How to Clear Your Summer Backlog (Without Losing the Sunshine Vibe)
The Great Summer Productivity Myth
Right, hands up if this sounds familiar: It's June, the sun's finally decided to make an appearance, and you're plotting your perfect summer.
Productive mornings with coffee in the garden, wrapping up work by 3pm for spontaneous sea swims. Evenings that stretch on forever without a care in the world.
You'll finally tackle that massive to-do list while maintaining lovely, breezy summer energy, posting on IG from your beachside hammock. ✨ (er, lol)
Then July rocks up and reality hits.
Your backlog isn't shrinking - it's multiplying like rabbits! That relaxed productivity you imagined? It’s melted in the heat.
Summer messes with our usual productivity rhythms. The longer days feel like we've got endless time, while beach trips and school holidays show up to interrupt you again and again.
And here’s the thing about your backlog of projects. It’s often more than just admin. These are the big ones you’ve avoided for months. For example, I’ve been telling myself for SO long that this is the year I’ll finally move all my courses to a new platform.
When I say “for SO long”…I mean I’ve been saying it since last year.
What projects are sitting on your backlog making you feel heavy? How about we tackle them together?
It’s possible, it’s realistic, and YES YOU CAN enjoy summer and get a few things done. Start with this:
Find, Name, and Label Your Projects
Set a half-hour timer and it’s time for a project list!
You want to write down
Everything that's been nagging at you from the first half of the year
Big projects you started but never finished
Small tasks that keep sliding through the cracks
Vague ideas you keep meaning to explore but never quite get round to
Unanswered emails in your inbox that are decisions in disguise
Now…honesty hour.
How far did you get with this? Is it half done, never started, nearly finished?
How important is it that this gets done?
How quickly do you need it?
Those three will help you put all items into one of 3 categories: urgent, important, and so pointless that you can ignore it.
Pay special attention to the last category. Some stuff on your list doesn't need doing anymore. That networking event you felt you "should" attend? The project that made perfect sense in March but now feels completely wrong?
Permission granted: bin them. 🗑️
Quick question for you: What's the weirdest thing currently on your to-do list that you added months ago but can't quite bring yourself to delete?
One Project, One Plan (No Really, Just One)
Of course you’ve got some business as usual on the go, but if things really feel a lot, it’s time to try the focus method.
Pick one priority project for summer. Just one.
Allow yourself to plan for rest from the beginning. Don't create a schedule that requires you to be "on" seven days a week. Plan for 4-5 productive days and treat the others as flex time for spontaneous summer joy.
What's the one project that would make the biggest difference to your life if you actually finished it this summer?
Grab yourself a calendar and see if you can
Block out a day a week for seasonal activities like bike trips, reading in the garden, or meeting friends and family.
Ask for more help on a temporary basis, like a project manager for a day a week.
Clarify where you’re heading this year (as in business goal, not South of France 🌴). What are you working towards? What matters most?
Delegate Now Because It Pays Off Later
As you revisit your list of urgent and important projects, the question should be “What could be handled by someone else?”
You don’t always have to hand off the entire project, but getting help with the boring or fiddly bits will help you focus on what matters…AND have a life in the sun!
The magic formula I've discovered is "a day a week" support. Virtual assistant for admin tasks, cleaner once a week for an hour, asking your teenager to take over social media for an afternoon as their summer job.
Even small amounts of regular support can free up massive mental energy.
What's one task you're doing that someone else could handle?
Need more inspiration for tackling your business questions? Here’s how business journaling helps thousands of business owners (and you can do it for free!).
