Summer is finally here, and it’s a great opportunity to recharge and refocus your goals. While it’s tempting to make very ambitious plans, it can be easy for time to slip away without the structure of the regular academic year. Luckily, there are ways you can organize your summer break to meet your writing goals and make time for yourself.

[Image Description: Jonah Hill has his hands up near his face and is screaming excitedly. “School’s out for summer” is written on the bottom of the gif.]

Pictured: That last day of spring quarter feeling.

Start with planning your time for the summer, with some room for flexibility. You can use something like Google Calendar or find other scheduling templates online. Plan your breaks, vacations, and other fun activities FIRST. You deserve time to rest, relax, and enjoy your life. During the school year, it can be harder to make time for these things, so try to prioritize them as much as possible in the summer.

[Image Description: A woman in a camping tent, with a fancy meal and glass of wine in front of her. She is on the phone with someone, and she says “I’m on vacation. We need to have boundaries.”]

Pictured: Grad students taking a vacation, putting boundaries around their time, and not feeling guilty about it.

Next, you should account for other responsibilities you will have. Consider family time, teaching, and other non-negotiables when drafting your schedule. Do your best to realistically plan for how much time you will need for these things. Once you have a tentative schedule, you can start planning your writing times.

[Image Description: A cute cartoon sloth smiling with hearts around it. There is a calendar in front of the sloth that reads “schedule” with a few days marked with an “x.”]

Pictured: Schedules don’t have to be scary! They can leave you feeling happy, like this sloth.

There are a few things to consider when you make your writing plan.

1. What are your writing goals for the summer? Maybe you want to have a chapter of your dissertation written, or perhaps you are hoping to revise a manuscript. You could use your summer to find sources and start an annotated bibliography. Many people also find it helpful to focus on a variety of writing tasks, rather than one big project. Choose whatever works for you, and set “SMART” goals.
2. How often do you want to write? You know yourself best. Think about your goals for the summer and the best way to keep yourself in the habit of writing. Some people like to write once a day and others plan for once a week. After you decide how often you want to write, you can carve out time for this in your schedule.
3. How long do you want to write for? This will vary depending on how often you are writing. You should set a realistic time to write for, given how often you are writing. Writing every day? Starting with a goal of 30 minutes to 1 hour seems reasonable. Writing twice a week? Maybe 2 hours will work for you. Try it out and revisit your plan as you go through the summer. You might find yourself writing more than you plan for but beginning with short and attainable time frames is a good way to start and stay motivated.
4. How are you going to hold yourself accountable? Summer can and should be more flexible than the rest of the year. However, you can still implement some accountability measures to help you meet your goals. Writing groups can be a great source of accountability and support; you can make a plan with peers to meet once a week to write. Another option is to schedule a check in, or a few check ins, with an advisor or mentor at some point in the summer to follow up on how your writing is going. For individual accountability, you can keep a writing log for yourself; give yourself a check mark (or maybe a gold star!) every time you write and make note of what you accomplished.

[Image Description: A purple starry background, with text that reads “You’re a star.” Yellow stars shoot across the screen.]

Pictured: You’re a gold star, no matter what!

The next step- write! Don’t worry about getting things written perfectly, or about what anyone else will think. Just start your writing practice. If you find yourself dealing with writers’ block, you can try different things to help. Freewriting, reading articles in your field, and using voice-to-text are all ways you can get inspired and get ideas flowing. Additionally, many UCR resources are still available to you during the summer to help support you in this process. The Graduate Writing Center will be open for writing consultations from July 11th through September 16th, and we'd love to chat with you about your summer projects!

See how your plan goes for the first week or two of summer. If you’re able to stick to it, great! If not, that’s okay too; you can reassess and change your plan based on how summer goes and how you feel. Adjust your writing times as needed, until you find a regular schedule that will work for you. And of course, don’t forget to take time to celebrate your successes and take breaks. With a little bit of planning, you can have a summer you will feel really great about.

[Image Description: A woman wearing a headscarf and casual clothes is lounging on a green couch. There is a pink background and darker pink text that reads “relax.” above her.]

Pictured: Relax. You got this!