Summer holidays are not just for the kids!

It may be hot right now, but try, if you can, to think back to the winter.

Six months ago, you may have been sitting at your desk or on the bus travelling to work, shivering a bit and dreaming of long, lazy summer days.

So why is it that we usually spend the summer busier than we expected? Our dreams of hammocks and iced tea are replaced with sweaty rush-hour journeys. Reading a good book in the garden gets substituted with much less relaxing activities that, often, we are not really sure why we committed to in the first place.

What’s going on? The simple truth is that leisure time isn’t always just found. We need to commit some time to ourselves too by carving out our precious downtime.

When schools close for the summer holidays, children are granted more time to just be children. Do you remember what that felt like?

As a child, I thought the summer holidays felt like forever – there was so much possibility stretched out before me, and I could do as much or as little with my free days as I wanted to. I know that, as adults, work doesn’t shut down for the summer and, of course, we have more responsibilities, but we could take back our evenings and weekends... couldn’t we?

While the days are longer and the weather is inviting, it’s a great time to reconnect with nature and swap TV for time outdoors. We can bring a little bit of the spirit of the summer holidays into our daily lives.

Think back a little, perhaps to last summer. When did you last allow yourself even half a day to read a good book under a tree or attempt to climb into a hammock, whether the outcome was successful or just plain silly?

Summer doesn’t have to be all computer screens, air conditioning and sweaty commutes to work. When we remember to check our work-life balance, there is a lot of fun to be enjoyed too.

You shouldn’t need permission to have some summer fun, but if you feel that you do, then here it is. As a life coach, I officially permit and encourage you to wear your flip-flops, eat the ice cream and wrestle with that hammock!

Please enjoy your summer – it’s not only for the children.