Summer is a gift and a problem

The semester ends and everyone assumes you’re off. But, you’re not off! You’ve just entered a different mode — one with fewer guardrails and a lot more ways to lose the plot.

Summer is simultaneously the thing you worked toward all year and the thing that can swallow you whole (I would know). So before the unstructured months officially begin, I want to close the (academic) year deliberately. And I’d like you to do the same.

Start from memory. What did you plan to do this year? Write it down before you look at anything. That gap between what you remember planning and what you actually wrote down? Already telling.

Now compare it to what actually happened.

Consider this reframe. We’re trained to log outputs — publications, talks, courses taught. But that’s like calculating the ROI of a social media campaign by only counting what you paid to boost a post. The real investment is everything: time, energy, cognitive load, emotional labor.

My teaching this year? Guest speakers (coordinated). Meals (coordinated). Exam revisions. An iterative final project. A guest lecture elsewhere. Ongoing social content. That is what teaching cost.

Where did you over-invest? Under-invest? Were you triaging well? The goal isn’t to be hard on yourself — it’s to be accurately hard on yourself. There’s a real difference.

High performers in structured environments often flounder when the structure disappears. This isn’t weakness…it’s just what is. But for many, the answer isn’t a rigid schedule. It’s light scaffolding.

I’m not a time blocking person. I’m a routine person. There’s a difference, and knowing which one you are matters. For me, I focus on writing, reading, and walking. In that order, most days. Not every day. Most days.

I’m also deliberately building in boredom because I run myself into the ground during the year and I need to actually want to go back to the classroom in September.

Freedom without intention is how summers disappear. I can’t just vibe. I’ve tried!

This summer: writemaxxing. (Yes, I borrowed that from my students.)

My writing tiers (and tears, probably):

• Primary: three manuscripts. Top priority.

• Secondary: two papers, as time and energy allow.

• Everything else: genuinely as possible — including data collection, which is unusual to deprioritize but the right call for this summer.

Also be sure to name what you’re not doing. This is as important as naming what you are. The new course prep gets a container, not a takeover.

Summer is a gift. Unstructured time is rare and precious, and most people don’t have it. But receiving a gift well takes intention. You don’t just tear off the wrapping and then stare at it!

So, what’s your version of this checklist? What do you need to look back on, build in, and name?

I’ll be over here (but where is “here” because I’m moving institutions!). Crawling under a rock until I emerge with some papers under review. So, if you know me, no you don’t…not this summer!

Until next time!