Episode #163 - Simplify Summer Plans & Reset Your Routine

Simplify summer plans and reset your routine because less pressure and more presence is what summer is really about. Welcome back to Organizing with Ease. I'm your host Diana Moll and the creator of the Fresh Start Method. If you're new here, I welcome you my friend. You found a community of people who care about making everyday life less chaotic and more intentional. And to my returning listeners, thank you for continuing to show up.

You're the reason this podcast exists. Whether you're listening on a walk, while you're folding laundry, or in the car in between meetings and or running errands, I see you. Now let's talk about summer. We often step into June with a dream of ease, freedom and fun. But somewhere in between the pool toys, the shifting work schedules and the lack of school structure, that summer dream starts to feel well, like a new full-time job.

I've heard clients say, I thought this would be the season to breathe in and out, you know, breathing. But I'm more overwhelmed than ever. And that's what we're gonna be talking about today. This episode is your gentle nudge and your full permission slip to hit the reset on summer. Not because you're doing it wrong, but because sometimes life gets noisy and it's okay to pause and pivot. We'll use the fresh start method to walk through your.

the four clear steps to refrain your summer, share some real stories, stats, personal reflections, and give you takeaways you can start applying today. Let's dive right in. Are you ready? When summer feels like a second full-time job, are you raising your hand if this was the plan, if you're thinking about that? All right, you ready? We're going to take it slow this summer. We're going to sleep in, spend time together, maybe travel a little.

and enjoy the little things. Is that what you had in mind for a plan of a summer? And now this is what's happening. Fast forward, ready? You're juggling summer camps, managing multiple calendars and overlapping family plans, trying to keep the pantry stocked with snacks, still working on handling your business from your home, home office, and wondering why you're more tired than ever than in May and April. But guess what? You're not alone.

A recent survey by Indeed found that 59 % of parents feel that they have less personal time in the summer than they do during the school year, largely because of unpredictability of schedules and the pressure to quote unquote, to make it magical for our kids and for our family. One mom told me, I love my kids, but I just need one week where I'm just not managing everything. Are you in that? Do you feel like that?

Well, here's the thing, you're not failing. If summer doesn't feel like that picture perfect, what you're experiencing is the result of too many layers and not enough breathing room. And you're like saying, what are you talking about, Diana? This is what I'm talking about. This is your moment to say and ask yourself what's working, what's not working, what needs to change. Let's start by clearing the noise. So if we use the reset with the

and use actually the fresh start method, let's go through it step by step and let's just try to apply your current summer rhythm with this method. Of course, the first method is the simple one. It's honestly getting a clear start, right? That's the first start, define and distort. I encourage clients to do a summer brain sweep. You know, grab a notebook, write it down. If it's not a notebook, but just jot it down. What's currently on your schedule?

What tasks, plans, or responsibilities are eating you up on your energy? What feels heavy? What are you constantly thinking or worrying about? For example, a client recently realized she was stressing every day about what to make for dinner. Not because the meals were hard, but because she hadn't sat down once in three weeks to plan. It's called summer. So we didn't.

overhaul her entire kitchen, what we did was we just created a flexible meal plan for three days a week. The other nights we had suggestions of leftovers, takeout, or maybe breakfast for dinner. You know, something a little bit outside of the box. Problem solved. The goal here is not to judge, but to get curious.

Where is your energy going? Where's it going? Out the door? Hopefully not. And do those things reflect your values right now? Step two, reduce and evaluate. Now that you've listed it all out, here are your guiding questions. What can I let go of? You might feel a little bit of guilt here, just a little bit, but I promise you, this is the freedom work. You ready? Sometimes and some things to consider.

Reducing how about reducing the number of errands per week trying to consolidate them number of commitments to extended families or social events Even internal pressure like I should be doing more with my kids or we should be traveling more or I should have done this or my project for the work should have been done because it's summertime I should have done that better. I should have could have would have right the American Institute of Stress reports that simply reducing non-essential commitments

can improve emotional wellbeing up to 35%. So what are the one to two things you could take off your plate this week without the world falling apart? One dad I worked with was trying to do the one big activity every Saturday, even on the during the summer months, because of course he's working during the week and Saturdays is his day with the kids. When we talked, I asked him, do your kids actually need that?

Or are you filling space to avoid guilt? And it turns out what his kids really wanted was something really simple. They wanted just time with him, more backyard time, movie nights, puzzles, pizza. You get it, right? When we let go of the extras, we make room for the essentials. So the third step is systemize and harmonize. This is the flow stage, right? We're not building

rigid routines were creating structure that supports you. Ask yourself, what would make my morning smoother? What does your day start to feel like? Does it start to feel like chaotic already? What rhythms do you already enjoy and how can you expand on those? Ideas that work for ideal families are a magnet meal planner on the

on the fridge, a command center, having it somewhere on the side so that everyone can see, a family reset hour on Sundays to plan the week and talk through who's doing what and when, and carpooling if there is actually some summer camp activities that the kids are involved with. We want to have visual schedules for the kids so that they know what to expect each day. And also, it's also important for the partners.

for you, for your husbands, for your wives as well, because summer is a little bit different because it's not that rigid school, morning and afternoon. Here it's all day, could be different, could be half day summer camps, could be not, could be here and there, play dates, right? So those are things that as far as a visual schedule, not only helps the kids, but it also helps everyone else. The adults is what I'm talking about. So we also want to include our rest anchors. Yes, you heard me right.

Blocks of time built into each day or week that are intentionally left open. A working mom I supported and we implemented quiet afternoons. Yes, we did. And for her after work, because she worked half days, we took the timeframe for her from two to three. This was a non-negotiable, which meant no screens, no chores, just rest or reading or whatever she wanted to do. Her stress level dropped.

The kids became much more self-sufficient and she stopped snapping by 5 p.m. Another thing that you might wanna consider renaming this as far as a non-negotiable, you can always say that mommy's in timeout for about an hour, okay? You pick your hour mom and mommy's, all right? And dad's, it also applies to dad's as well. Take that timeout. Just saying, another way of looking at it, right? Remember, systems don't have to be complicated.

They just need to support your energy. Last but not least is systems need maintenance. You heard me right. Summer, even in the summertime months, systems still need to be maintained. That doesn't mean overhauling everything and every week, but just again, the 10 to 15 minutes simple to review. Ready? What worked this week? What drained me? What can I tweak? You can do this.

during your summer evening walk, at dinner with your partner, or in a journal. Some clients even like to use this as a family activity with the kids, as they're a little bit older. They ask what was the best or the worst parts of the week that they were, and then they talk about it so that they want to get more of what the children, they get their feedback, right? It's also about communication with the family. The goal is not to control the time.

It's to create more ease inside of it. You're allowed to try, reflect, adjust, and guess what? Try it again, because you know why? Why? You're like, what, Diana, why? Well, the reason, because it's, that's real life. So why doing less might be the best thing to do? I want to leave you with this. Doing less isn't being lazy. It's strategic. We live in a world that glorifies hustle.

But summer is your invitation to return to what feels good and grounded for you and your family. I think back on my own summer rhythms, and I'm smiling as you can hear probably, I'm just sharing this with you. Some of my best moments didn't come from like some fancy outings or perfect plans. They actually came from just riding bikes as a family with nowhere to go, just kind of like riding around the neighborhood.

you know, making that homemade lemonade or iced tea at the kitchen table, or just a spontaneous beach walk at the sunset, or actually even by sunrise. We've done a couple more of those sunrise walks along the beach, which are just spectacular. Saying yes to skipping a plan, why not? And just say yes to just being. Because why? Because we can. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

by Leonardo da Vinci. Let's take that to heart this summer. Why don't we? If you're overcommitted, burnt out, or just tired of managing everything, try doing less. That might be the most productive thing you do all week. So let's do a quick recap. What we explored in this episode, why summer often leads to unexpected stress and why you're not alone.

How to apply the fresh start method to gently reset your routines. Realize systems that are simple and sustainable. The power of saying no, because remember what I say, no is a complete sentence and what it creates space for. Why doing less is often the best path to connection, clarity and being calm. This week's challenge, take 10 minutes, do your own summer brain sweep.

Write down what's overwhelming you. Choose one to three things to release and replace them with something you actually want to do or not. And remember, there's no right way to summer. Just sharing that with you. And the reason why, it's because it's just your way. Thank you for being here. Thank you for making space for ease in your life during the summer.

And I will see you next week as we continue our Summer Reset series with more ways to stay organized and inspire without pressure. Until then, my friend, stay grounded, stay light, and stay organized with ease.

who are passionate about living their best lives. And remember, a new episode comes out every Thursday at 8 a.m. So mark your calendar and join us. Until next week, take care and keep shining bright.