Summer is officially here, and I can’t tell you how happy I am. I’ve waited all year for this… Sorry, I had to get that joke in there.

It’s my favourite time of the year. The sun is out (most days), the skies are blue (now and again), but most of all the days are longer, which means you feel like you can do more before and after work.

The real bonus lies at the weekend. It doesn’t matter if you wade out of the sea from a gnarly surf session at 9 pm, because you can still see what you’re doing.

One big thing that I find throughout the summer months is that I feel a lot more productive than I do in the winter. For me, I find that I am more motivated, because seeing a clear blue sky gives me joy and makes me want to get on with my day, so that I can enjoy sitting out and relaxing in the evening.

Instead of me carrying on talking about my love for summer, read on to find out why your favourite season can make you feel more productive.

Summer sun has been shown to improve mood

The NHS explains that being sad as a result of bad weather is a genuine psychological condition. Known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, aptly boiling down to the acronym “SAD”, this condition is a form of seasonal depression, commonly appearing in winter.

Symptoms can consist of:

• Having difficulty concentrating
• Feeling lethargic
• Loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities.

The reason I mention this is because it means that making the most of the summertime can improve your mood, and your productivity as a result.

That means making the most of the sun during the working day is vital. It’s important to plan walks away from your desk to enjoy the sun, so it doesn’t feel like a wasted break by continuing to sit in front of your laptop screen.

Feeling more motivated can help with your overall mood, too. In turn, this can boost you at work, whether that’s in your discovery meeting with a prospect or helping your clients to reach their life goals.

Improving your work-life balance

It’s always important to balance out your work life and social life. Without that divide, work can get the better of you when you’re having a stressful day at the office. Fortunately, summertime is an ideal opportunity to reassess yours.

While at work, whether it’s in the office or at home, I try to find an excuse to get outside during my lunch break, just to make the most of the glorious sunshine – although as much as I’d love to top up my tan during the working day, sadly that’s not all that easy to do in the UK.

Similarly, when I’m away from work, I want to be out in the sun 24/7. Whether on a long day trip at the weekend, or while using up some annual leave, it’s so important to me that I make the most of summer. When I return to work on Monday morning, knowing that I’ve made the most of my time outdoors fills me with energy.

I find that summer and the blue skies it brings give me a chance to improve my work-life balance and allow me to recharge. With this balance, it means that my everyday work mentality shifts to a more productive gear.

Summer is an opportunity to make the most of your time

Perhaps most importantly of all, the longer days mean you have the opportunity to really make the most of your time.

The Express wrote an article back in April in which they spoke about why living in sync with the seasons can contain an immense healing power.

In it, they explain how summer gives you the chance to make the most of the day, achieving all those goals that you set out at the start of the year.

In the earlier stages of the year, I’m constantly thinking about the sunny days. I set my goals of what I’d like to do when I don’t have to wrap up in my sleeping bag just to keep warm.

Once I’ve set goals, such as exercising outside after work or going on a long weekend down in Devon, it gives me an incentive to help boost my productivity. I feel like my overall mood increases, and that benefits me by making me want to get my head down with work to be the best I can.

Then, when the waves are calling my name, I know I can have that long weekend feeling like I’ve earned it.

Setting incentives like this throughout the summer offer little boosts along the way that can keep you feeling motivated.

Of course, just because summer is my favourite time of the year, it doesn’t mean that those other times aren’t important – after all, you can’t achieve goals in the summer without having set them earlier in the year.

But still, those longer daylight hours give you a chance to be more productive, both in and outside of work. Make the most of it!

Get in touch

We aren’t trained in meteorology, and unfortunately don’t have the power to change the seasons.

But if you’d like help on how to market your business to the clients you want to attract, email us at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.