The First Day of Summer (Special Event)

It's May 1st as I write this.  As I sit down at my desk this morning to get to work, I have a strange unsettled sense.  I've got plenty to do - it's not that.  I don't have any urgent deadlines - that probably contributes.  We should be well into spring but it's a cold, rainy, windy day that's barely above freezing and the cows are all staying in the barn.  The winter term is over, so I don't have any papers to mark, assignments to work on, or materials to study.  I've got a part-time job for summer that's flexible, creative work that I can do from home, which is everybody's dream, but I'm having a hard time getting started.  It's a perfect day to stay in, put on a fire, and do project work.  But what project?

We need something between a weekly review and an annual review - a way to look back on the previous semester, celebrate our accomplishments, and make sure we're not forgetting anything as we go into the new semester.  Businesses often do this quarterly, reporting on projects and budgets every three months.  Every four months seems far more logical for students.  (What is the correct term, though?  "Quarterly" is a common word, but "thirdly" doesn't sound right).

I'm heavily adapting this from a website called yearcompass.com that a friend pointed me to in December.  I really enjoyed doing their "year planning" booklet, so this is my take on a "semester planning" activity.

Why do this?  Yearcompass writes:

Planning your year is a good habit. It can help you become more aware of your successes and sorrows and make you realize how much can happen just in a year. By learning from the past you can plan your future in a way that you don’t repeat the same patterns and feel more in control of your own life.

Plan for Distractions:  Processes like this always bring up lots of reminders of things to do and never got to, which are distracting and depressing.  To avoid getting side tracked with them, I put a piece of scrap paper next to the book I'm writing in.  You might want to do the same, to jot down anything that pops up.  Write it down so it doesn't get forgotten, and look at the list at the end of this process.  That way we'll be able to consider them in the context of the bigger picture.


First task: Go through your calendar week by week.  Start at January 1 and look at each week of your calendar.  Under the heading The Past Term, write down any events, family gatherings, friendly get-togethers, and projects you see.  You can do tidy bullet points if you like, or more of a mind map.  I just string a bunch of points together in a paragraph.  Don't go into details - it's a high level view.  It shouldn't take more than about a third of a full page of paper, a page in a smaller-format journal, or more than can fit on one screen of your computer.  

Structured Summary:  Create a heading along the lines of This is what my last semester was about. Considering the list of 10 categories I'm about to give you, pick some and write down one sentence summarizing what last semester was about in that category.  Not all ten will have been significant in every semester.  Perhaps choose them in order of where you spent your time, and stop when it seems natural to.  If it helps, think of it as picking out one or two things from your above task that were most significant in that area.  Your categories are: 

1. Personal Life and Family
2. Work, Studies, Profession
3. Belongings (Home, Objects)
4. Relaxation, Hobbies, Creativity
5. Friends, Community
6. Health 
7. Intellectual
8. Emotional, Spiritual
9. Finances
10. Bucket List (optional - if you achieved something particularly big you've wanted to do for a long time.)

Reflection:  Under the heading Some thoughts about my last semester, finish these sentences or answer the questions.  Choose the three or four that seem most relevant to you today.

• The wisest decision I made was...
• The biggest lesson I learned was...
• The biggest risk I took was...
• The biggest surprise of the semester was...
• The most important thing I did for others was...
• The biggest thing I completed was...
• What are you most proud of?
• Who are the three people who influenced you the most?
• Who are the three people you influenced the most?
• What were you not able to accomplish?
• What is the best thing you have discovered about yourself?
• What are you the most grateful for? 

Final Thoughts on the Semester:  Under the heading Three final thoughts about my last semester, consider these final thoughts:

1. My biggest accomplishment, and how I achieved it:
2. My biggest challenge, and how I overcame it:
3. I'm letting go of:

Take a minute to sit and deliberately say goodbye to the last semester in your mind.

Now let's look ahead!

Second Task: Dream big. Make a list, or draw a picture, or mind map, or write some bullet points - in whatever way makes sense to you, make a vision of the summer.  What would make it great?  What would the best version of it look like?

Break it Down:  Using the same ten categories as above, choose a few, and as YearCompass says, "Define the most important aspects of next (semester) in the following areas".  It's purposefully vague, so you can decide what that means for you.  You might choose the same categories as before - you may have good momentum in those areas that you want to continue.  You may choose some different categories, where you see that you want to spend more time focusing on them.  I used the heading What It's About for this part. 

Final Thoughts on the Next Semester:  Under the heading Three final thoughts about my next semester, answer whichever of these feels relevant to the upcoming semester.

1. This semester I will no longer procrastinate on:
2. This semester I will draw the most energy from:
3. This semester I will  be the bravest when:
4. This semester I will say yes when:
5. This semester I advise myself to:
6. This semester will be special because: 

And with that... we are done!   I think it has helped me to feel more settled and like I can get my head around everything that needs doing.