As you may know, June 21 marks the first day of summer where we say goodbye to spring and welcome this new season. Our minds begin to focus more on vacations than emails and family than work. So here are some tips to help you keep yourself organized and ahead before the vacationing season is in full swing.

Contents

• Know Your Current and Future Tasks/Obligations
  • Know Due Dates
  • Add Buffer Time
  • Workout your Timeline
  • Set Reminders
• Be Aware of Your Co-Workers’ Plans
• Plan out Time for Family
• Remember Things Change
• Enjoy Summer

 

Know Your Current and Future Tasks/Obligations

The more you know about your tasks over the summer, the more you can plan and have time for yourself and your family. List out all meetings, projects, and deadlines you know about now. This outline is a good first overview of your summer.
 

Know Due Dates

Although things can change, understanding the due dates for project milestones now can help you better prepare and get ahead. List out meeting dates and times, project milestone deliveries, and other task deadlines to make sure you can prepare for them now. Also, break down any sub-tasks and determine the amount of time it may take to complete them.
 

Add Buffer Time

Don’t wait until the last week before your deadline. Starting a task ahead of time will help alleviate some of the stress of trying to complete a task on time. The best part about buffer time is if you don’t need it, then you can try to start another job earlier or, you have some extra free time for other activities.
 

Workout your Timeline

Now that you have tasks and their deadlines, it’s time to put this on a calendar. Utilize your favorite time management tool, which can be a calendar or task app.
 

Set Reminders

It’s easy to get caught up in vacation-mode when it’s so beautiful out, or you’ve been out of the office for a long weekend. It’s also easy to forget about tasks when you’re enjoying the time spent with family. It’s essential, now, to set reminders to do assignments. This way, you can worry less about work and missing something important, and your mind can still relax.

Tip: Sync up your work calendar to the calendar app on your phone. Since this is a device one is rarely without, it can make it easier to keep track of your tasks any time and anywhere. The calendar app on most phones also helps by allowing you to set little reminders, which can display on your screen.

Be Aware of Your Co-Workers’ Plans

Thinking about your schedule can be challenging enough, but with summer or any holiday season, it’s common for many people to request time off. While this can be a frequent problem for smaller companies, it can also affect larger ones. Take this time to consider if some responsibilities will fall behind if you and another co-worker are out at the same time. If you have one, now is an excellent time to discuss the time you both want to take off. Your boss may also appreciate this, especially if it can eliminate them from having to mediate any conflicts.

Tip: Create shared calendars for work with co-workers. This overview can help everyone see what each of you is doing as well as know when someone will be off. It can also be a helpful tool to see if someone is falling behind and may need help.
 

Plan out Time for Family

Now that you have a timeline of your tasks and have worked with your co-workers on what days you can take off, you can set aside the time you want for your family. Get in touch with the family members you’d like to see and plan out any road trips or sightseeing adventures.
 

Remember Things Change

A timeline is subject to changes, and sometimes new tasks are added, or deadlines vary. By adding buffer time, it can help combat some of these variations by getting ahead or allows you to fill in that extra time with new tasks.

Tip: If you encounter changes, go to your timeline first. Note if there will be any conflicts to your current plans and make any adjustments you may need to. The sooner you can see these problems, the easier it can be to move things around. Co-workers can also be a great resource to help you keep the impact of these changes to a minimum. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
 

Enjoy Summer

Summer is the time to relax and enjoy those you love. It doesn’t have to be visited by stress. Hopefully, by following some of these tips, it can help you have a better, more enjoyable summer while also completing the necessary work.