This summer I have decided to make clear goals for myself to be as productive and accomplished as I can be. Despite having created a list of things I’d like to get done in my head, I am now several days into the summer and have not really set myself up for success. By writing down my goals and putting them out into the universe I am hoping to hold myself more accountable in following through on my goals! When I have no plan at home, I find myself falling into cycles of sleeping late and not feeling productive or useful and it affects my overall well being. I feel lethargic physically and mentally and it is times like this that I find myself thinking more negatively and unable to get myself back on track. So this list is to stop that cycle in its tracks and get myself back on my feet for a proactive and exciting summer! I will update you on the success of my goals and maybe you can get some inspiration for your own summer success list!
1. Write down my goals for the day the night before
I have seen many a blog post attesting to the power of this strategy on keeping on schedule with your goals! I will use my planner (I find that I like to write out my schedule by hand) to make an attainable to do list for the following day. While it is important to be ambitious, make sure to make your list simple enough that you can accomplish everything you sent out to do. If you are unreasonable in your expectations for yourself you will be less likely to get your tasks done and will be deterred from trying it again in the future.
2. Go to bed and wake up earlier
So here’s an interesting one. I was a self-declared night owl until a few months ago. I thought my peak hours were late at night and the ability to get up early in the morning and get things done was just not in my blood. This all changed when this past semester in school my schedule consisted of a mix of 8 am’s (who knew they made college classes THAT early??) and 8:30’s. Everyone who knows me best told me I should change my schedule, there was no way I was going to make it to class that early. There doubt was large part of my fire to prove them wrong and turn my life around. To my own amazement and the amazement of everyone around me I successfully made it to my classes and kept it up through out the semester. I went to bed earlier than I was used to, with the goal of getting in 8 hours of sleep and I found that when I stuck to this routine I was SO productive in the mornings and felt like I had so much more time in the day. It was amazingly refreshing to get an early start on the day and I really felt more productive than I have in a very long time. I don’t want to let this go in the summer and so I am aiming for earlier mornings and bed times. Instead of my usual noon wakeup, I am going to try 9 ams instead.
3. Apply to a dream job (and make that mullah!)
So this is a goal I just began the process for this morning! I emailed a whole bunch of local shops to see if they were looking for workers. The job I was looking for was… to be a FLORIST! I’ve had this dream since last summer when during the boring parts of my internship in NYC I would look across the street through the window at the skyscraper next door to see a florist preparing beautiful bouquets. She just looked so happy and the flowers were so colorful! Although my internship was wonderful overall, during the lulls I found myself wishing I could be in the shop across the way. And so my dream was born and here I am a year later trying to get a part time position for the summer at a flower shop. I could use some cash and why not try to make some while learning a new skill that allows me to get creative and make people happy!
4. Stay fit
I am aiming to go to the gym 5 days out of the week and if the gym is not possible than to go for a run or do a home exercise instead. Staying fit for me is all about feeling good and feeling energized and I hope to stay in shape to keep my body and mind healthy.
5. Sign up for a 5k
This is a great and fun way to keep my fitness goals in check. It gives me a goal to work towards and I can recruit a friend to do it with me so we can have fun while stying fit together!
6. Do yoga
This fall I will be teaching yoga at my university! I recently got my yoga certification and I am so excited about this new path in my life. Yoga is such a wonderful outlet when I am feeling stressed or anxious. To add to this, it has so many health benefits from improved digestion, to greater flexibility and strength to name a few! I want to work on my practice this summer while creating ideas for my classes in the fall!
7. instagram my yoga experiences!
This is an idea I’ve been toying around with a lot recently. Creating an instagram for my yoga is a fun way to share my experiences with others and to offer tips and knowledge about the practice! I hope to get this started this summer and share my yoga journey with anyone who wants to be a part of it or just better their own practice. Instagram accounts can be a great way to keep things fun and interesting, to connect to a community of like minded people, as well as keep yourself on track to meet your goals.
8. Friends!
A bit of an obvious one because what is a summer with out friends?
9. Stop one bad habit
Oh man. Does anyone else have that one bad habit that you just can’t get rid of?? For me it’s splitting the ends of my hair. It is such a bad habit! It distracts me from things I am doing and also is so bad for my hair!! To stop this habit I have created a few methods to preventing myself from splitting my ends like keeping my hair up, or putting a coconut oil on the ends. When I keep to it and refrain from my habit I am rewarding myself with something I enjoy, like ice cream or an episode of queer eye 🙂
10. Sell my clothing
It is time to clear out my closet. I have accounts on poshmark, Depop, and ebay and an hoping to make some side cash while getting rid of things I don’t wear anymore! Check out my accounts!
Poshmark: luvsoccer16 (I know, it’s super embarrassing and i’m trying to change it!)
Depop: Li S
ebay: lilexa_9
11. Hike 
I love hiking. I want to find some new trails around and enjoy nature while getting some exercise in and catching up with friends. A fun and simple goal, if I find some great trails I’ll post them and some pictures!
13. Blog
I haven’t been posting too much so I’m hoping this summer I can create some more content for my blog!
Ok folks! So those are my goals for the summer. Thank you for giving me the space to put them out there and by keeping to goal 13 I’ll update you on how things go! I hope you all have a great summer and find some awesome things you’re hoping to accomplish this summer!
P.S I know this post wasn’t about travel but I might be taking this blog into a new direction to make it more of a lifestyle/travel blog all mixed into one beautiful masterpiece of the odds and ends of my life.
The luck of Lilah 