A summer vacation planner for working parents

The only summer vacation planner you need this year is BACK!
This is my 7th summer holiday planner and the 5th year that I have been able to purchase the printed A3 poster version (free download will be available as usual).
The key to a successful summer vacation lies in planning. Nobody, including parents, children and customers, will react well to being overwhelmed and bored! But I’ve got you covered, with tips on how to prepare your business for summer, how to balance the kids AND a colorful summer vacation planner for good measure!

Prepare your small business for the summer holidays:

• Organize your inbox: Staying on top of things and keeping your inbox organized is a good start. Follow the 4D technique daily to avoid overwhelm (Do it — Delete it — Postpone it — Delegate it). Also use an email autore­sponder. This takes the pressure off of you and gives clear instruc­tions to anyone who emails you.
• Bulk Email System: There are so many automation processes you can set up to keep your small business running smoothly even when you take a well-deserved break. A mass email list is easy to set up, individuals can unsub­scribe at any time if they want, and most platforms provide insights into who has inter­acted with your email. A Mailing list increases traffic to your products/services and helps increase sales. With GMass you can send mail merge campaigns with automatic tracking and keep your customers updated on all news/availability/services/promotions during the summer holidays.
• Restart in September: July is a good time to review your to-do list. Are you Really Will you do it? If you’ve been moving items from one list to another, month after month, then the answer is most likely no. Summer vacation is also a great time to reboot and clarify your goals for your small business. I always find that when I stop “working” at my company, something magical suddenly happens. I feel inspired, strengthened and full of energy in September.
• Time schedule: A simple but important time management tool to help you:
  Free up headspace
  Free time
  Keep your content consistent
  Work smarter, not harder
  Schedule content for Facebook and your blog and populate your X‑Feed (formerly known as Twitter). Keep your social media active and increase traffic to your blog/website by keeping every­thing going well. It also means you can spend a little time (5/10 minutes a day) replying to comments instead of falling into a social media black hole. The Summer Vacation Planner includes content/awareness days from July to September to make planning a little easier.

A summer vacation planner for working parents:

Why am I creating these summer vacation planners? With a summer vacation planner, everyone (parents and children alike) will have a clear idea of ​​how each day/week will unfold. Agreeing on a daily routine and setting expec­ta­tions for you and your child(ren) during the summer vacation will also help things run smoothly. Use of The Summer Vacation Planner allows you to fill the days with something to do, reducing the risk of unnec­essary expenses and/or feeling left behind. It’s a tried-and-true method I’ve used since my kids were little, and even though they’re still pretty cranky teenagers, a visual planner still helps us stay on track. When it comes to activities/outings, try to be 100% mom to the kids. I call it a compromise, others call it “filling their cup.” If you give the kids quality time just to care for them, without phones, they will be much happier to provide you with time to entertain themselves and give you a chance to work in return. If, like me, your kids are older now and planning their own social lives, use those days to catch up on work and the days they are around are dedicated to themselves.

So what’s on your summer vacation planner?:

• The whole summer is beauti­fully summa­rized on an A3 poster.
• Dated from Monday, July 15 to Sunday, September 8, 2024.
• Color-coded months make the planner easier to navigate and use. July – green, August – purple, September – blue.
• Includes content/awareness days to help plan your social media.
• 6 inexpensive and fun activ­ities to tick off and inspire.
• In collab­o­ration with Lemur Landings and SPLASHDOWN.

Get your FREE download or purchase a beautiful printed A3 summer holiday poster for £5 (including FREE postage) via my shop.
BUY NOW

6 suggestions for summer holiday activities:

The planner contains 6 activity sugges­tions to give you some ideas for activ­ities that are fun, affordable and worth­while for both children and parents.

1. Networking game date: Gather with your small business friends and children in a place where they can play and chat. Having like-minded people to discuss business with will help you stay calm and not become overwhelmed by trying to do too many things at once. If you’re based in Dorset, we are Netwalking on Wednesday, August 14th. We’ll meet at Potterne Park (free parking) and go to the Moors Valley to play and have a picnic. We know that walking is good for your health and well-being. If you also talk to your friends and the children, everyone gets a practical dose of fresh air, exercise, socia­bility and mental freedom.
2. Visit a soft play center: This is always one of my winning situa­tions. See, the great thing about soft play is that it keeps the kids thoroughly enter­tained for hours without mom (or dad) having to be there! Take Lemur landings For example, there is not only a soft play area, but also digital climbing walls and a role-play area, so there is something for everyone. There’s usually free WiFi and a place to grab a drink, plus there’s plenty of seating, making Soft Play the perfect remote working office during the summer holidays! (I love this picture of Megan at age 7, part of the Lemur Landings marketing material!)
3. Visit a water park: Who doesn’t love a water park? It’s great fun! Splashdown has two venues, one on site, my kids have been there sooooo many times! Splashdown, Poole is easy to find in Tower Park and is home to 13 exciting indoor and outdoor water slides and 3 splash zones for children under 5. Valen­tine’s Day Fun Fact: Many years ago, before we had kids, David and I went on a date there! The second venue is idylli­cally located on the English Riviera, Splashdown Quaywest, Great Britain BIGGEST Outdoor water park with spectacular views and 8 adren­aline-pumping water slides, plus a new aquaplay arena for children under 12. Guaranteed to have you coming back for more!
4. Holiday Scrapbook: We’ve been making holiday notebooks for years as we talked about our holiday scrap­books on Good Morning Britain back in July 2015! You can capture moments, I love adding photos with mine HP Sproket, bus tickets and candy wrappers. Since portable vacation notebooks are great for road trips and planes, we always kept count of which countries we visited, which animals we saw, etc. Perfect for us Corfu adventure.

   

5. Go to the library: Libraries are great FREE resources. Libraries are a great oppor­tunity to encourage your kids to read during the summer, because who doesn’t love a little compe­tition? The Summer Reading Challenge One of Megan’s highlights used to be that she would regularly destroy ten books in the first two weeks, and even at 15, her love of reading hasn’t changed. Plus, your local library offers a wealth of activ­ities and events with the added bonus of free WiFi, perfect for organizing your email inbox.
6. To go fishing: Mine are always up for fishing, especially when the weather is lovely and David picks a spot where we’re sure to get a few bites. The wait between catches is short enough to keep the kids busy, but long enough to build antic­i­pation and excitement. For me, fishing is always a gear-intensive activity, and it can be, but if you’re rocking up to the lake with the kids for an hour or two, you don’t need much. We took 2 rods, a landing net, a picnic and a blanket best boilies for carp fishing. Of course, the best part of fishing is taking a photo with your catch after fighting to catch it.

Don’t forget to share this post with working parents or small business owners who are working from home or juggling summer vacation. I really enjoyed creating this summer vacation planner and I just want to say that “Thank you very much” for all your continued support.
We have this!

This post complies with my disclosure policy.

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