How to Spend Your Summer Productively As A Teenager

Welcome to this blog on how to spend your summer productively as a teenager!

By the time you’re reading this, you probably finished the 2020-2021 school year. Congratulations, you’re done with school! But… now what? Yes, it is summer and yes, it’s time to relax, enjoy, and take a break. But, no, that doesn’t mean letting go of all the good habits you adopted throughout the year and not doing anything all day long.

When you first think of summer, you probably think of hanging out with friends, playing video games, and watching more TV. Of course, you can still do these things, but to an extent. By a productive summer, I don’t mean working on all types of different projects and having a bunch of tasks to do every day. A productive summer is a mix of having fun and relaxing, while also doing activities that will help you learn and grow.

In my head, summer is a three-month time period to do the productive things that I didn’t have time to do during the school year. For example, I’ll hopefully be able to write two blog posts a week instead of one, read more books, and learn new skills. Along with this, I’ll be watching Modern Family (how could I not?!), going on more walks with my family, and meeting my friends!

Last summer was the summer I changed my life by joining two amazing organizations that kept me busy and productive, while helping me learn and grow more each week. If you put your mind up to it, you, too, could do something similar and transform your life, yourself, and your future! Why not make it this summer?

You have three months to either do nothing every day or spend your precious time improving and growing yourself — the choice is yours to make. If you choose the latter, awesome; we’ll be on the same journey together!

It does take extra effort to be productive while others might not be doing the same, but that’s what will make you succeed and thrive in the long run. With the time to spend not writing essays, making flashcards, or solving problems, you can do wonders. With a relaxed mind that’s not stressed out about your G.P.A. or AP tests, you can do wonders. And, with the mindset of wanting to be productive during the summer, you can do even more wonders!

So, be prepared to have the most productive summer yet. Below are 10 different action items you can take to make the most out of break:

1. Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to spend your time productively is by volunteering. Think about what you enjoy doing and what you have a passion for if you’re not sure where to start. If you enjoy art, you could volunteer at a museum or teach kids art classes. If you like to play sports, you could teach basketball or whatever sport you like to play to younger kids. And, if you love spending time outdoors, reach out to your local parks organization.

There a plenty of opportunities right outside your reach, it is up to you to take that step and make an impact.

2. Gain Hands-On Experience

A great way to spend your summer productively is gaining hands-on experience that you don’t get in school.

Maybe you’re interested in healthcare and your doctor’s office is looking for a summer intern to help process paperwork and organize patient records. This can give you insight into the day-to-day activities of a doctor’s office and what it takes to keep a practice organized and running efficiently.

Other opportunities for hands-on experience can include assisting with a research project at the local university, or even honing your computer programming skills by taking on some freelance coding work from a local business or organization. There are a number of ways to spend your summer gaining experience while also earning a little money for college in the process.

https://collegeinfogeek.com/productive-summer-vacations/

3. Take Courses

Even if you’re done with high school and college, and already have a job, learning never stops. So, why should it stop when you have a 3-month break before going into the next grade? Even though you might not have 6 courses a day and problems to complete, you can still learn by taking online courses. Some platforms you can use to take these courses are Udemy, SkillShare, or Coursera. Some of these might not be free, but when you learn new concepts, it will be worth it. Explore the websites to see any topics you’re interested in, and start taking the course!

4. Work on Yourself

“The best project you’ll ever work on is yourself.”

There is no excuse now. You have the time to work on yourself and make yourself the best person you can possibly be. By working on yourself, you are already improving your work ethic, skills, and more! There are so many things you can do to work on yourself, such as:

• Make exercising a daily habit
• Sleep more
• Eat healthier
• Read more books
• Learn a new language
• List your goals
• Make a vision board
• Reconnect with friends and family
• Journal
• Organize your room
• Learn a new skill

5. Travel

DISCLAIMER: *As I’m writing this, the pandemic is dying down but still going on. If traveling poses a threat to your health because of the COVID-19 situation, please disregard this section for now.*

Traveling is a great way to take a break, learn more about the world, and mainly, just have fun! When traveling, you get to try new things, learn about different cultures, and take a break from worrying about school and grades. This doesn’t mean that you have to travel all the way to another country or continent (unless you want to, of course.) Maybe you could go on a road trip to another state, or even just plan a day trip in the city.

If you read April’s 2021 Monthly Blog Review, you’ll read how my vacation helped me improve my productivity and manage my time when I came back.

6. Work on a Personal Project

If there is something you were longing to do but didn’t have the time to because of school, now is the time you can get started! This project can be anything you want to accomplish or learn about. For example, maybe you want to create an app that relates to your passion. Or, you could first learn how to code before you start making the app.

Your personal project can also be something that you want for yourself. You could work on your LinkedIn account, make your own website, or do anything you think you can learn and improve from!

7. Explore Your Interests

When school is going on, we are kind of limited in our ability to explore our interests besides the 6 or 7 courses we are taking. For example, next year for my freshmen year of high school, I wanted to take a business course, but unfortunately, my school doesn’t offer business classes. This is why during the summer, I could take courses on the links mentioned in #3 or maybe even start my own business so I could learn more about it.

If you can relate to something similar, you should try exploring your interests in the three months that you have the time to do so. It is important to explore your interests because it will increase your understanding of yourself and help you make better college and career-related decisions. Reach out to people and don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone!

8. Find A Job or Internship

If you’re willing to learn new skills while also helping a company out with their work, you should definitely look for a job or an internship. Getting a job/internship will help you get experience for what you’re passionate about, learn the daily tasks about a job that you are interested in, and help you prepare for your career in the future!

1. It is very important to be proactive here. If you don’t reach out or communicate to others, no one is going to know that you are even looking for a job/intern. Start by reaching out to organizations/individuals and let them know what you want and how you can help them.
2. Along with being proactive, it is very crucial that you are doing this for the experience/skills, and not the money. The value that you get today from interning or working will help you so much in the future when having an actual career and earning money.

9. Get A Head Start for the Upcoming School Year

I get it; no one wants to study/do school-related work during the summer. Even I wouldn’t even think of doing that. But, depending on what level you are at right now, it could be beneficial to get a head start for the upcoming school year.

Say you’re entering your first year of high school and taking all sorts of science classes, like biology and chemistry. If you don’t know a single thing about those subjects, it could be hard learning a bunch of new material all of a sudden. However, if you introduced yourself to these topics during the summer, like with KhanAcademy, it will be much easier for you to keep up with the pace of the class and get good grades.

Another thing you can do is reflect on your studying methods. Do you find it easier to type notes or handwrite notes? Does visualizing and creating a mind map help you understand concepts better? Before the school year starts, I highly reccomend figuring out which studying method is best so you can follow that during school!

10. Relax & Have Fun

It’s summer! No school, no tests, no late-night study crams! Think about it – you have 24 hours to do whatever you want to do! How can you not take advantage of that? Time goes by super fast, so these 3 months of break will end before you even know it. One day you’ll be relieved that the school year is over, and the next day you’ll be shopping for school supplies.

So, smile, laugh, do whatever you want. The time is yours to relax, have fun, and enjoy (and stay productive, of course.)

The Takeaway

Whether you’re starting summer tomorrow or it’s already been one month into summer, now is the time to take action and start being productive. As a recap, here are the 10 things you can start to make the most out of your break:

1. Volunteer
2. Gain hands-on experience
3. Take courses
4. Work on yourself
5. Travel
6. . Work on a personal project
7. Explore your interests
8. Find a job or Internship
9. Get a head start for the upcoming school year
10. Relax & have fun

When I was researching about the different productive things you could do during summer, I came across the phrases “Prepare for the SAT/ACT” or “Prepare for your college admissions essay” many times. The reason why I didn’t include those two things is that if you had to prepare for those important things, you wouldn’t need a reminder to do so.

Now that you have 10, or even more, ways you can get started making your summer more productive, you may be wondering where to start. I wouldn’t say there is a specific undertaking you should start with, but rather go with the flow and take on whatever you feel is right. Obviously, don’t start a new job, an online course, and a volunteering responsibility at the same time. But, it is important to get out of your comfort zone and try new things.

One of the main key points here is balancing your daily routine. I highly recommend checking out my previous blog, how to create and stick to a daily routine as a a teenager. Also, check out this video on 6 ways to have a productive spring break. Remember, it is important to balance out your work life and your personal life, so that you can remain productive, and stress-free.

This is it for this article, let me know in the comments below which one of these endeavors you will be starting. Have fun and enjoy your summer! Best of luck!