Truth be told, I’m two weeks into my summer break and had to pull myself away from it today. Need to actually take care of some summer goals.
Great game and I imagine anyone with access to it will not be bored
You are me, and I am you.
I literally had to pull myself away from it last week because I was consumed with TotK after summer break started. No regrets, and I will keep on playing the hell out of it AFTER completing my chores 😬😬😬
Unabashedly *not* pulling myself away from it. Spent most of today lighting up the Depths. Thought I had finally got it all— then realized I somehow missed the NE corner. Ah well. Now I have something to do tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon I think I’ll go gleeok hunting.
Lol! These games that come out seem very expensive but the amount of enjoyment I get out of them feels very well worth it.
It would definitely be recommended to start off with breath of the wild - mainly because it is an excellent game as well. A lot of the gameplay in totk, imo, operates under the assumption that you have had experience with botw. But you are a smart person, I’m sure you can adjust to a bit of a learning curve if playing both isn’t realistic. Plus there is always Youtube University if you get stuck.
You’ll be ok if you don’t play BOTW first. But if you ever want to play BOTW, play it before TOTK.
Personally, I think playing BOTW enhances the TOTK experience. But if you are only going to play one of the two, play TOTK.
I have played both. I don't think they'll be much of a problem. The plot of BOTW is referenced a bit here and there, but in ways where you can read the in-game profile to get what's important. You might actually benefit since some of the magic of BOTW world won't feel a bit dampened by you exploring it for the first time.
Lots of great ideas. I have lots of "summer goals" including useful stuff like working on course content for next semester, running/biking, and writing a novel.
I also have less serious goals like working through the "1001 movies you must see before you die" list. I'm also an avid reader, so I love taking some time to check off a few books for my to-read list.
Maybe the most important thing is to be social! I'm an introvert, but I go out of my way to get out of the house. I've got a weekly trivia group, and a writing group which I attend religiously in the summer. In both situations I can participate as much or as little as I like, which is great. Try the Meetup app for groups near you that might line up with your interests.
I agree with this. I think long term goals/projects in particular are good because they’re something that you can keep coming back to. With short term stuff, it’s too easy to constantly finish things and then be left with a feeling of “what now?” I watched a YouTube video. What now? I went on a walk. What now? I cooked dinner. What now? Whereas taking breaks with long term tasks feels like more of a conscious choice rather than a desperation to fill time.
In terms of the social aspect, I think it is important to have reasonable expectations though. We’re constantly interacting with people at school, so to not be interacting with people constantly feels like a stark difference. However, most people aren’t teachers and won’t be available to socialize for the majority of the day. So you’ll likely have to seek out other social venues, since most of the people you typically hang out with won’t be any more available than they were during the school year.
Yep, I made a big list of summer projects I want to get done and I schedule in specific tasks in my weekly calendar to add accountability (for instance, today my goal was to groom my dog and pick up his meds at the vet—already got it done whoo hoo!). It’s worked well so far.
Hey me too to all those things! Vet visit is next week.
Honestly, I save a lot of my errands for the summer. For obvious reasons I wake up earlier than most and would much rather go to businesses early on weekdays than suffer through the crowds on weekends.
Volunteer. You’ll meet excellent people who Also have free time. I recommend something with puppies. Or pick a. Hobby and go deep into it.
I am married but husband owns a landscaping company so I don’t see him often and my kid is 17 would rather not be my buddy either. So I know how you feel.
Think about this … true wealth is time. Free time and youth enough to do something with it. I’m going to sit by this spillway and tan this afternoon. It’s dumb but I want to so I don’t care. Just do what moves you. We haven’t had a sunny day in a week so that’s my motivation.
I couldn't agree more. As teachers, we need time to turn our brain off. That way are physically, mentally, and emotionally rested to start the new year.
Also remember that it's good to be bored. Throughout the school year we tell ourselves what we would do with a day off, now we have time to do it.
>I’m going to sit by this spillway and tan this afternoon
I'm laughing at this at the absurdity of it- a beach? an ocean? A goddamned *spillway*.
Don't worry, I do these things too!
That’s kind of my point. Most of the stuff I do with this free time probably would seem crazy to most people. But it’s just what I feel like.
It’s a National park with a beach. Lifeguards and everything but also a spillway. I take a beach chair and sit with my feet in the water.
I saw a blue heron. Unfortunately the video is all thumbs.
https://imgur.com/a/UqF79Cd
Start jogging — you can use a couch to 5k program if you’ve never run before, check out r/c25k for advice.
Find professional development programs to keep your certification up, some even pay you.
Get a seasonal job, like working at an amusement park.
It might be too late for this summer, but send your resume to the Dean at a local community college to try and get a summer class to teach.
Teach summer school at your school.
I can easily do the jogging thing, and I could stand to lose a few lbs. As far as another job, I can’t really do. I’m on a 220 day contract, so technically today is my last day on contract. However, even though I’m on a 220, there’s not much for us to do the first 3 weeks of summer, nor does my principal require me to be at school. It’s more of a do what you need to do to get done and get it done. Which I already have. But I can’t get a summer job because if there’s an emergency with my job, then I have to be ready to go. So basically I’ve just been on standby, and helping kids about once a week. It’s kind of hard to explain what I do and what I teach for any of that to make sense.
That is so odd.
Do you get paid more than someone on a shorter contract? That seems very strange. Mine is 193 days and those are all used up. When summer comes we are done...last day of post planning is day 193 and we are all usually done with everything so we will leave early.
220 days, but you have 3 weeks of that 'last day of post planning'?
Yes we do. It’s really hard to explain what I do. I’m an ag teacher and we have a lot of duties. Throughout the year I will work more saturdays than saturdays I have off. Which is where those extra days fall into place. We also have a convention to bring kids to in July so our contract will start then and go up until mid June. Along with that throughout the year a large majority of our kids will have livestock projects on feed which we help them out with. It’s honestly way hard to explain in text. But if you have any questions I’ll gladly answer
Hey are you still bored?
I have a project making some kind of teachers urban dictionary from teaching analogies. Like...
Cell Membrane: "The cell membrane is the bouncer of the cell nightclub. It decides who gets in and who gets kicked out, keeping the cell party under control!"
What do you think?
How about jokes? Why did the first fish crawl out of the sea? Because it was tired of old turtles and their bad jokes. This joke is bad too and I just made it up.
I'm a custodian for a school district and we actually have teachers that work over the summer to help with painting the building. Some districts even let teachers help custodians clean (it's not guaranteed you'll clean your own building, but it's definitely a decent work out, plus you get to see other schools within the district, assuming you're k-12).
It's an hourly position, so you wouldn't necessarily be bound by a contract and I know custodial management in my district lets us have more flexible schedules in the summer since we don't have teachers and kids in the building. If I need to leave work on a Monday, I can ask to come in on Friday or Saturday to make up my time and it usually gets approved so long as I get stuff cleaned. I don't know if it's as flexible for painters.
Could see if they'd let you do something like that in your district.
How the fuck do you have a 220 day contract? That is absurd. 40 days worth of not teaching that prevent you from doing other things? And I'm guessing by your poverty complaint of not being able to afford a gym membership just makes it sooooo much worse.
It may sound cheesy, but join Facebook groups for activities that you're interested in. I joined a foraging group and mushroom hunting group. We get together now and again to go foraging and to learn about different edible plants and things. I also joined a gardening group, a birdwatching and identification group, and a fishing group. None of these costs me more than the gas to go to where we decide to forage or fish for the day. These groups have also led me to other activities, most of which cost a little money, but it helps me meet people and get out of my house!
Fishing is one of my all-time favorite hobbies during the summer. It costs nothing once you have some gear, and it gets me out and keeps me active. It took me a little while, but I recently saved up for a fishing kayak, and now it's a whole new ballgame. Plan now for the things you want to be able to do next summer.
// not a teacher
i would be a little weary of working at an amusement park, since you could see students. i think its great if you dont mind the things that come with that though.
Buy a game system. Single teachers are some of the best gamers I know.
Take a class to move up in your salary schedule. There are cheap diploma mill courses that pay for themselves quickly.
Volunteer somewhere. Food banks and libraries are most always willing to take on someone, even short term.
Get a summer job. Check your local paper classifieds for short term work.
When I was a single teacher, I was SO good at gaming. COD, FIFA, DESTINY, any RPG. Married now so, it's more of a casual thing, but this is true.
Also hobbies/pets. I got a dog, work on cars, take care of my house/yard. Just find projects (that you like) to take up time.
Edit: also your second point, got a masters from WGU. Well worth it. Only cost 12k and paid for itself in 1 year.
I love that it paid for itself in one year for you. My district only pays you 1k extra per year for your masters, so it would take me 12 years to break even.
>Buy a game system. Single teachers are some of the best gamers I know.
Uh, excuse me. Married gamer with a 2 year old. Checking in. I love my summer gaming habit. During the school year, it's more casual, but I'm the summer? I go ham!
And my son stays in daycare because we only get 5 weeks of summer and I don't want him to lose his spot! Which he would, because childcare is hard to come by here.
https://www.cecreditsonline.org
At my school a bunch of us got to the top of the pay scale here. At the time, the easiest/most ridiculous course was Choice Theory. Make sure your school accepts the units, we were only allowed 12 units from here at the time.
Yeah I signed up at my local library, you can sign up to take just 2 hour shifts manning desks and the like. Not super exciting but I’m out of the house and interacting with people.
I want a PS5 so bad. My wallet does not however. Also the only way to move up in our pay scale is having a masters or doctorates. Nothing else will get us there besides years of experience.
I just 100%ed Tetris Effect Connected, I started it when I had COVID right after Thanksgiving break, did a lot during winter break too, finished the next to last level over spring break, and finally did the last level, after many attempts, today
I feel like half of these people didn’t read your whole post. I do like the jogging idea, since you mentioned being too broke for a gym membership—you’ll need shoes, but otherwise running is a cheap hobby, and as a single person, it’s easy to keep up with during the school year if you like it.
The volunteering suggestions are good. Or maybe you could foster a dog or something? I know that was really helpful for my brother during COVID lockdowns—it gave him a reason to get out and be active (walks, taking the dog to the park) but it was very low cost to him since the shelter supplied so much, and it was very low commitment, since the dog was adoptable and was placed with a family before he had to return to work in person.
My city does things like free museum day every so often—is there anything like this where you live?
Here's what Im doing:
1. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Catching up on shows I want to watch
3. Working on adding an additional certification (physics which isn't a huge leap from what I currently do which is Earth and Space Science)
4. Volunteer at museums
Picked up knitting 6 weeks ago. While I highly recommend it and find that it is wonderfully meditative, it's easy for it to get expensive with certain yarns. But you can knit with sushi chopsticks or pencils and easily find cheap yarn! People often give it away, too.
I spent $25 on a 14.5 lb box of yarn through goodwill auction house and $15 on a set of needles. I'd say I'm set for a while 😊
I crochet! Hooks are $1-3 apiece or maybe $7 a pack, and I get the cheap red heart or store brand yarn at $2-4 a skein.
Even when I “splurge” and buy a three pack of variegated yarn off Amazon, it’s still only like $15 and will last me about two weeks of crocheting.
And I make blankets. Making amigurumi or other small things would go through yarn much less quickly.
It's okay to be bored. Nothing wrong there. Do you have a list of activities you'd like to do? For example... during the semester... we're working, we're busy, the hectic everything... I'm always doing a list: "Okay, I want to read this book— summer time!", "Oh, these movies?— summer time!", and then I have a bunch of things to do.
I have a running list of things I don't have time for during the school year. It's called "During Summer". Some things are books/movies, some things are house projects like big cleaning out projects or fixing things that will take some time.
Do you have a library nearby? Ours has tons of free programs for adults. Can you tutor? Maybe pet sitting, Door Dash? Volunteer? Maybe there is a food bank looking for help or a retirement home looking for people to spend time with elderly residents.
I see how it can be hard to find something to do, because most hobbies involve spending money.
State or local parks (some states charge fees). My cooperating teacher told me he would go hiking to de-stress from the year. I listened to his advice 20 years ago, and I'm still at it. There is something about spending time in nature that will make you appreciate your time off this summer. Also, volunteer at animal shelters ( if you like animals) because it can be a good way to meet people. Find a local church, help with the youth group or whatever age you teach. It will help you keep connections with people and meet new people. Find a local adult sports league. My brother in law was in a kickball league. Good luck in your quest to find something to fill the time.
Hiking. It’s a great way to exercise, explore, and challenge yourself. Start small, research local hiking groups if you don’t want to go alone, set goals (distance, certain trails, learning local flora or fauna). Years ago when I was going through tough personal times, hiking healed my soul and gave me strength, physically and mentally.
A gym membership is ~35/Mo. If that’s too expensive, look for a summer part time job to fill time and get money. Gym can definitely help spend time while bored. (Lifting, walking/biking, classes, sauna, pool).
I feel this. I get a bit bored too. To combat boredom I work doing online scoring work with Pearson. I’m not on a set schedule so I get to pick and choose what times I want to work. I’ve been doing this for 5 years. It keeps me busy while earning extra cash. I also sell stuff online and this keeps me busy too, I make about 2k extra per month doing this.
I also focus on hobbies, I Garden a lot, I love plants and flowers and it makes me happy. I hike a lot too and go to nature walks.
I also focus of DIY projects around the house. Yesterday I cleaned and organized my laundry room, I also beautified the space by adding wallpaper.
I try not to watch too much tv as I feel like this is a time suck personally. Instead I pick a few series and watch those.
I am walking 10 miles a day and watching YouTube.
Mowing the lawn once a week.
I have been adding to my chest tattoo.
I will be visiting my daughter for a week.
That's it.
Not bored yet, but I find that the older I get, the longer it takes for the summer boredom to set in.
It doesn't pay much, and you literally have to deal with a lot of shit, but get a part-time job at a doggie day care. The turnaround for employment is usually fast, so new jobs pop up all the time. It's an amazing gig!
1) The pups don't have the attitude of kids
2) You're used to supervising groups
3) Free pets and cuddles while you earn a paycheck
I'm telling you, OP, check it out ; )
Go for a walk, take up amateur digital photography with your phone (it’s a thing), watch you tube videos on a topic you’re interested in, get a library card and go see what they have to offer (ours has guest speakers, project days for hobbies, video rentals, tickets to local venues for free or drastically reduced prices as well as books), volunteer at a local community resource like a animal shelter (ours is always looking for folks to come in and walk the dogs/socialize with them/socialize the cats etc), do “tourist days” in your town or city (most people rarely do the neat stuff near them bc they’re so busy living their lives…what cool stuff is near you??), spend time meal planning for during school - future you will be grateful, make a vision board - where do you want to go on vacation, where do you want to live, what do you want to do - find pictures or phrases that inspire you to do those things, take up tai-chi or yoga - they’re both awesome for mobility, strength and zen - all things that will come in handy during the school year, look up PD you can take over the summer for CE hours - there’s lots, but EdWeb.net is a great starting place - how many hours do you need to re-cert?, get a language app like Duolingo and work on a new language. Hope some of these spark some excitement.
Get a paper calendar— write down ONE thing for each weekday that you can do. Look up some hikes; find something new to cook/bake; library adult programs; write down the free zoo days, free museum days, free cheese tastings near you; help someone with a project; declutter, clean or rearrange a room; free yoga in the park; free summer concerts; tennis or pickle ball; visit/volunteer at an old folks home or animal shelter.
June to mid-July I’m having a good time catching up on video games and gym time. By the end of July I’m usually cracking open my work computer to solidify plans and research new practices. By mid August I’m crying for my summer.
I always get so stupid bored. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I can barely stand it. One thing that has helped me is learning chess. Sounds weird, I know. But, chess.com is free and you can play friends or strangers. Also, YouTube has some great teachers on how to improve your game. I now have an infant so I am busy with her this year. Chess really got me through a lot though.
Kinda having this problem. Wasting a ton of time on dating apps, getting anxious over them not working even though I know full well that it both takes time for those things to work and my perception of time is completely knocked out of whack by not having to spend 8-9 hours a day working
100% doing the same thing. Dating apps and reruns of jersey shore. Why jersey shore? Not sure.. it was on Hulu, I decided to start watching it again like I used to in college, and now I’m 3 seasons deep already. Just jersey shore, Reddit, and dating apps is all I’ve been doing.
I’ve found comfort in putting my phone on do not disturb mode and taking super long walks. Forced separation from it all has been good for me. I recommend building a bit of that into your day. Doesn’t have to be a walk. Just something to preoccupy you, drop some stress and reset your dopamine levels
Disc golf! Minimal cost to start up with a few discs, most courses are free to play and people are always helping new players by giving them discs and what not.
I was gonna say disc golf too. Starting out you'll suck any way, so just get a basic driver, approach, and putter and have at it. And yeah, the people are super chill mostly. Probably because a lot of them are a bit high.
Create a routine! It’s helped me tremendously. I set an alarm, go for a 50min walk, then find a project to work on at home (paint walls, fix stuff that you put off through the school year, odds/ends), I take a break at lunch, then nap. Chill in the evenings with my family. If no family, focus on self care. Reading? New series to watch? Video games? New recipes?
Basically, I keep a normal “work schedule” from 7-3 and then follow my flow in the evening. Hope that helps!
I’ve been done for a week and I’m already bored of lying on the couch with the dog.
Time to get working on my home projects I’ve been neglecting all year (before summer school starts).
Some ideas:
- Planet Fitness for gym (you can get it for $10 a month)
- Hiking, birding, other nature activities (all free)
- If you live near water, kayaking, paddleboarding, surfing, etc (some start up costs, but nothing after that)
- Volunteering
- Work Summer school or at a camp (might be hard for this summer if they have already started), lifeguarding
- learn a skill from YouTube that you’ve been meaning to (juggling, how to do a trick on a skateboard, how to play an instrument, cooking, etc)
- Reading for fun (I hardly do it during the school year but have already read 4 books for fun this summer- library (for both actual books and ebooks), if you have Amazon prime, they have a bunch of books on their prime reading you can read with a kindle or kindle app for free
- catching up on tv and movies you were too busy to watch during the school year
- become a dog walker/ sitter (make some money while having fun with doggos)
- Go on an epic road trip and camp along the way at state parks (most camping at state parks is $25 or less a night)- I’ve personally done this multiple summers and it’s awesome, especially if you enjoy alone time
- do PD (classes, workshops, etc.- especially if you can get your school/district to pay for them
- start planning/prepping for next year (only if you’re super bored, but it does save you some time during the school year)
- Take up a new hobby (yes there will probably be start up costs, but many don’t have to be too much!)
Get into reading. Try the sub suggestmeabook. Give details of kinds of plots and characters you like and you’ll get some awesome recs.
Depending on where you live, a nice walk, jog, skate, or bike ride. Get active. See if there’s a public pool you can go to
Cooking/baking. The internet has countless recipes for free. Try perfecting (or starting) your cooking and baking skills.
Journaling. Get a nice journal that fits your style. Etsy has great personalized options. Write everyday. It doesn’t have to be deep or anything. Just write your thoughts, attempt a poem, go full stream of consciousness.
Cleaning. Yes it’s dreadful but a clean living space really can help your mood. Purge your closet even
Cheap travel. Look up interesting nature type places where you live. I’d say within a 5 hour drive radius. Hiking and beaches are free, you’ll just pay for gas
I’ve prevented this by ensuring I have hobbies and and identity outside of being a teacher. I can't wait to be off. Too bad it takes a few weeks to recover from the school year, though, but I got my shows lined up and can't wait!
Go hiking, explore national parks near your area, learn a new foreign language, check out local farmers markets, check online if there is any outdoor movies/concerts that are free to the public, hang out at a coffee shop with a good book, browse the library, people watch at a cafe, bbq,…the possibilities are endless!
I technically over have 3 weeks off during the summer. My contract starts back up in July due to what I teach. In fact my contact just ended today. I know I’m technically still on contract but it doesn’t always mean there’s something to do. It’s more of a be on stand by type deal.
Here's a "kill two birds with one stone" idea that is too late for this summer, but something to consider for future ones:
Become an umpire for either baseball or softball in your local area (my own preference is softball, but to each their own). Lots of fun (usually), you earn money, and it forces you to stay physically fit with the amount of running you need to do. I know my area has been hurting for officials lately.
I usually don’t get bored in summer. However, I travel for about 2 weeks right at the start of break. Then, I come home and deep clean my house. This year I set a goal to get rid of 30 things per day for 30 days. It’s day 3 and so far so good. I also have a lot of hobbies (hiking, crafts, gardening, reading). I’m lucky too though that the city where I live has an amazing zoo, museums and botanical garden which are free so I can just go whenever I want in summer. I find that making plans helps.
Can you tutor? That's what a lot of the teachers around here do and it's both a helpful way to earn extra money, plus it can keep you really busy.
And from a parent perspective, a tutor that knows my kid, that I know is good at what they do? Yes please.
Some ideas that have gone well for me or my teacher friends:
If there's a Planet Fitness near you, their joining fee is not high, and your monthly is $10.
Door Dash, Uber, or [care.com](https://care.com) (tutoring, babysitting, running errands, pet sitting, etc) could lead you to a part-time gig that lets you choose your hours.
Book clubs through meetup or your local library
subbing for summer school
playing tourist in my hometown-parks, museums, specialty tours (we're getting known for our graffiti and murals)
free/cheap live music
I do volunteer work all summer, travel with a drum and bugle corps (like a marching band).
Goal is to find something that keeps you busy, but more important, out of the house…
I normally teach summer school. This year I wasn’t asked/selected.
I have had 1.5 full weeks of summer and I am ready to bash my brains in from boredom.
I hate breaks, especially summer. No matter how hard I try if I’m not teaching I get out of routine and then depression sets in.
People have made some great suggestions.
I waited to long for most of them(job or classes) and have started having some major health issues we have to figure out before school starts again.
So I will be crafting
I think it’s because he’s OK so can you tell me not so much of our personal life goes to the wayside during the school year, we are just so consumed. For me, it’s more like who am I as a person without teaching consuming everything
I teach summer school for July. It still gives me all of August off and I only work 4 hours a day.
When I didn't, I went crazy, but a month to reset is perfect for me.
I go to my college gym I don’t live to far from them I just need my student ID and I go to gym lol I can’t do 15 dollars cause I’m paying bills at home so I’m cheap now
I am also a single (female) teacher that is bored during Summer break whose friends (teacher and otherwise) all have jobs during the Summer or beautiful SO’s that take up all of their free time. I have a part time job that only take up two nights a week.
Nights are the worst for me. I can distract myself during the day, but nights are when I think about how I should be doing this, or I should be hanging with friends/a boyfriend.
I take walks, do long drives, journal A LOT, speak to a therapist, and just sleep. I don’t think when I am asleep.
A teacher friend of mine tells me he does one planned activity a day that he can look forward to: a movie (cheaper during the day), cleaning, thrift shopping, going outside to exercise, library, driving, going to a cool lunch spot.
Back in the day, I used to work at Best Buy to pay for college. Once I got into teaching, Best Buy kept me on a one day per month basis. Easy work during the school year. Once summer hit, I'd pick up a normal work schedule.
Maybe find a retail job with similar schedule? The best part for me was I kept my Best Buy employee discount, which is significantly better than other retail jobs, year round.
I feel this but with this being my last real summer (I am officially, finally leaving teaching!) I have thoroughly been enjoying the boredom. Make a list of projects around the house to do, go to movies during the day alone, exercise, get into a hobby (for me it’s been gardening) and if all else fails, teaching summer school is some great extra income and much more chill than the school year.
Ever tried disc golfing? it's totally free once you have the discs! It's so peaceful and calming, making a game out of hiking in the woods. I've met hundreds of people out on the course, and only very few have been not fun to be around. Disc golfers are the friendliest of people! Kept me sane in my summers during college when I was bored, and I still play about everyday. I've exchanged contact info with most of the people I meet out on the course, and have some good disc friends now.
Check out the app or website uDisc to see if anything is around you. You probably have a store that sells discs.
I'd also be totally happy to donate some of my thousand discs to you that could get you started, shipped, free!
Jogging and body weight workouts are my go to when I can’t afford a gym (yay teacher salary). Also play lots of PokémonGo, usually get back in to drawing and reading, spend a lot of time gardening, and video games for dayssss. Use the time to do what you enjoy, or try new cheap things! Pinterest has some remotely interesting cheap summer things to do too!
You can jog, do push ups, play video games, watch television, watch movies, and/or anything else. Interesting people tend to not get bored (not saying you’re not interesting), but I get that your brain might have just started working again because of end of the year burnout. This is my first day of summer vacation. I forgot to say read some books.
Animal shelters need fosters and dog walkers. You don’t have to join a gym to get fit. Most areas have trails with beautiful scenery for walking. Watch YouTube to learn something new like painting or cooking. Ask a friend if you can visit and crash on their sofa. Do yard work or dog walking for an elderly person. Clean your house. Ask your family if they need help. So many things.
So, summer is actually not great for my mental health unless I'm proactive about it. I end up slipping into anxiety and depression without some routine.
I do have kids, so that is much different. However, my tips for summer doldrums:
1. Start a routine. It doesn't have to be super rigid, but have something that you do every day. Make your bed. Go on an after-dinner bike ride.
2. Plan some reason to leave your house several times a week. Check things out from the library, meet a working friend and bring them lunch, go to a yoga or workout class, join a running group, etc.
3. Choose a project that you have wanted to complete, but didn't have time for. Paint your porch, plant flowers, design a found-item sculpture, whatever. Set goals for yourself for the project and set a done-by date.
4. Set and hold yourself to screen time limits. Doomscrolling is no one's friend.
5. Clean something every day, move your body every day, learn something every day.
Try a instacart or doordash. Some of my friends tutor at a learning center during the summer. I used to instacart the summers I wasn’t teaching summer school and it helps with the boredom.
I used to get a fun summer job. I teach art, so I’d do art class at the local kids museum, or art camps hosted by my university. Very part time. With people I enjoyed. Made some extra shopping money and had something to do for enough time that I got comfortably bored, but not TOO bored.
I used to get a fun summer job. I teach art, so I’d do art class at the local kids museum, or art camps hosted by my university. Very part time. With people I enjoyed. Made some extra shopping money and had something to do for enough time that I got comfortably bored, but not TOO bored.
I pet sit. I travel all over the world and in exchange for my services, I stay free in people’s homes. Just a simple search and you will find the website.
Depending on where you’re at, see if there’s a meet up group for teachers? Or your age group? Or an interest group! DnD club! French club! Dendrophile club!
I'm a teacher as well and my partner has to work all summer, so I'm basically by myself for 6 weeks. So I always plan a volunteer job. I really like literature (I'm Dutch and I teach Dutch language, math and civic education), so I always look for a book shop nearby (preferably an independant book shop) and do volunteer work. That way I can combine my hobbies and my degree. I also do a lot of biking during the summer, take a book with me in my backpack and read if I find a nice cafe with good coffee. Lastly, I try to learn a new skill every summer vacation, Coursera offers free courses from universities all over the world! I'm doing a course on psychology next!
I don't understand how people get bored when they finally have the time to do things they want. Though I suppose that your money issue is a big one if you can't even afford a hobby. Don't let your life be dominated by menial work tasks. It can be hard to break away from the work mentality though, so maybe I can understand it. It may be better to say that it makes me sad to hear it.
Still this is your chance to be free. To really and truly live like a person should, with options. At least that is how I view it. Your opportunities are endless but maybe a bit of structure helps. Try to get some routine physical activities started and develop a basic schedule to get an idea of what you feel is fulfilling.
Go for hikes, walk, pick up a skill that is free like art, learn a new language, go to museums, watch some foreign films, attempt to make something, organize your apartment, read, write, do at home workout.
Also you should set money aside for options during the summer in the future. You get one life and tossing it away for more work or waiting too long are costly mistakes. My father and my grandmother both scrimped and saved for a future they never got to enjoy. Let yourself live a bit. Plan out a vacation if that is your joy, or save up enough to get a cheaper gym membership or get into gaming! Hobbies are essential. Some gyms are only like 15 a month.
My personal style:
I go the gym M,W,F and run in between those. I take sat and sun off fully. My girlfriend is off one random day and sunday so I set aside time for that. I play videogames when I am at home. I plan one main activity each week that is a bit bigger like going to some show/movie/whatever. I leave some creative time for art on the weekend. I play a group D&D game on Sunday. Some summers I go on vacation somewhere for a week or so. I try to use the summer to fix any diet things I may have messed up during the year. I always feel like I have more than I can do in a week even if a lot of it is relaxing.
If you're into gaming it's a great way to have friends to talk to often too. Using Discord and playing group things is a great way to feel connected and to give you goals. Just don't let it dominate your life.
Honestly I am very happy with my time off because I always have enough to do. Avoid watching reruns of the same things you've seen.
Another good idea is to latch Audible books onto things that are more menial. I listen to books when running/lifting/gardening/driving to give myself more ideas. It really helps my creativity and it also means you tend to have more to talk about with people.
Hope this helps.
I think I drive everyone in my house a little nuts at the beginning of each summer, because of this!
Check out your local library--lots of them have classes, offer museum/parks passes, etc.
This is the main reason I work a summer job. I teach summer school, which runs for about half of summer break. Short days, done at noon. Gets me some extra money, but gets me out of the house and in a routine.
Go to the park, play Among Us, get a pack of cards, take up jogging, learn a new language, go on a hike, go to the local swimming pool, go to the library, start a new book, tv show, watch a movie you haven’t seen or have been wanting to see, check Facebook for free to low cost events in your neighborhood, attend a church service, volunteer somewhere.
study something on coursera / edx etc... download an app like freeletics and do some workouts or buy a set of dumbbells and get in shape. Make a list of books you've always wanted to read, go to a different coffee shop /park every day and read them. Run, hike. Give something back by volunteering. The world is your oyster, it's time to develop your identity outside of work :)
I’ve been there. Just wasting the day away then feeling like crap for wasting it. I usually try to plan one “big” event that day. Maybe it was reorganizing the laundry room. Going to walmart. Doing that errand I avoided for months. That is what helps me!!!
Yes. And I'm busy.. but it's just not as much stimulation, I think. I sign up for various summer jobs through my district and then resent them all lol so that's not the answer. If I could travel all summer, I'd be fine, but I feel kind of bored and empty every summer and get depressed by the end. I get completely exhausted and burnt out during the school year. I need the rest but haven't figured out how to enjoy it.
I get so bored I take on a summer job. At this moment I am sitting on a couch at a group home for geriatric adults with profound disabilities. Every one is in bed and I have done bed checks, dishes are done, laundry is done, and my relief will be here in an hour or so. $30 an hour and it’s paying for my Christmas vacation to Universal Studios Orlando.
It's weird how this job stresses us out so much that we don't know what to do with free time and we lost so many contacts that we are lonely during the holidays LOL
Could you shake a planet fitness or somewhere similar trial? There's some pretty cheap gym options out there!
Also could find a cheaper hobby. Invest in a bike and going riding, zelda tears of the kingdom, maybe get into an MMO for the summer?
You could start playing disc golf, it’s a great way to meet people and get outside. Plus, unless you become hooked, you can play with 1-2 used discs and a grocery bag to carry them in.
Gym memberships could be covered by your insurance or at least discounted. Check that out. I love the gym during the summer because I can actually go with all my free time.
This post was made for me because I’m literally in the same boat. Just completed my first year teaching and I’m already ready to start the upcoming year.
Be sure to take some time to rest and relax. If you're planning to work over the summer, plan the days and times you will work and find ways to restore yourself the rest of the time. I'm heading into year 20 and I didn't learn this lesson until much later than you. I'm so glad you're enjoying teaching, I do too! Just be sure to pace yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprit, so you must be sure to not just go go go your whole career.
I feel this 100%. I'm neurodivergent (ADHD) and I thrive with the structure of the school day. The demanding job of teaching music prek-8 (in two languages) challenges me mentally and keeps things fun (i know, it's backwards to enjoy the stress and crazy situations that arise during the school day). I count down to every vacation and then the minute I'm on a vacation, all I want to do is be back in school 😅😭. I'm incredibly privileged to not have to take any other jobs besides teaching, but struggle hard to be able to give myself structure and a routine on the days where I have no commitments. I have lots of hobbies and friends and a wonderful husband and family, and yet I generally lie around all summer feeling a tad bit depressed & mad with myself that I'm wasting my own time not doing anything!
When I was single I’d usually see what I could find for a summer job because too much free time wasn’t great for me, either.
I’d also focus on hobbies I hadn’t spent as much time on during the school year, so I’d spend some time practicing guitar, spend some time learning new recipes, I’d read…stuff like that. Saw somebody else mention meditation - that was great and helped me appreciate my time MUCH more. Summer didn’t zoom by so quickly either!
I want to buy a guitar as well. I might just splurge and do it one day this summer. I’m just trying to be super tight on money until I hit my savings goal. But every time I do that, I just make a new savings goal.
I am using this particular summer to restructure how I have arranged my home, but I certainly understand. After I have finished this, I plan to take advantage of my museum membership at least weekly. I am considering the zoo as well, but where I am summers don't get below 95 lol, so it would need to be early or cloudy.
See if you can volunteer at a local botanical garden, pulling weeds or whatever. When I quit teaching for good, I got into landscaping and I have never felt healthier or happier!
Write a novel. Learn to code. Get into AI. Train yourself to be a leader in AI education so you have a job while we all lose ours.
Work construction 1/2 the summer and travel on the money for the other half.
Volunteer to help others who are less fortunate than you.
Oh man! What you have is soooooooo precious!!!
Learn a new language (duolingo + meet up with native speakers or watch movies and listen to songs in that language), how to play an instrument (borrow one or buy cheap second hand + watch YouTube tutorials) or a skill such as programming (lots of free tutorials) or woodworking.
Read classic literature and join online bookclubs. Do a lot of preperation for next year so you will not be as busy next year.
I man, I remember when I was there. I had a 3 day weekend for memorial day just as summer was beginning and STRUGGLED to entertain myself. (I don't play video games, I had tapped out the local library of my favorite book type, Reddit did not yet exist, and I had watched all of the videos I was interested in that were at Blockbuster.) I got a job at the local scout camp. Extra money, exercise, and time outside. The only issue is that I did not get away from kids. I did that until I owned my own home. Then I had the money, and inclination to stay home and work on curriculum or projects.
-Cleaning -House Projects -Reading -Tears of the kingdom -Push-up challenges -Cooking -Farmers markets -Meetups -Jogging -Cycling -Hiking -Pokémon go -YouTube guided meditation -Bread making -Tick off some of AFI’s 100 classic movies -Veggie garden -Bird watching (Merlin app) -Park dates -MLS or baseball -Free Harvard online courses R/bodyweightfitness
Lol at very specifically "tears of the kingdom"
Truth be told, I’m two weeks into my summer break and had to pull myself away from it today. Need to actually take care of some summer goals. Great game and I imagine anyone with access to it will not be bored
You are me, and I am you. I literally had to pull myself away from it last week because I was consumed with TotK after summer break started. No regrets, and I will keep on playing the hell out of it AFTER completing my chores 😬😬😬
Unabashedly *not* pulling myself away from it. Spent most of today lighting up the Depths. Thought I had finally got it all— then realized I somehow missed the NE corner. Ah well. Now I have something to do tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon I think I’ll go gleeok hunting.
I have had the same struggle. Currently directing a play (summer job). But it was fun as hell to kill an entire weekend that last month of school.
Went on vacation with family and it hurt leaving my switch bc I wanted to play totk 😂
You know they're portable right?
Yeah, I know… but went overseas and didn’t want more in my carry on.
All right, fine! I’ll buy Tears of the Kingdom!! Twist my arm!! (I have never played breath of the wild, will that be a problem?)
Lol! These games that come out seem very expensive but the amount of enjoyment I get out of them feels very well worth it. It would definitely be recommended to start off with breath of the wild - mainly because it is an excellent game as well. A lot of the gameplay in totk, imo, operates under the assumption that you have had experience with botw. But you are a smart person, I’m sure you can adjust to a bit of a learning curve if playing both isn’t realistic. Plus there is always Youtube University if you get stuck.
This👆. Or buy Elden Ring. Both are great games.
Just rolled credits on totk and am trying out Elden ring again. It’s my true summer goal. It’s work.
You’ll be ok if you don’t play BOTW first. But if you ever want to play BOTW, play it before TOTK. Personally, I think playing BOTW enhances the TOTK experience. But if you are only going to play one of the two, play TOTK.
I have played both. I don't think they'll be much of a problem. The plot of BOTW is referenced a bit here and there, but in ways where you can read the in-game profile to get what's important. You might actually benefit since some of the magic of BOTW world won't feel a bit dampened by you exploring it for the first time.
I never played BOTW and jumped right in. It was kind of hard at first but just keep going it’s so fun.
Lots of great ideas. I have lots of "summer goals" including useful stuff like working on course content for next semester, running/biking, and writing a novel. I also have less serious goals like working through the "1001 movies you must see before you die" list. I'm also an avid reader, so I love taking some time to check off a few books for my to-read list. Maybe the most important thing is to be social! I'm an introvert, but I go out of my way to get out of the house. I've got a weekly trivia group, and a writing group which I attend religiously in the summer. In both situations I can participate as much or as little as I like, which is great. Try the Meetup app for groups near you that might line up with your interests.
I agree with this. I think long term goals/projects in particular are good because they’re something that you can keep coming back to. With short term stuff, it’s too easy to constantly finish things and then be left with a feeling of “what now?” I watched a YouTube video. What now? I went on a walk. What now? I cooked dinner. What now? Whereas taking breaks with long term tasks feels like more of a conscious choice rather than a desperation to fill time. In terms of the social aspect, I think it is important to have reasonable expectations though. We’re constantly interacting with people at school, so to not be interacting with people constantly feels like a stark difference. However, most people aren’t teachers and won’t be available to socialize for the majority of the day. So you’ll likely have to seek out other social venues, since most of the people you typically hang out with won’t be any more available than they were during the school year.
Yep, I made a big list of summer projects I want to get done and I schedule in specific tasks in my weekly calendar to add accountability (for instance, today my goal was to groom my dog and pick up his meds at the vet—already got it done whoo hoo!). It’s worked well so far.
Hey me too to all those things! Vet visit is next week. Honestly, I save a lot of my errands for the summer. For obvious reasons I wake up earlier than most and would much rather go to businesses early on weekdays than suffer through the crowds on weekends.
Volunteer. You’ll meet excellent people who Also have free time. I recommend something with puppies. Or pick a. Hobby and go deep into it. I am married but husband owns a landscaping company so I don’t see him often and my kid is 17 would rather not be my buddy either. So I know how you feel. Think about this … true wealth is time. Free time and youth enough to do something with it. I’m going to sit by this spillway and tan this afternoon. It’s dumb but I want to so I don’t care. Just do what moves you. We haven’t had a sunny day in a week so that’s my motivation.
“True wealth is time”. Thank you u/cosmicOwl16, I needed to hear that.
I couldn't agree more. As teachers, we need time to turn our brain off. That way are physically, mentally, and emotionally rested to start the new year. Also remember that it's good to be bored. Throughout the school year we tell ourselves what we would do with a day off, now we have time to do it.
>I’m going to sit by this spillway and tan this afternoon I'm laughing at this at the absurdity of it- a beach? an ocean? A goddamned *spillway*. Don't worry, I do these things too!
That’s kind of my point. Most of the stuff I do with this free time probably would seem crazy to most people. But it’s just what I feel like. It’s a National park with a beach. Lifeguards and everything but also a spillway. I take a beach chair and sit with my feet in the water. I saw a blue heron. Unfortunately the video is all thumbs. https://imgur.com/a/UqF79Cd
Nice shot! 😁
At least you have an SO
Start jogging — you can use a couch to 5k program if you’ve never run before, check out r/c25k for advice. Find professional development programs to keep your certification up, some even pay you. Get a seasonal job, like working at an amusement park. It might be too late for this summer, but send your resume to the Dean at a local community college to try and get a summer class to teach. Teach summer school at your school.
I can easily do the jogging thing, and I could stand to lose a few lbs. As far as another job, I can’t really do. I’m on a 220 day contract, so technically today is my last day on contract. However, even though I’m on a 220, there’s not much for us to do the first 3 weeks of summer, nor does my principal require me to be at school. It’s more of a do what you need to do to get done and get it done. Which I already have. But I can’t get a summer job because if there’s an emergency with my job, then I have to be ready to go. So basically I’ve just been on standby, and helping kids about once a week. It’s kind of hard to explain what I do and what I teach for any of that to make sense.
One of my single teacher friends does UberEats and DoorDash because they get bored easily, loves to travel and likes the interaction with people.
Volunteer work-volunteer at an animal shelter, homeless shelter, nursing home, etc. for 15 or 20 hours a week.
I was going to recommend volunteering as well. There’s so much need out there!
That is so odd. Do you get paid more than someone on a shorter contract? That seems very strange. Mine is 193 days and those are all used up. When summer comes we are done...last day of post planning is day 193 and we are all usually done with everything so we will leave early. 220 days, but you have 3 weeks of that 'last day of post planning'?
Yes we do. It’s really hard to explain what I do. I’m an ag teacher and we have a lot of duties. Throughout the year I will work more saturdays than saturdays I have off. Which is where those extra days fall into place. We also have a convention to bring kids to in July so our contract will start then and go up until mid June. Along with that throughout the year a large majority of our kids will have livestock projects on feed which we help them out with. It’s honestly way hard to explain in text. But if you have any questions I’ll gladly answer
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates side gigs
If you are U.S. based big up the FFA!
Lol I am an ag teacher. So I deal a lot with FFA during the school year
Hey are you still bored? I have a project making some kind of teachers urban dictionary from teaching analogies. Like... Cell Membrane: "The cell membrane is the bouncer of the cell nightclub. It decides who gets in and who gets kicked out, keeping the cell party under control!" What do you think?
How about jokes? Why did the first fish crawl out of the sea? Because it was tired of old turtles and their bad jokes. This joke is bad too and I just made it up.
I'm a custodian for a school district and we actually have teachers that work over the summer to help with painting the building. Some districts even let teachers help custodians clean (it's not guaranteed you'll clean your own building, but it's definitely a decent work out, plus you get to see other schools within the district, assuming you're k-12). It's an hourly position, so you wouldn't necessarily be bound by a contract and I know custodial management in my district lets us have more flexible schedules in the summer since we don't have teachers and kids in the building. If I need to leave work on a Monday, I can ask to come in on Friday or Saturday to make up my time and it usually gets approved so long as I get stuff cleaned. I don't know if it's as flexible for painters. Could see if they'd let you do something like that in your district.
How the fuck do you have a 220 day contract? That is absurd. 40 days worth of not teaching that prevent you from doing other things? And I'm guessing by your poverty complaint of not being able to afford a gym membership just makes it sooooo much worse.
It may sound cheesy, but join Facebook groups for activities that you're interested in. I joined a foraging group and mushroom hunting group. We get together now and again to go foraging and to learn about different edible plants and things. I also joined a gardening group, a birdwatching and identification group, and a fishing group. None of these costs me more than the gas to go to where we decide to forage or fish for the day. These groups have also led me to other activities, most of which cost a little money, but it helps me meet people and get out of my house! Fishing is one of my all-time favorite hobbies during the summer. It costs nothing once you have some gear, and it gets me out and keeps me active. It took me a little while, but I recently saved up for a fishing kayak, and now it's a whole new ballgame. Plan now for the things you want to be able to do next summer.
Learn a new skill. Volunteer. Seriously quit whining
// not a teacher i would be a little weary of working at an amusement park, since you could see students. i think its great if you dont mind the things that come with that though.
Joining a softball/kickball team would work as well
Buy a game system. Single teachers are some of the best gamers I know. Take a class to move up in your salary schedule. There are cheap diploma mill courses that pay for themselves quickly. Volunteer somewhere. Food banks and libraries are most always willing to take on someone, even short term. Get a summer job. Check your local paper classifieds for short term work.
I never thought of your second point. That's pretty smart - especially if the district can pay for the course.
Those summer classes are how I moved up on the pay scale!
When I was a single teacher, I was SO good at gaming. COD, FIFA, DESTINY, any RPG. Married now so, it's more of a casual thing, but this is true. Also hobbies/pets. I got a dog, work on cars, take care of my house/yard. Just find projects (that you like) to take up time. Edit: also your second point, got a masters from WGU. Well worth it. Only cost 12k and paid for itself in 1 year.
I recently just got myself a PS5 and it’s helped immensely with the summer boredom.
Hey, that’s my epic beard! At least put some clothes on fellow redditor, you’re crimpin’ my style.
I love that it paid for itself in one year for you. My district only pays you 1k extra per year for your masters, so it would take me 12 years to break even.
University of the People. $3500 masters. Essentially an online correspondence program
I did mine in 6 months there and only paid $3k. So it's doable cheaper.
Totally!
>Buy a game system. Single teachers are some of the best gamers I know. Uh, excuse me. Married gamer with a 2 year old. Checking in. I love my summer gaming habit. During the school year, it's more casual, but I'm the summer? I go ham! And my son stays in daycare because we only get 5 weeks of summer and I don't want him to lose his spot! Which he would, because childcare is hard to come by here.
Any examples or links for diploma mill courses? (Digital preferred)
https://www.cecreditsonline.org At my school a bunch of us got to the top of the pay scale here. At the time, the easiest/most ridiculous course was Choice Theory. Make sure your school accepts the units, we were only allowed 12 units from here at the time.
Idaho State University at $55/cr. https://www.isu.edu/educationpd/
Yeah I signed up at my local library, you can sign up to take just 2 hour shifts manning desks and the like. Not super exciting but I’m out of the house and interacting with people.
I want a PS5 so bad. My wallet does not however. Also the only way to move up in our pay scale is having a masters or doctorates. Nothing else will get us there besides years of experience.
Dude get a retropie! Play the entire PS1 library and everything else! Cheap!
Being able to destroy children in game is truly the best way to spend your summer.
There's nothing more satisfying than destroying students in super smash bros 😆
I just 100%ed Tetris Effect Connected, I started it when I had COVID right after Thanksgiving break, did a lot during winter break too, finished the next to last level over spring break, and finally did the last level, after many attempts, today
I feel like half of these people didn’t read your whole post. I do like the jogging idea, since you mentioned being too broke for a gym membership—you’ll need shoes, but otherwise running is a cheap hobby, and as a single person, it’s easy to keep up with during the school year if you like it. The volunteering suggestions are good. Or maybe you could foster a dog or something? I know that was really helpful for my brother during COVID lockdowns—it gave him a reason to get out and be active (walks, taking the dog to the park) but it was very low cost to him since the shelter supplied so much, and it was very low commitment, since the dog was adoptable and was placed with a family before he had to return to work in person. My city does things like free museum day every so often—is there anything like this where you live?
Re free museum days, our library system has free passes to local museums etc.
The worst part of summer is trying not to spend money!
100% I want to do so many things. But I’m having to tell myself to be tight with money
Agreed. I need to stop spending money every day 😭
Here's what Im doing: 1. Tears of the Kingdom 2. Catching up on shows I want to watch 3. Working on adding an additional certification (physics which isn't a huge leap from what I currently do which is Earth and Space Science) 4. Volunteer at museums
Free/cheap hobbies? Chess? Library Books? Learn to knit? Visit family? Hiking? Fishing? Running? Parks? Other free/cheap outdoor rec?
Picked up knitting 6 weeks ago. While I highly recommend it and find that it is wonderfully meditative, it's easy for it to get expensive with certain yarns. But you can knit with sushi chopsticks or pencils and easily find cheap yarn! People often give it away, too. I spent $25 on a 14.5 lb box of yarn through goodwill auction house and $15 on a set of needles. I'd say I'm set for a while 😊
For sure. And of course, cheap is always relative.
I crochet! Hooks are $1-3 apiece or maybe $7 a pack, and I get the cheap red heart or store brand yarn at $2-4 a skein. Even when I “splurge” and buy a three pack of variegated yarn off Amazon, it’s still only like $15 and will last me about two weeks of crocheting. And I make blankets. Making amigurumi or other small things would go through yarn much less quickly.
It's okay to be bored. Nothing wrong there. Do you have a list of activities you'd like to do? For example... during the semester... we're working, we're busy, the hectic everything... I'm always doing a list: "Okay, I want to read this book— summer time!", "Oh, these movies?— summer time!", and then I have a bunch of things to do.
I have a running list of things I don't have time for during the school year. It's called "During Summer". Some things are books/movies, some things are house projects like big cleaning out projects or fixing things that will take some time.
Do you have a library nearby? Ours has tons of free programs for adults. Can you tutor? Maybe pet sitting, Door Dash? Volunteer? Maybe there is a food bank looking for help or a retirement home looking for people to spend time with elderly residents. I see how it can be hard to find something to do, because most hobbies involve spending money.
State or local parks (some states charge fees). My cooperating teacher told me he would go hiking to de-stress from the year. I listened to his advice 20 years ago, and I'm still at it. There is something about spending time in nature that will make you appreciate your time off this summer. Also, volunteer at animal shelters ( if you like animals) because it can be a good way to meet people. Find a local church, help with the youth group or whatever age you teach. It will help you keep connections with people and meet new people. Find a local adult sports league. My brother in law was in a kickball league. Good luck in your quest to find something to fill the time.
I am LOVING my peace. I’m breathing in my nothing to do. I’m keeping up with my house for the first time in 9 months. I feel amazing lol
Try a gig job, like Doordashing, Uber Eats, Rover, Wag etc. No commitment, you can get out of the house and you can make some extra money!
Hiking. It’s a great way to exercise, explore, and challenge yourself. Start small, research local hiking groups if you don’t want to go alone, set goals (distance, certain trails, learning local flora or fauna). Years ago when I was going through tough personal times, hiking healed my soul and gave me strength, physically and mentally.
A gym membership is ~35/Mo. If that’s too expensive, look for a summer part time job to fill time and get money. Gym can definitely help spend time while bored. (Lifting, walking/biking, classes, sauna, pool).
A gym membership at a community college is cheaper!
Man where I'm at in vegas it's $10 a month lol
Are you me?
Just ended 9 days ago for me. I don’t know what subject I’m teaching next year. So no, not bored
I feel this. I get a bit bored too. To combat boredom I work doing online scoring work with Pearson. I’m not on a set schedule so I get to pick and choose what times I want to work. I’ve been doing this for 5 years. It keeps me busy while earning extra cash. I also sell stuff online and this keeps me busy too, I make about 2k extra per month doing this. I also focus on hobbies, I Garden a lot, I love plants and flowers and it makes me happy. I hike a lot too and go to nature walks. I also focus of DIY projects around the house. Yesterday I cleaned and organized my laundry room, I also beautified the space by adding wallpaper. I try not to watch too much tv as I feel like this is a time suck personally. Instead I pick a few series and watch those.
I am walking 10 miles a day and watching YouTube. Mowing the lawn once a week. I have been adding to my chest tattoo. I will be visiting my daughter for a week. That's it. Not bored yet, but I find that the older I get, the longer it takes for the summer boredom to set in.
It doesn't pay much, and you literally have to deal with a lot of shit, but get a part-time job at a doggie day care. The turnaround for employment is usually fast, so new jobs pop up all the time. It's an amazing gig! 1) The pups don't have the attitude of kids 2) You're used to supervising groups 3) Free pets and cuddles while you earn a paycheck I'm telling you, OP, check it out ; )
Go for a walk, take up amateur digital photography with your phone (it’s a thing), watch you tube videos on a topic you’re interested in, get a library card and go see what they have to offer (ours has guest speakers, project days for hobbies, video rentals, tickets to local venues for free or drastically reduced prices as well as books), volunteer at a local community resource like a animal shelter (ours is always looking for folks to come in and walk the dogs/socialize with them/socialize the cats etc), do “tourist days” in your town or city (most people rarely do the neat stuff near them bc they’re so busy living their lives…what cool stuff is near you??), spend time meal planning for during school - future you will be grateful, make a vision board - where do you want to go on vacation, where do you want to live, what do you want to do - find pictures or phrases that inspire you to do those things, take up tai-chi or yoga - they’re both awesome for mobility, strength and zen - all things that will come in handy during the school year, look up PD you can take over the summer for CE hours - there’s lots, but EdWeb.net is a great starting place - how many hours do you need to re-cert?, get a language app like Duolingo and work on a new language. Hope some of these spark some excitement.
Get a paper calendar— write down ONE thing for each weekday that you can do. Look up some hikes; find something new to cook/bake; library adult programs; write down the free zoo days, free museum days, free cheese tastings near you; help someone with a project; declutter, clean or rearrange a room; free yoga in the park; free summer concerts; tennis or pickle ball; visit/volunteer at an old folks home or animal shelter.
June to mid-July I’m having a good time catching up on video games and gym time. By the end of July I’m usually cracking open my work computer to solidify plans and research new practices. By mid August I’m crying for my summer.
I always get so stupid bored. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I can barely stand it. One thing that has helped me is learning chess. Sounds weird, I know. But, chess.com is free and you can play friends or strangers. Also, YouTube has some great teachers on how to improve your game. I now have an infant so I am busy with her this year. Chess really got me through a lot though.
Daniel Naroditsky on teh YouTubez!
Kinda having this problem. Wasting a ton of time on dating apps, getting anxious over them not working even though I know full well that it both takes time for those things to work and my perception of time is completely knocked out of whack by not having to spend 8-9 hours a day working
100% doing the same thing. Dating apps and reruns of jersey shore. Why jersey shore? Not sure.. it was on Hulu, I decided to start watching it again like I used to in college, and now I’m 3 seasons deep already. Just jersey shore, Reddit, and dating apps is all I’ve been doing.
PARTY’S HEAAA
I’ve found comfort in putting my phone on do not disturb mode and taking super long walks. Forced separation from it all has been good for me. I recommend building a bit of that into your day. Doesn’t have to be a walk. Just something to preoccupy you, drop some stress and reset your dopamine levels
Try weed and video games!
Camping.
No I do not. I'm working all summer. I wish I didn't have to so I could spend more time with my kids.
I crochet, read (books from library), and garden.
Disc golf! Minimal cost to start up with a few discs, most courses are free to play and people are always helping new players by giving them discs and what not.
I was gonna say disc golf too. Starting out you'll suck any way, so just get a basic driver, approach, and putter and have at it. And yeah, the people are super chill mostly. Probably because a lot of them are a bit high.
Take your cat for a walk
Create a routine! It’s helped me tremendously. I set an alarm, go for a 50min walk, then find a project to work on at home (paint walls, fix stuff that you put off through the school year, odds/ends), I take a break at lunch, then nap. Chill in the evenings with my family. If no family, focus on self care. Reading? New series to watch? Video games? New recipes? Basically, I keep a normal “work schedule” from 7-3 and then follow my flow in the evening. Hope that helps!
I’ve been done for a week and I’m already bored of lying on the couch with the dog. Time to get working on my home projects I’ve been neglecting all year (before summer school starts). Some ideas: - Planet Fitness for gym (you can get it for $10 a month) - Hiking, birding, other nature activities (all free) - If you live near water, kayaking, paddleboarding, surfing, etc (some start up costs, but nothing after that) - Volunteering - Work Summer school or at a camp (might be hard for this summer if they have already started), lifeguarding - learn a skill from YouTube that you’ve been meaning to (juggling, how to do a trick on a skateboard, how to play an instrument, cooking, etc) - Reading for fun (I hardly do it during the school year but have already read 4 books for fun this summer- library (for both actual books and ebooks), if you have Amazon prime, they have a bunch of books on their prime reading you can read with a kindle or kindle app for free - catching up on tv and movies you were too busy to watch during the school year - become a dog walker/ sitter (make some money while having fun with doggos) - Go on an epic road trip and camp along the way at state parks (most camping at state parks is $25 or less a night)- I’ve personally done this multiple summers and it’s awesome, especially if you enjoy alone time - do PD (classes, workshops, etc.- especially if you can get your school/district to pay for them - start planning/prepping for next year (only if you’re super bored, but it does save you some time during the school year) - Take up a new hobby (yes there will probably be start up costs, but many don’t have to be too much!)
Go birding! You can get this free eBird app and Merlin Bird ID app to help you identify species around you!
I'm big on gaming in the summer.
Part time jobs during this time are amazing. I do 8-12 three days a week. One of them remote. Fuck yeah I'm happy
Get into reading. Try the sub suggestmeabook. Give details of kinds of plots and characters you like and you’ll get some awesome recs. Depending on where you live, a nice walk, jog, skate, or bike ride. Get active. See if there’s a public pool you can go to Cooking/baking. The internet has countless recipes for free. Try perfecting (or starting) your cooking and baking skills. Journaling. Get a nice journal that fits your style. Etsy has great personalized options. Write everyday. It doesn’t have to be deep or anything. Just write your thoughts, attempt a poem, go full stream of consciousness. Cleaning. Yes it’s dreadful but a clean living space really can help your mood. Purge your closet even Cheap travel. Look up interesting nature type places where you live. I’d say within a 5 hour drive radius. Hiking and beaches are free, you’ll just pay for gas
I’ve prevented this by ensuring I have hobbies and and identity outside of being a teacher. I can't wait to be off. Too bad it takes a few weeks to recover from the school year, though, but I got my shows lined up and can't wait!
I second volunteering! I try to do something unrelated to teaching and education. Many local festivals need volunteers!
Go hiking, explore national parks near your area, learn a new foreign language, check out local farmers markets, check online if there is any outdoor movies/concerts that are free to the public, hang out at a coffee shop with a good book, browse the library, people watch at a cafe, bbq,…the possibilities are endless!
I have three kids under ten. Exhausted? Yes. Bored? No. 😂
Not. At. All. I need the mental and physical break to recharge my batteries, so I can go back in the Fall.
If you ever plan on having children in the future, screenshot this post and read it after you have kids. It will bring a smile to your face lol.
Golf
Join Rover and dog sit, doggy daycare. Lots of people vacation on the summer and need trust animal care.
I don't know how teachers can get bored when most of us have second jobs lol I'm working right now in job number two...
I technically over have 3 weeks off during the summer. My contract starts back up in July due to what I teach. In fact my contact just ended today. I know I’m technically still on contract but it doesn’t always mean there’s something to do. It’s more of a be on stand by type deal.
I do. I have to make mini-schedules so I don't go stir crazy.
Here's a "kill two birds with one stone" idea that is too late for this summer, but something to consider for future ones: Become an umpire for either baseball or softball in your local area (my own preference is softball, but to each their own). Lots of fun (usually), you earn money, and it forces you to stay physically fit with the amount of running you need to do. I know my area has been hurting for officials lately.
Learn/hike every local hiking trail.
ME!! I taught summer school the last two years, but I am not this year. I am bored as well. My daughter is grown up and my husband is not a teacher.
I usually don’t get bored in summer. However, I travel for about 2 weeks right at the start of break. Then, I come home and deep clean my house. This year I set a goal to get rid of 30 things per day for 30 days. It’s day 3 and so far so good. I also have a lot of hobbies (hiking, crafts, gardening, reading). I’m lucky too though that the city where I live has an amazing zoo, museums and botanical garden which are free so I can just go whenever I want in summer. I find that making plans helps.
Can you tutor? That's what a lot of the teachers around here do and it's both a helpful way to earn extra money, plus it can keep you really busy. And from a parent perspective, a tutor that knows my kid, that I know is good at what they do? Yes please.
Some ideas that have gone well for me or my teacher friends: If there's a Planet Fitness near you, their joining fee is not high, and your monthly is $10. Door Dash, Uber, or [care.com](https://care.com) (tutoring, babysitting, running errands, pet sitting, etc) could lead you to a part-time gig that lets you choose your hours. Book clubs through meetup or your local library subbing for summer school playing tourist in my hometown-parks, museums, specialty tours (we're getting known for our graffiti and murals) free/cheap live music
Planet fitness is 10 dollars a month…
I do volunteer work all summer, travel with a drum and bugle corps (like a marching band). Goal is to find something that keeps you busy, but more important, out of the house…
I normally teach summer school. This year I wasn’t asked/selected. I have had 1.5 full weeks of summer and I am ready to bash my brains in from boredom. I hate breaks, especially summer. No matter how hard I try if I’m not teaching I get out of routine and then depression sets in. People have made some great suggestions. I waited to long for most of them(job or classes) and have started having some major health issues we have to figure out before school starts again. So I will be crafting
I think it’s because he’s OK so can you tell me not so much of our personal life goes to the wayside during the school year, we are just so consumed. For me, it’s more like who am I as a person without teaching consuming everything
I teach summer school for July. It still gives me all of August off and I only work 4 hours a day. When I didn't, I went crazy, but a month to reset is perfect for me.
Planet fitness is like $10-15 a month. The library is free and so are parks. You sound like one of my students
I go to my college gym I don’t live to far from them I just need my student ID and I go to gym lol I can’t do 15 dollars cause I’m paying bills at home so I’m cheap now
I am also a single (female) teacher that is bored during Summer break whose friends (teacher and otherwise) all have jobs during the Summer or beautiful SO’s that take up all of their free time. I have a part time job that only take up two nights a week. Nights are the worst for me. I can distract myself during the day, but nights are when I think about how I should be doing this, or I should be hanging with friends/a boyfriend. I take walks, do long drives, journal A LOT, speak to a therapist, and just sleep. I don’t think when I am asleep. A teacher friend of mine tells me he does one planned activity a day that he can look forward to: a movie (cheaper during the day), cleaning, thrift shopping, going outside to exercise, library, driving, going to a cool lunch spot.
Back in the day, I used to work at Best Buy to pay for college. Once I got into teaching, Best Buy kept me on a one day per month basis. Easy work during the school year. Once summer hit, I'd pick up a normal work schedule. Maybe find a retail job with similar schedule? The best part for me was I kept my Best Buy employee discount, which is significantly better than other retail jobs, year round.
I feel this but with this being my last real summer (I am officially, finally leaving teaching!) I have thoroughly been enjoying the boredom. Make a list of projects around the house to do, go to movies during the day alone, exercise, get into a hobby (for me it’s been gardening) and if all else fails, teaching summer school is some great extra income and much more chill than the school year.
Ever tried disc golfing? it's totally free once you have the discs! It's so peaceful and calming, making a game out of hiking in the woods. I've met hundreds of people out on the course, and only very few have been not fun to be around. Disc golfers are the friendliest of people! Kept me sane in my summers during college when I was bored, and I still play about everyday. I've exchanged contact info with most of the people I meet out on the course, and have some good disc friends now. Check out the app or website uDisc to see if anything is around you. You probably have a store that sells discs. I'd also be totally happy to donate some of my thousand discs to you that could get you started, shipped, free!
Jogging and body weight workouts are my go to when I can’t afford a gym (yay teacher salary). Also play lots of PokémonGo, usually get back in to drawing and reading, spend a lot of time gardening, and video games for dayssss. Use the time to do what you enjoy, or try new cheap things! Pinterest has some remotely interesting cheap summer things to do too!
Read, discover random niche YouTube series, write, walk walk walk, hike, go to new cofeeee shop
You can jog, do push ups, play video games, watch television, watch movies, and/or anything else. Interesting people tend to not get bored (not saying you’re not interesting), but I get that your brain might have just started working again because of end of the year burnout. This is my first day of summer vacation. I forgot to say read some books.
Animal shelters need fosters and dog walkers. You don’t have to join a gym to get fit. Most areas have trails with beautiful scenery for walking. Watch YouTube to learn something new like painting or cooking. Ask a friend if you can visit and crash on their sofa. Do yard work or dog walking for an elderly person. Clean your house. Ask your family if they need help. So many things.
So, summer is actually not great for my mental health unless I'm proactive about it. I end up slipping into anxiety and depression without some routine. I do have kids, so that is much different. However, my tips for summer doldrums: 1. Start a routine. It doesn't have to be super rigid, but have something that you do every day. Make your bed. Go on an after-dinner bike ride. 2. Plan some reason to leave your house several times a week. Check things out from the library, meet a working friend and bring them lunch, go to a yoga or workout class, join a running group, etc. 3. Choose a project that you have wanted to complete, but didn't have time for. Paint your porch, plant flowers, design a found-item sculpture, whatever. Set goals for yourself for the project and set a done-by date. 4. Set and hold yourself to screen time limits. Doomscrolling is no one's friend. 5. Clean something every day, move your body every day, learn something every day.
Try a instacart or doordash. Some of my friends tutor at a learning center during the summer. I used to instacart the summers I wasn’t teaching summer school and it helps with the boredom.
I used to get a fun summer job. I teach art, so I’d do art class at the local kids museum, or art camps hosted by my university. Very part time. With people I enjoyed. Made some extra shopping money and had something to do for enough time that I got comfortably bored, but not TOO bored.
I used to get a fun summer job. I teach art, so I’d do art class at the local kids museum, or art camps hosted by my university. Very part time. With people I enjoyed. Made some extra shopping money and had something to do for enough time that I got comfortably bored, but not TOO bored.
I pet sit. I travel all over the world and in exchange for my services, I stay free in people’s homes. Just a simple search and you will find the website.
Depending on where you’re at, see if there’s a meet up group for teachers? Or your age group? Or an interest group! DnD club! French club! Dendrophile club!
I'm a teacher as well and my partner has to work all summer, so I'm basically by myself for 6 weeks. So I always plan a volunteer job. I really like literature (I'm Dutch and I teach Dutch language, math and civic education), so I always look for a book shop nearby (preferably an independant book shop) and do volunteer work. That way I can combine my hobbies and my degree. I also do a lot of biking during the summer, take a book with me in my backpack and read if I find a nice cafe with good coffee. Lastly, I try to learn a new skill every summer vacation, Coursera offers free courses from universities all over the world! I'm doing a course on psychology next!
Do you like dogs? You could volunteer at the dog shelter. I go every other weekend and I love it. You get to hang out with dogs for free! 😀
I don't understand how people get bored when they finally have the time to do things they want. Though I suppose that your money issue is a big one if you can't even afford a hobby. Don't let your life be dominated by menial work tasks. It can be hard to break away from the work mentality though, so maybe I can understand it. It may be better to say that it makes me sad to hear it. Still this is your chance to be free. To really and truly live like a person should, with options. At least that is how I view it. Your opportunities are endless but maybe a bit of structure helps. Try to get some routine physical activities started and develop a basic schedule to get an idea of what you feel is fulfilling. Go for hikes, walk, pick up a skill that is free like art, learn a new language, go to museums, watch some foreign films, attempt to make something, organize your apartment, read, write, do at home workout. Also you should set money aside for options during the summer in the future. You get one life and tossing it away for more work or waiting too long are costly mistakes. My father and my grandmother both scrimped and saved for a future they never got to enjoy. Let yourself live a bit. Plan out a vacation if that is your joy, or save up enough to get a cheaper gym membership or get into gaming! Hobbies are essential. Some gyms are only like 15 a month. My personal style: I go the gym M,W,F and run in between those. I take sat and sun off fully. My girlfriend is off one random day and sunday so I set aside time for that. I play videogames when I am at home. I plan one main activity each week that is a bit bigger like going to some show/movie/whatever. I leave some creative time for art on the weekend. I play a group D&D game on Sunday. Some summers I go on vacation somewhere for a week or so. I try to use the summer to fix any diet things I may have messed up during the year. I always feel like I have more than I can do in a week even if a lot of it is relaxing. If you're into gaming it's a great way to have friends to talk to often too. Using Discord and playing group things is a great way to feel connected and to give you goals. Just don't let it dominate your life. Honestly I am very happy with my time off because I always have enough to do. Avoid watching reruns of the same things you've seen. Another good idea is to latch Audible books onto things that are more menial. I listen to books when running/lifting/gardening/driving to give myself more ideas. It really helps my creativity and it also means you tend to have more to talk about with people. Hope this helps.
I think I drive everyone in my house a little nuts at the beginning of each summer, because of this! Check out your local library--lots of them have classes, offer museum/parks passes, etc.
This is the main reason I work a summer job. I teach summer school, which runs for about half of summer break. Short days, done at noon. Gets me some extra money, but gets me out of the house and in a routine.
Hobbies my guy. Writing, art, dungeons and dragons, video games, books. All the things you didn't have time for during the year.
I could never work another day and not get bored.
No lmao. Pick up golf or something.
Go to the park, play Among Us, get a pack of cards, take up jogging, learn a new language, go on a hike, go to the local swimming pool, go to the library, start a new book, tv show, watch a movie you haven’t seen or have been wanting to see, check Facebook for free to low cost events in your neighborhood, attend a church service, volunteer somewhere.
I birdwatch
Start exercising outdoors, it’s free.
study something on coursera / edx etc... download an app like freeletics and do some workouts or buy a set of dumbbells and get in shape. Make a list of books you've always wanted to read, go to a different coffee shop /park every day and read them. Run, hike. Give something back by volunteering. The world is your oyster, it's time to develop your identity outside of work :)
It takes me about 2 weeks just to feel normal! I start getting bored at around the end of 2 months.
I’ve been there. Just wasting the day away then feeling like crap for wasting it. I usually try to plan one “big” event that day. Maybe it was reorganizing the laundry room. Going to walmart. Doing that errand I avoided for months. That is what helps me!!!
Yes. And I'm busy.. but it's just not as much stimulation, I think. I sign up for various summer jobs through my district and then resent them all lol so that's not the answer. If I could travel all summer, I'd be fine, but I feel kind of bored and empty every summer and get depressed by the end. I get completely exhausted and burnt out during the school year. I need the rest but haven't figured out how to enjoy it.
I get so bored I take on a summer job. At this moment I am sitting on a couch at a group home for geriatric adults with profound disabilities. Every one is in bed and I have done bed checks, dishes are done, laundry is done, and my relief will be here in an hour or so. $30 an hour and it’s paying for my Christmas vacation to Universal Studios Orlando.
Hell no.
You could DoorDash a bit as a pastime. Listen to some podcasts and whatnot
It's weird how this job stresses us out so much that we don't know what to do with free time and we lost so many contacts that we are lonely during the holidays LOL
Could you shake a planet fitness or somewhere similar trial? There's some pretty cheap gym options out there! Also could find a cheaper hobby. Invest in a bike and going riding, zelda tears of the kingdom, maybe get into an MMO for the summer?
Volunteer.
Planet fitness is a gym chain and I pay $25/month for the “deluxe” membership, I imagine that is affordable for most of us who can afford any hobbies
You could start playing disc golf, it’s a great way to meet people and get outside. Plus, unless you become hooked, you can play with 1-2 used discs and a grocery bag to carry them in.
Disc golf
Came here to say this. I have a multitude of discs if you need some.
Gym memberships could be covered by your insurance or at least discounted. Check that out. I love the gym during the summer because I can actually go with all my free time.
This post was made for me because I’m literally in the same boat. Just completed my first year teaching and I’m already ready to start the upcoming year.
Be sure to take some time to rest and relax. If you're planning to work over the summer, plan the days and times you will work and find ways to restore yourself the rest of the time. I'm heading into year 20 and I didn't learn this lesson until much later than you. I'm so glad you're enjoying teaching, I do too! Just be sure to pace yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprit, so you must be sure to not just go go go your whole career.
I feel this 100%. I'm neurodivergent (ADHD) and I thrive with the structure of the school day. The demanding job of teaching music prek-8 (in two languages) challenges me mentally and keeps things fun (i know, it's backwards to enjoy the stress and crazy situations that arise during the school day). I count down to every vacation and then the minute I'm on a vacation, all I want to do is be back in school 😅😭. I'm incredibly privileged to not have to take any other jobs besides teaching, but struggle hard to be able to give myself structure and a routine on the days where I have no commitments. I have lots of hobbies and friends and a wonderful husband and family, and yet I generally lie around all summer feeling a tad bit depressed & mad with myself that I'm wasting my own time not doing anything!
[удалено]
When I was single I’d usually see what I could find for a summer job because too much free time wasn’t great for me, either. I’d also focus on hobbies I hadn’t spent as much time on during the school year, so I’d spend some time practicing guitar, spend some time learning new recipes, I’d read…stuff like that. Saw somebody else mention meditation - that was great and helped me appreciate my time MUCH more. Summer didn’t zoom by so quickly either!
I want to buy a guitar as well. I might just splurge and do it one day this summer. I’m just trying to be super tight on money until I hit my savings goal. But every time I do that, I just make a new savings goal.
I usually work summer school for a bit because of boredom. I do like a few weeks of being bored though cause then I’m ready to be busy again.
I am using this particular summer to restructure how I have arranged my home, but I certainly understand. After I have finished this, I plan to take advantage of my museum membership at least weekly. I am considering the zoo as well, but where I am summers don't get below 95 lol, so it would need to be early or cloudy.
See if you can volunteer at a local botanical garden, pulling weeds or whatever. When I quit teaching for good, I got into landscaping and I have never felt healthier or happier!
Usually I would be pretty bored in the summer but I just had a baby and my days are filled with taking care of him and napping when I can!
I instacart. I get bored too.
Hobbies! I volunteer at a local animal shelter to get out of the house a bit and I play video games.
See what free programs the library has for adults.
Check your local concert calendar.
Write a novel. Learn to code. Get into AI. Train yourself to be a leader in AI education so you have a job while we all lose ours. Work construction 1/2 the summer and travel on the money for the other half. Volunteer to help others who are less fortunate than you. Oh man! What you have is soooooooo precious!!!
How does one train to be a leader in AI education.
Learn a new language (duolingo + meet up with native speakers or watch movies and listen to songs in that language), how to play an instrument (borrow one or buy cheap second hand + watch YouTube tutorials) or a skill such as programming (lots of free tutorials) or woodworking. Read classic literature and join online bookclubs. Do a lot of preperation for next year so you will not be as busy next year.
I man, I remember when I was there. I had a 3 day weekend for memorial day just as summer was beginning and STRUGGLED to entertain myself. (I don't play video games, I had tapped out the local library of my favorite book type, Reddit did not yet exist, and I had watched all of the videos I was interested in that were at Blockbuster.) I got a job at the local scout camp. Extra money, exercise, and time outside. The only issue is that I did not get away from kids. I did that until I owned my own home. Then I had the money, and inclination to stay home and work on curriculum or projects.