Swedish HR: 20 Ideas to Make Summer More Fun And Productive

Stockholm archipelago, Photo Credit: Henrik Tryck

We all have our preferred methods of staying motivated and productive. While for some, summer can a challenging time to stay focused on the job, it can be a very productive time for others. We would like to share 20 fun and easy ideas to inspire you to keep moving forward this summer with inspiration and appreciation for your work.

All of us at NIM.MERSION have different ways we stay in the productive mode. Some of us choose to make lists, others take breaks every 20 minutes to regroup, some are more intuitive and loose with their daily goals, while others must plan out their day with specific details for each hour of the day. We hope that at least a few of these 20 ideas will strike a chord with your productivity style and help you reach your goals this summer.

Let us know which ones resonate with you!

1. Walk and Talk Meetings. Walk outside during your less intensive one on one meetings. This meeting style will give you fresh air, exercise and a meeting all rolled up in one session. Upon returning to the office, choose who will write up a quick recap of your walk and talk meeting.
2. Practice the Positive Attitude Switch. Do you get negative and grumpy at work? If so, try implementing an attitude switch. Simply tell yourself for 30 days you are not going to go to that place. Reframe your situation to a more positive outlook, and keep moving forward. Your brain might resist this test, but try it for 30 days and let us know what happens!
3. Say No more often! Steve Jobs said “Focusing is about saying no”. Sometimes, in order to stay on track with your personal and company goals you must say no. Saying no to a social event, a long phone conversation, water cooler complaining and even an assignment can be uncomfortable. Listen to your gut. Remember the end results you wish to achieve and then decide whether you should say yes or no. Politely decline requests that feel counterproductive, and you will open up your day for tasks that pull you forward towards your reaching your goals. If you would like to learn more about saying no, consider reading these books on this subject.
   
   

   The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness By James Altucher

   The Power of a Positive No: Save The Deal Save The Relationship and Still Say No by William Ury

4. Pick Your Top 3 “Must Do’s” Each Day & Do Them First. Summer can be a difficult time to stay focused. We recommend picking 3 SMART goals that you must complete each day & do everything you can to stick to them. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Time Bound.
5. Take Mindfulness Breaks. Try taking 5 minute mindfulness breaks 2x per day. Sit, feel your breath and check in with how your physical body is feeling. The brain functions much better when in a relaxed state. You will increase your productivity and creativity with this simple practice.
6. Lunchtime Progress Check in. Check your to do list right after lunch and see how you are proceeding on your daily goals. Are you being focused and productive? If not, make a plan to be more productive for the afternoon. Try not to condemn yourself if you have lost time daydreaming. Just note the fact and encourage yourself to move on to the next task at hand.
7. Factor in More Time to Stay Organized. Organization is key. Before summer officially starts, check your habits. Are you organizing your notebooks, files, meetings, to-do lists appropriately? Make any necessary changes so your summer gets off to a great start!
8. Do a Deep Clean.. Clean your files, desktop, and office shelves. You will feel more more ready to seize the day with a clean and organized office. If this feels good, move on and clean your home too!
9. Prioritize. What do you want to get done between June and August. Set yourself realistic goals. List them in your date book with small actionable steps you can do for each one in order to get the goal accomplished.
10. Delegate. Make a note of who can help you reach these goals and bring those people into the plan by delegating tasks.
11. Brain Dump on Sunday Nights. Do a creative writing exercise on Sunday nights. Write out everything that is your mind concerning your work and personal life. Write until you feel you have fully emptied your brain. After you finish writing, create your 2 separate to-do lists for the upcoming week from these ideas: one for work and the other for personal tasks.
12. Schedule Exercise. Exercise increases productivity. Schedule exercise into your weekly routine. Some prefer to workout before work, others like to exercise after the workday as a way to debrief from the day. Experiment and see which works best for you.
13. Mix in Fun Breaks. Summer is the perfect time for fun breaks. Go for a run or the park for picnics. Take a lunch time bike ride or walk. Give this present to yourself for being super productive during the other hours of the day.
14. Value Inspiration. Place a high priority on inspiration. Who and what inspires you? Schedule time in your work week to be inspired. This will definitely carry over into your ability to be productive
15. Sleep. Get enough. It gets dark later during the summer months. There is so much to do: parties, visitors, holidays and much more. Make sure you factor in sleep as it is crucial to your physical and mental health.
16. Use a timer. If you are losing focus due to summer sun and fun, try our never fail timer technique. Pick a task, set a timer, and work with no interruptions until you hear the beep. This is a great way to stay on track and block out distractions.
17. Cut short negative talk.  Make a promise to waste no time with negative talk about situations and colleagues unless they are solution oriented. This can save some people loads of time and can boost morale as well.
18. Cut Back on social media. Summer is a great time to cut back on computer time. Social media scrolling can be the first to go. Use this time put into getting your work goals accomplished so you can spend more of your precious time outdoors!
19. Find a Collaborator for your Project. Find an office mate to help you along with a project. It is often more fun to share the responsibility for big project with an office buddy who will keep you inspired and bring in a fresh perspective.
20. Have Fun!! What makes you happy? Find a way to do something that brings you joy every single day. Happy employees are productive employees and life is too short to not bring happiness into your world each and every day.

We hope that these ideas will bring a sense of ease and inspiration into your summer. If you would like to have a copy of our Happiness Handout, you can download it here.

If you would like to share these types of ideas and more with your employees, sign them up for our Motivational Mojo 4 week email course. You can see our film about it here:

Happy Summer!