Tell me if it’s just me, because hey – maybe it is. But the month of May asks a lot of us, doesn’t it?
May has a crazy-busy event schedule. I don’t happen to have anybody graduating from anything this year, or any other major life events for my sons this year. I understand, though, for those who do! We were reflecting over the weekend that two years ago this week, in a 9 day span, the Klimczak household had an engagement in Michigan, a college graduation in Indiana and a high school graduation in Illinois with all of the assorted extra events attached with those as well. Oh, and a round of Covid, and two sons started new jobs.
May is just busy. I was talking to an accountability partner on our bi-weekly call last week and she mentioned, aptly, that the pace is wearing on her. Yes, I would agree.
May asks a lot of us. Even just the typical stuff.
My body clock is shifting from hibernation mode to active mode. It’s brighter earlier and energy has returned. If anybody has seasonal affective disorder, you know what I mean.
Brightness has returned. We are up earlier and out later in the evening because it’s still daylight. The biological shift to be out and about and do more things is a real thing.
Days are longer, temperatures are warmer. I planted a container garden so I need to switch my habits this time of year to factor in watering my plants every day.
I also shifted my routine to add daily walking into the schedule first thing since it’s bright earlier.
Energy shifts. Routines shift.
Last week, while I was starting to work on this content, I was driving to pick up my college student son from campus to move him home until August. I was saying to a friend that even though it is only 56 degrees and cloudy today, it is the beginning of our summer.
It is that shift to summer for us because John moved home and this is his summer break. Like I said, it might not look like summer, but it’s our summer because John is home for summer break and the household and routines shift.
And there is the end-of-the-year school year extravaganzas. I had the opportunity to address the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony at Central Middle School last week. What a great group of kids. I’m telling you, all those parents and all those kids should be so proud. End of the school year concerts, graduations, ceremonies. And then the weddings, graduation parties, etc.
Yes, the schedule is revving up. We have a wedding in our family the end of May in Baltimore, and that is a really big deal!
May is often a month of transitions, so it doesn’t surprise me that historically May is “Revise your Work Schedule” Month.
We change our schedule for biological reasons, in response to the seasons and shifts in daylight. We change our schedules around our different roles in our lives.
I don’t have children in elementary school or high school anymore. But because of my board of education work, I am still attached to the academic schedule. Our last day of classes is the first week in June.
So, let’s take a look at how to manage all of this.
The first step is the awareness that it’s happening. Awareness that it’s “That Time of Year”. Awareness that, thankfully, things are also wrapping up at the same times that other things are getting started. When my kids were younger, we would add in Spring and Summer sports to the calendar and then school year responsibilities would slowly taper off. Maybe you have responsibilities that only happen in the winter. Many groups and meetings take summer breaks. My choir at church breaks for the summer. Responsibilities shift, and in some ways, the load is lightened, which is nice.
Awareness. Awareness. Awareness. Identify if it’s happening, and that it is happening to you. Take this as an opportunity to make changes if you’d like.
Since culturally and biologically things are shifting anyway, you could also take advantage of this as an opportunity to choose to make some shifts for yourself. And so how do we do that? How do we make those shifts?
Start with awareness.
In my call last week with my accountability partner, she mentioned that writing up the report for our call helped her review what she had accomplished in the last two weeks and also what she hopes to accomplish in the next two weeks. That is how our sessions work.
Our accountability calls was a good way for her to get her thoughts out of her brain and on to paper (or in an email) where she could put them in order for herself.
I mentioned the same to her, that the wall full of post-it notes that had been next to me, as a product of a very professional busy couple of last couple of weeks, have been taken down as the tasks have been completed, and the wall is now clear.
As I said, awareness that it’s happening. And what to do about it.
Grab a calendar, paper or digital. In my accountability call, I stated I would pull out a paper calendar so I can visualize the next three months. I will map out when we travel in the next three months. For the wedding, for a week in Michigan, taking my son back to college, concerts and other scheduled events. Putting the big boulders on the calendar and making sure that the big stuff gets taken care of helps us determine what we else we can say yes to and what we can’t.
Also, grabbing that calendar and the to do list and getting all of the ideas out of our brains and into a usable form really helps. Yes, now is the time. So I’m saying that out loud for you and for me.
Then look at the tasks attached to transitions. I spoke to graduating 8th graders and their parents, right? They are heading off to high school in a few short months, and these kinds of transitions have other tasks and steps attached to them. The book list – perhaps summer reading? The supply list. What do we need, clothing-wise? Sports physicals and Fall sports training that starts on August 1? What do we need to do to start to embrace the new calendar or schedule? What are the things that we can do now to get us better ready for that transition in the fall? Plotting those on the calendar is super important.
These are all important things to think about, and they’re kind of the next natural progression of these major lifestyle shifts now.
We should be busy enjoying the successful ends of some things, but remembering that with the ending of one thing often comes the beginning of something else.
My son moved home for the summer after a really great semester, but in August he will move into an apartment and we will need to do some planning now for that then. We have to start looking at what does he need to be more independent when he moves into his apartment in August. And that is not a question to ask in August. That’s a question to ask now, or as soon as possible.
At least when your mom’s an organizer, I guess it is. Just some things to think about!
To recap:
- Be aware that transitions are happening.
- Make some decisions for yourself about how you want things to go.
- Grab a calendar and look forward to the next 3 months-ish.
- Grab that to-do list and make some notes and plans to make the transitions go more smoothly, and also to set yourself up to succeed when transitions come again.
I’m wishing you a great May, a great start of summer.
I hope you take time to celebrate events and milestones, that you take time to plan some relaxing times for the next few months. Transitions are inevitable, but how can we embrace them and act on them and take an active and intentional hand in crafting them so they don’t just happen to us. They are things that we make happen in the way that we want to make them happen. And I hope that with a little planning now, you can embrace the transitions and the adjusted schedule for summer with as much ease and joy as possible.