The Summer Lull

Hey, what’s up blog? How’s it going? Thanks for clicking on over and joining me on this Monday evening. I hope you’re well.

Today I’m here to talk about the SUMMER LULL. Yes, it’s a thing. No I am not making it up. (well maybe I am). Anyone who works in an office 9-5, Monday to Friday can most likely relate. At least I hope you can and I’m not going completely insane!? BUT… the struggle is feeling real guys and it’s time to talk it through and fix it.

It’s that time of year where kids are out for school holidays, teachers have rejoiced in all their glory to gain their freedom, the sun is shining most days yet where is the excitement for the rest of us? Nowhere to be found I tell you!! The majority of us are sat in air conditioned (freezing) offices glaring longingly upon the blue skies and beaming sunlight outside. Our view inside is a Windows 10 wallpaper screensaver that changes automatically every hour. (Oooh look it’s changed to a picture of a zebra! *grasps on to small amount of excitement*) Motivation has been truly lost, everyone is longing for their one week they have booked off for a holiday or maybe a day or two if we’re lucky (the annual leave year is nearly ending so annual leave supply is short!) Gone are the days of May bank holidays and frolicking around in summer shorts! The most we have to look forward to is the August bank holiday and before we know it, we’re back to the Autumn and Winter season. Maybe not everyone feels the same. Maybe some people are looking forward to cooler temperatures and darker evenings but I for one am in Struggseville. Population: ME. All I can think of is my next holiday away and being free from the mental block and stagnant days.

I don’t quite know why it’s a thing or wether it happens in every job, but it does feel like we’re all going through the motions. I may be imagining things but I’m pretty sure no one wants commute in the heatwave in office wear, everyone wants a pint in their hand and some fresh air would be greatly welcome. It’s not often we get the ‘great British summer’ and such nice climates so when it does peer it’s little head out, us Brits tend to flock to the nearest seaside town or park!

But alas, it is not to be on this Monday! We must bury our little heads into our PC’s and fill out spreadsheets and send emails instead. But hey, it’s the way of life I guess and we must focus on the positives that are to come our way eventually!

I like to have a little moan here and there as we all do and it’s good to feel the feels but I try to keep this blog as positive as I can so here’s my top 5 tips to surviving the dreaded SUMMER LULL *in dramatic X Factor voice*:

1. We lol’d at our little zebra friend earlier on but don’t under appreciate that Windows 10 screensaver!! Turn it into a photo of something you have coming up like a holiday or an event somewhere. Mine is a cute little turtle on the beach and it reminds me daily of my Cancun holiday I have coming up at the end of the year. (I AM SO EXCITED I CAN’T WAIT TO BLOG ALL ABOUT IT AND DO ALL OF THE THINGS!)

2. Stick with your comrades/colleagues in work. We are all going through it together – the least we can do to get through the summer lull is have some banter. Today in my office, we all went a bit loopy in the afternoon (standard behaviour even during non-summer months tbh) so decided to keep it old school and throw paper airplanes at eachother because sometimes it’s just gotta be done. (Do you know how entertaining that shit is in an office hahaha!?)

3. Remind yourself that you have more to life than just your office hours. Don’t take the work lull home with you and stay lazy in the evening. Spend your time wisely, be productive if you want or even just enjoy that TV programme you’ve been wanting to watch for ages! Although you may be wanting a full week off in sunny Spain or somewhere tropical, try to make the most of the free time you have in your evenings to feel good and maybe focus on things that you wouldn’t do any other time.

4. Speak to your friends and family. I think it’s very easy to get dragged into a pit of despair when the summer lull feels like it goes on forever. Although I laugh and joke a bit about office life and work being boring at times (we’ve all been there, anyone who says their job never gets a bit boring at times is lying!), it’s important to keep those feelings in check. What can start as ‘I can’t be arsed for work today’ or ‘I’m a bit bored’ could quickly spiral into much more so talk things out with your loved ones! (my poor mum probably gets a solid rant or two per week over the phone if I’m having a particularly long week!)

5. Lastly, where possible, use your annual leave wisely! I think it makes a huge difference in an office job when you get that little bit of extra time off other than your weekend. Sometimes even an extra day just to reset can really help you through the summer lull and get you feeling refreshed to continue onwards.

So there we go. I hope this blog didn’t come across too gloom and doom! I’ve just really been feeling the lull recently during these summer months and thought it would be good to write about as I’m sure many others can relate somehow. Even if it’s not a work thing, it could just be life in general, it may not even be summer related but we all go through these times where things just go a bit ‘meh’ and life can feel like it drags on a bit but it’s nice to share tips and what not to help eachother out so I’d love to hear about anyone else’s thoughts on it all!

August, it’s gonna be a long month until we reach that bank holiday but let’s make it a good one!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now xo