How to Prepare for Summer to Enjoy the Season

Summer always looks fun on the internet.

Beach days. Glowy skin. Cute outfits. Cold drinks. Everyone seems to be having the best summer ever.

But honestly? Summer can also feel exhausting.

The heat drains your energy. Your routine falls apart. You feel lazy all day. And before you know it, summer is almost over and you didn’t really enjoy it.

Living in India makes it even worse sometimes. The heat here is no joke.

That’s why I like preparing for summer before it properly begins.

Not to have a perfect summer. Just to make the season feel easier, calmer and more enjoyable.

A few small changes can make a huge difference to your mood, health and daily life during summer.

So, here are a few simple ways to prepare for summer and actually enjoy the season instead of just surviving it.

What to do to Prepare for Summer

1. Create a Simple Summer Vision

How do you want your summer to feel?

The internet is obsessed with summer glow up. But if that’s not what you are looking for right now, don’t blindly follow it.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What kind of summer do I want emotionally?
• What do I want more of?
• What do I want less of?
• How do I want my days to feel?

Maybe you want to slow down this summer or reduce your screen time, or hang out with friends more.

Your summer vision could be

• Peaceful
• Social
• Creative
• Healing
• Adventurous
• Productive
• Slow and Intentional Living

If you don’t pick how you want to feel during summer, you will end up going with the day and will be where you are right now.

So, take out the time to do a check in with yourself and spend summer in a way that is true to yourself.

2. Create A Summer Bucket List

Once you have chosen your summer vibe, it’s time to decide which activities you want do.

Create a summer list of activities that will bring your summer vision into reality.

It is so much fun to tick off items from your bucket list. It makes summer fun.

Don’t just blindly copy the internet.

Be realistic about your time, energy and budget before making a summer bucket list.

Just because your list is smaller or not internet worthy doesn’t make it worthless. As long as you find happiness and enjoy it, the number of items on the list doesn’t matter.

3. Modify Exercises for Summer

The summer heat is unbearable. Exercising during these hot days can be a challenge.

Don’t give up on exercise just yet.

If a proper, full workout feels impossible during summers, cut the duration or frequency of the exercise.

Or maybe switch to other forms of exercise like stretching, walks during late evenings, or dance sessions.

It is important to move your body. So, any type of exercise for any period of time is what you should aim for.

4. Prepare Your Body for the Heat

The heat does a lot of damage to the body if you don’t take care of it properly.

Some of the things you can do are:

• Buy a new water bottle: A cute, aesthetic water bottle that will remind you to drink water so that you stay hydrated is the most affordable investment you can make for your health.\

• Stock electrolyte drinks if needed: Electrolytes get depleted fast because we sweat too much during summer. So, stock electrolyte drinks to replenish the body.

• Wear breathable clothes: Summer requires its own clothing. Light coloured and breathable clothing s- make sure you have these washed and ready to wear.

• Use sunscreen: This is a must, no brainer. Use sunscreen, keep one in the bag always and reapply every 2 hours if necessary.

• Keep your room cool and clean: The right indoor plants can reduce the temperature but not enough to be replaced an AC or fan. It makes you feel good too.

• Eat proper fruits and vegetables: Make sure to eat fruits and vegetables that cool your body and hydrates you.

5. Build a Summer Dopamine List

Summer seasons can affect your mood.

 Constant heat, sweating and pressure to socialize and go out can make you anxious and irritable.

So, it’s important to keep a dopamine list ready, pre-decided so that you don’t have to scramble to decide what to do during such days.

Here are a few things to add to that list:

• Reading near a window
• Sunset walks
• Music playlist
• Fruit bowls

6. Prepare to Socialize

Summer is the time when everyone is outdoors – pool parties, beach days. The pressure to socialize is real and it can be too much at times.

And, it can be a lot more difficult if you don’t know how to say no.

Instead of being other people’s plan, make plans for yourself.

What do you want to do this summer – pool or beaches?

With whom, how many people?

When you are the one making the plan, you get to decide and choose accordingly.

Here are a few things you can do:

• Call your friends
• Plan a pool party
• Plan café days
• Host movie nights

Plan in a way that you get to spend time with yourself too.

7. Create a Summer Reading and Watch List

How can summers be fun without a reading and watch list?

A good beach read just elevates your beach day. An amazing movie brings life to your summer nights.

Few book suggestions for summer reads are:

A. Thrillers / Mystery

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

B. Romance

• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

C. Easy Feel Good Fiction

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Summer is also the time to watch some comforting shows and movies.

A.Comfort & Feel Good Kdramas

1. Hometown Cha Cha Cha
2. Reply 1988
3. Hospital Playlist
4. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

B.Movies to Watch

• Mamma Mia Here We Go Again
• Call Me By Your Name
• Jaws

These books and movies will make your summer nights feel cozy and warm.

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8. Romanticize Ordinary Summer Moments

Summers are not just about pools, beaches, vacations or aesthetics.

The fun is in the small moments. So, make your mind up to romanticize these moments already otherwise you will miss them when they are happening.

Few things you can romanticize are:

• Sunlight entering your room: You enjoy it described in a book or while watching it on screen. But rarely do we take a moment to appreciate it when it’s happening to us on a balcony while drinking coffee. This summer fall in love with beautiful, warm sun rays.

• Eating mangoes: Summers are incomplete without mangoes! Slow down and savor them while eating. Feel them cooling your body and hitting your senses.

• Evening wind after a hot day: A slightly cooler wind at the end of a hot day is so comforting.

Make sure to steal some moments from the hot days and treasure them.

9. Do a Financial Reset Before Summer Spending Starts

Summer spending is real. And it adds up really fast.

Here is how you can have fun during summer without draining your bank account.

• Create a Summer Budget: Before the summer begins, set a small budget aside for summer fun. It’s okay if you cannot afford a trip to Europe. You could set aside the budget to buy your summer TBR, café visits, new summer clothes etc.

• Plan outings realistically: Don’t give into other’s plan because of social pressure. And, if you are planning summer outings, plan it realistically keeping in mind your financial situation.

• Avoid buying things just for aesthetics: Everyone is crazy for cute, aesthetics things. It’s completely fine if you can afford it. But if you are in a little bit of financial trouble, don’t buy them. Skip it for this summer.

• Prioritize experience over trends: Internet trends can cost a fortune at times. So, don’t just follow them because it looks good and every one is doing it. This summer choose experiences you want to have over trends and it could save you some money too.

Take control of your finances even before the season begins.

10. Prepare for Mid-Summer Slump

Hot days will drive you crazy.

By the middle of summer, you will be so exhausted, drained of energy. Since it will happen inevitably, prepare for it.

After the initial summer excitement and fun, routines and motivation disappear, sleep gets worse and you end up doom scrolling because it’s easier and requires zero energy.

So, how to avoid this?

It’s by adopting a routine from early on that is summer friendly.

Some of the things to do are: wake up earlier, do difficult tasks in the morning, go for an evening walk.

Look out for when your motivation and energy drops and readjust your routine accordingly.

11. Start One Tiny Personal Project

Summer is the best time to start a creative project.

Here are a few reasons why:

• More free time: Since the days are longer, it doesn’t actually feel like the day is over at 6 pm. It kind of creates a feeling that we have a bit of time left before the day ends.

• Lower mental load: Summer is the season where there is no pressure of festivals. No year ending or beginning pressure, no spring reset. You get time for yourself.

• Social momentum: Seeing people and discussions about what others are doing can act as a quiet motivation to begin something of your own.

Here are a few of the things you can start:

• Start a blog / newsletter / instagram page
• Learn cooking
• Do gardening
• Learn AI
• DIY home projects

If there is something you have been wanting to start for so long, summer is the best time to get started.

Prepare for this by buying whatever is required to get things rolling. It might also be just doing the required research.

12. Have a Simple Summer

Begin the summer with the mentality that this doesn’t have to the best summer ever.

You can spend it the way you want to.

Don’t want to start a personal project – skip it.

You summer can be a simple routine, self-care that doesn’t break your bank account and time to rest and heal.

The point is you should feel satisfied with how you spent it. Choosing your summer vibe is the foundation for this.

Conclusion

Summer preparation is done to enjoy the season as much as you can.

And also, to take care of your body and mind so that the heat doesn’t drive you crazy or make you sick.

A good summer happens when you spend it intentionally.

I hope this post helps you to prepare for summer and have a good time.

Happy Summer!

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