Fun Ways to Spend Your Summer Fridays
Friday Fodder No. 8
We have officially made it to the season of Summer Friday Fodder.
This is not a drill, people. There are exactly 14 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Or as they say, 100 days of summer.
The days are longer. They should be more fun, too.
Let’s make sure we maximize them. Starting on Fridays.
Perhaps you work for a company that proudly touts their half-day summer Fridays (always 1:00pm) on LinkedIn to seem like an attractive place to work. 🚩
Or you work for an actually cool company that abides by 4-day workweeks for a few months.
Or you work for yourself and you do as Erica Veurink advises:
Or maybe you’re still expected to work the full day - either in office or remote - but with the unspoken yet understood agreement that everything isn’t that important and can wait until Monday.
Or maybe you choose to take PTO even when you don't have a vacation planned.
Whichever camp you fall into, you deserve to make the most of every summer Friday.
Here are 13 ways to help you own these days. Only 13 because I chose to spend my morning party-prepping instead of writing this so kinda short-changed all of us on a full 14 weeks worth.
Fun Ways to Spend Your Summer Fridays
Let’s assume these take place mostly in the afternoon through early evening. The weather cooperates and it’s always majestically, summery wonderful.
The goal for summer Fridays is peak joy. To play. To feel care-free.
It’s about about spontaneity. Saying yes to last minute plans. Talking to strangers. And spending as much time as possible outside.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: do one of these per week.
Play Pingpong. One day, I was looking longingly out the window of my office in a skyscraper at the sunny, beautiful blue-sky day. Something in the park below caught my eye. It was people. Playing ping pong. Outside. Right then and there, I made it my mission to be one of those people. So I quit my job and ran out of the building to join them. (But really I just waited until I saw them leave and then convinced my work-friend to play hooky for an hour to go play).
Read outside. Walk to a bookstore. Buy a book. Then walk to somewhere you can lounge outside to read uninterrupted for as little or as long as you’d like.
Post up at a cafe-by-day/bar-by-night spot. Bonus points for being on a patio. Do whatcha gotta do for a few hours work-wise in the company of caffeine. And then make the switch to a delicious afternoon libation. Beer. Spritz. The move is something with bubbles. There used to be the perfect spot within walking distance (that was also a bike shop!) that we frequented regularly. But sadly, their landlord raised their rent and they vacated. Alas, a quest to find a new spot!
Toss the frisbee. An actual frisbee. You need one other person to catch it and throw it back to you. And some open space to chuck it at each other. Best executed in the grass barefoot.
Eat a frozen treat. Don’t just sit around and wait for an ice-cream opportunity to present itself. Make it happen. I can’t imagine a better trajectory for a summer Friday than going immediately from whatever the hell I was doing on my computer to being all consumed with eating a melting, frozen thing outside. Or watermelon. Always watermelon.
Walk miles. Lots of miles. No real destination. Just strolling. In a wandering, meandering, stop-when-you-wanna kinda way.
Run through a sprinkler. Or a fountain. Where there’s water on a hot day, joy will be had. I can just imagine my husband changing into a swimsuit between hours of updating spreadsheets and randomly setting up the sprinkler in the back yard for a little spritz. It’s a fun image. Other acceptable versions of this include a squirt gun or water balloon.
Go to/do a sporting event. Like a baseball game. Or golf. Beach volleyball. Soccer match. Interpret per your interests and skill-level.
Seek out an excellent sandwich. I really love sandwiches. And I really love eating sandwiches outside. Two hands required. But for this to be extra super great, it needs to be a really special sandwich. Not a run of the mill, every day lunch grab. Something with a fun ingredient like fig jam. Or brie. A specialty bread. And always a pickle on the side.
Play Jazzminton. Or badminton. Or croquet. Or bocce. Something just a little bit different with more potential places to play so that you’re not beholden to relying on reserving a court time.
Sneak into a pool. A study came out saying 75% of adults didn't get in the pool as much as when they were kids. No shit. I don’t know about you, but I lived at the pool as a kid. I could wax nostalgic about the pool shack snacks… but let’s focus! We need to shift the needle. More pool time. I know it isn’t super easy to have direct access to a pool. So double down and give yourself permission to live on the wild side. Find one to sneak into. The risk and thrill will make the reward that much sweeter. Or alternatively, make friends with someone with access to a pool.
Bike to somewhere. A brewery. A coffee shop. A park. Ideally somewhere that’s still outside. Rent an e-bike and let the wheels take you to places farther away than your feet can usually carry you. Or if you’re feeling fancy, rollerblade.
Take a nap. On a blanket. A hat shading your face from the sun. Hammocks are always splendid, too.
Whatever time your summer Friday starts, these hours are yours to spend. They are few and fleeting. Use them wisely.
Thinking back to your childhood, what did you love most about summer?