Are You Planning A (Mid)Summer Break?

Take a cue from the school children and play more this season

Jun 18, 2024

“Summer is the season when the promissory notes of autumn and winter and spring come due, and each year the debts are paid with compound interest.” Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

This article is a part of my series called “Weekly Agenda” where I encourage not only deeper thinking, but provide action items for you to implement into your creative business practice. These articles are sent out most Mondays. Find more here.

We are well into 90 degree days here in Oklahoma, yet the summer solstice isn’t until later this week, and I have been preoccupied with making the most of the season. As our neighborhood filled with green and my gardens started to bloom, I have had the urge to live as abundantly as the weeds snaking throughout the yard.

I have this theory, that our total mental and physical energy fills up a pie chart, and as we navigate through the year, the percentages fluctuate. The high temperatures in summer, and historically a lot of outside work, require more physical energy than mental. It’s like the feeling when you are unloading the kids and groceries from a hot car, the last thing you can do is handle a thought provoking question. To me, that is how summer should be lived in. If you feel that way when marketing a service, imagine how it’s being received. I’ve always felt that marketers forget that the people they are targeting, are real people living real lives. Why not work with the natural ebb and flow of the year?

As time goes on, we move into more of a 50/50 state, spring & autumn acting like a neutralizer to the severity of summer and winter.

Businesses are seeing the benefits of a summer break, by incorporating "summer fridays”, office closures (Chani is known for this) or even a company wide vacation (Camp Saie is dominating my feed right now) to encourage rest and decrease burnout. If you are a small business, or even a solopreneur, it might feel impossible to plan time off, trust me, I have worked every vacation I’ve taken since 2014 until my trip to Japan this previous April.

But- if you are feeling the urge to summer break, I hope I can encourage you to do so, and with the proper planning, you can enjoy the abundance of summer knowing you will pick back up the planning and mental work in the fall.

Psst- Did you know we used to use the word summer to describe the time between the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox? The summer solstice was right smack in the middle… which explains the word “midsummer”.

Weekly Agenda, 25/52

June 17, 2024

Planning your midsummer mindset reset.

When we work too long without a break, our cognitive abilities decline. Rest and rejuvenation can actually work to make us smarter and set us up for deeper thinking and big picture strategy work in the cooler seasons. How to set yourself up for a meaningful summer break:

01. Know your summer dos.

My summer dos are: gaining freckles, swimming, using garden tools, an airy house, maintenance marketing, setting up play dates, writing for enjoyment, reading poetry, making fruit & veggie packed dishes, day dreaming about fall launches, and planning a family trip. My physical energy is important in this time, and I intentionally choose to be lightweight in my thinking and just be present and in my body.

02. Know your summer don’ts.

My summer don’ts are: big brand changes, being chained to my laptop, intensive campaigns, holiday decorating, tax work, being too serious, staying cooped up, and busy work. My mental energy is being rationed during this time, and I need to use it sparingly.

03. Let everyone know about the closure / break / change of schedule.

For my agency, we should share our summer hours on Instagram and in my email footer, including any time I was OOO. If you have a business that requires 24/7 customer service, let your community know how that will be handled. For some of you, this might not be a big change in operations, but just a “I am not taking on any new projects until ____.” Communicating these boundaries and managing expectations is important.

04. Put aside time to plan for urgent matters, inquiries or continued marketing.

I looove a big planning session. Write out how your business needs to be maintained in your absence. Maybe now is a good time to test out some new automations and workflows! (Hint hint: Zapier)

05. Put on that OUT OF OFFICE and enjoy your break!

Wherever you choose to share it, pin a clear communicative post to the top of your account while you are away and throw up that OOO auto reply. Turn off notifications and enjoy that time off.

Love, Britta

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this writing, please consider supporting and buy me a coffee.

Our next Orbitters meeting is June 20th and we will be discussing the mental break needed for summer. Read more about Infinity Sessions here.

My name is Britta Newton-Tarron and I have been working in marketing & design since 2012. IN-ORBIT is my avenue to discuss all things creative entrepreneurship with curiosity. We will stay in tune with the seasons as we rotate in our orbit, and you can learn how to harness your own gravitational pull.