The summer months are definitely the toughest when it comes to getting things done. Before summer starts I always make a mental list of things I want to accomplish over the next three months during my free time. However, when it comes to actually pursuing these tasks I find it difficult to get going. Of course summer is a time for relaxing but I can't help but feel like I should be doing something more productive like going to the gym or taking advantage of my hobbies. On the days that I work, it's so easy to just come home, turn on the TV and spend the rest of the night on the couch. We don't have homework to worry about so why not? Unfortunately this has developed into a routine for me. Every day I tell myself, tomorrow I'll work out or tomorrow I'll paint something. But when "tomorrow" actually comes, I conform to my usual routine of doing nothing all day. So how do we actually motivate ourselves to do things we don't actually have to do, but should be doing to better ourselves?

I find that it helps when I don't think of it as a "chore" or something I have to be doing, because then I tend to put it off even more. It's like procrastinating on a project you know you should be starting but it isn't due for two weeks so you put it off each day and end up doing it the night before it's due. When you think of something you want to get done as something that's "due" or that you need to do, we start to procrastinate until Summer's basically over and it's a week before school starts.

It's easier to think of these "to-do's" as a part of your every day routine in the summer, like going to class. We don't skip class every day (well hopefully not), we just go because it's a part of our routine during the school year. It's better to not think about it so much and just do it. When you think about something too much you start making excuses and thinking of reasons to push it off even further. If you want to work out, just go to the gym without thinking twice. If you want to make art or read a book, just pick up the tools and do it. Once you get started and start actually getting into it, you'll thank yourself after. If we continue to think like this and make these summer "to-do's" a normal part of our summer routine, eventually getting these things done will become effortless.

Summer is such an easy time of year to get distracted and put things off, but why not make your summer productive during the months of free time we are actually allotted?