended up going nowhere. Any advice for a not-terribly-creative creative writer?

Uhmm... No, I am not reading your mind, hey; why would you think that? Hm... Er... *whistles*

On stories, well, begin reading a book you fancy so you can take some of the author's style (like a sponge, first you absorb and then put take that down on a paper). Also, patience and perseverance: it took me three weeks to write a single chapter I was never happy with.

[tallbluewanderer]

Originally Posted by ZenitYerkes

Uhmm... No, I am not reading your mind, hey; why would you think that? Hm... Er... *whistles*

On stories, well, begin reading a book you fancy so you can take some of the author's style (like a sponge, first you absorb and then put take that down on a paper). Also, patience and perseverance: it took me three weeks to write a single chapter I was never happy with.

I've started coming up with characters and a setting, but I haven't been able to come up with any plot elements that don't feel like they were lifted directly from a novel I like. Oh well -- I just have to keep at it, I guess.