In summer 2018 I changed my life, even though I didn’t know it yet.

You know that feeling when you’re 20-something in college and you have that summer where you’re stuck at home and you can’t see your college friends and your life is just filled with going through the motions waiting for classes to start again so you could finally feel some purpose? Just me? Okay.

That summer I came home from college with no internship/job and I had blown through all the money I had managed to save the summer prior so that meant I was stuck in the house with little to occupy my time.

But you see the funny thing about boredom is that sometimes it forces you to do things you wouldn’t have previously considered.

It happened like this…

I was on my 115 youtube video for the day and almost all of them were sponsored by the learning platform Skillshare. It boasted a 2-month free trial and I figured what did I have to lose? Instead of watching more vlogs, I figured I could use that time to work on myself.

I took online classes from everything to personal branding to social media marketing. MY WHOLE LIFE CHANGED.

It wasn’t just that I took the classes and I felt like I had unlocked a hidden part of myself but taking those classes was the catalyst for a change in mindset about what it meant to creative person also about how I saw myself in the world.

That one decision led me to start new hobbies like photography and practicing facing my irrational fear of talking about myself. If I hadn’t used that “free time” I had in the summer to do something that was beneficial to me, I wouldn’t have been able to completely revamp my life within one year.

I went from sorta liking college to embracing every moment of it.

Time is one of the most valuable resources you have and you can change your life in a few months if you decide to use your time to invest in making yourself a better, happier more well-adjusted person.

Here are 10 ideas on how you can completely change your life this summer.

Take Online Courses

As I mentioned I took online classes using a Skillshare free trial but it could be any learning platform (even youtube!). Take the time to learn something you’ve always wanted to know but can’t be taught in a formal setting. Things such as digital media, art, writing, or even entrepreneurship are great to learn online. Just follow a thread of interest and see where it leads.

Read: The 10 FREE Online Courses to boost your resume

If you decide to do a skillshare trial I recommend:

Do Things Tell People the Power of Personal Branding

Real Productivity: Create your Ideal week

iPhone Photography: How to take pro photos on your iPhone

Pick a New Keystone Habit to Build

The thing about habits is that they build on each other. One tiny change could be just the momentum you need to redesign your life.

I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear and within a few pages, I decided that maybe, just maybe, if I focus on one habit of going to bed an hour earlier in the night, it would mean I would have more energy in the morning to accomplish my big goals.

Almost three weeks in I’ve been going to bed at 11 pm every night and it has been TRANSFORMATIVE. I now wake up actually refreshed! Hello? Who is she? and I spend that time in the morning where I have natural energy to work on my other goals such as going for a walk outside and writing for my blog.

This one tiny change in my daily routine has given me the opportunity to improve other areas of my life.

Pick one tiny change to your routine and watch your life slowly improve. I also highly recommend picking up Atomic Habits if you want to dive more into that concept.

Start an Online Business

Starting a business is more accessible than ever, notice I didn’t say easy but accessible. ALL the information you need to start an online business is at your fingertips whether it be blogs, youtube videos, or ebooks there are tons of resources you can use to create a plan to successfully launch an online product or service.

When I decided I wanted to start a blog I knew absolutely no bloggers but by hopping on Pinterest and Tumblr I was able to gather enough knowledge to just start.

No, I wasn’t instantly successful and my blog is still growing but it gives me a thrill every time I realize I’m building a platform to help people and that absolutely anyone can do it too.

You don’t even need $20 to start. All you need is your domain name and a good idea and rest you’ll figure out along the way.

For my blog, I use GoDaddy for my domain and Squarespace for my hosting platform and that’s it! I make everything for my college blog using Canva, Grammarly, and good ole’ google docs

I even use Canva to create my first ebook!

Get a copy of my Ebook

Learn how I got a 700 credit score in college!

Build your Digital Presence

Everyone has a digital platform.

It not just your favorite youtube with 10 million subscribers. If you’ve got even 2 people who are interested in what you do then you have an audience, but the question is what do you want to do with that audience? You see most people know they want to build their online following but never stop to think what kind of value they want to give to the people that follow them.

If you want to build your online following this summer, focus on workshopping the value you can give to people and then start producing content around that topic.

The secret of the trade when it comes to growing on social media is that the more you post the more people have a chance to see your content, it simple probability!

But you always wanna make sure that people who stumble on your social media platforms have something to stick around for.

Completely Reorganize and Declutter your Space

Ahhh, remember summer 2016 when everyone was super into minimalism and we all collectively threw away all our crap? Well, it’s still as therapeutic as it was then.

If you need a fresh start then decluttering is a great place to start, before the start of fall or going back to school spend some time releasing the baggage from the beginning half of the year and give yourself a clean slate. Spend a few days reorganizing your space and in turn your mind.

Set Healthy Boundaries with Media

In the media age, it seems like we’re all controlled by our phones and it is just destined to happen but it doesn’t have to be that way. If using your phone or computer makes you feel anxious you have the ability to curate your digital space and quite frankly you should.

Go through and mute and delete all the people who make you feel bad about yourself, even if the feeling is irrational if it’s affecting you, you don’t have to put up with!

Start following only people who make you feel inspired and refreshed. Start setting limits on the time you spend mindlessly scrolling so you don’t waste away your youth watching other people live their lives.

Start deleting apps that don’t do anything than take up space on your phone and start finding apps that make you feel more productive and in control of your time and health.

Your phone is not the controller, YOU are and its time we all take back the power in our digital relationship.

Check up on Your Financial Health

I don’t care if you only have $5 dollars to your name we can all benefit from knowing just how much you have and where it’s going. By doing a simple inventory of our income and expenses it can give you the push you need to finally start getting better with money.

Apps like Mint, Truebill, and Clarity Money (All free apps I use) are great for getting a clear picture of what your financial life looks like. Building a better relationship with money start by simply looking at and making peace with whatever financial situation you are currently in so you can move forward.

Write an Ebook

Everyone has something that they’ve accomplished that someone else would love to know how you did it.

The thing that so many people get wrong is that they think you have to be at the last rung of the ladder to help someone else up but what about the person whos just trying to move up one rung? How do they get help? It can something as simple as how you got your first car for a good deal or how you get an A in a class you were almost falling.

There something you did that someone else is looking for that information.

All it takes is writing a few pages anywhere from 10- 100 talking about how you did. I created my first ebook using CANVA and I wrote about how I got my credit score to 700 in college.

Even though that isn’t the highest score you can get I really struggled to find that information when I wanted it so I knew I could write something to help people out. Just sit down and start.

Write a Letter to Your Younger Self

We all have childhood baggage that we still lug around that is hindering us from become or best selves. It can be hard living and feeling like you wish you had gotten more support or you wished an area of your childhood were different, whether it be people who hurt you or a dysfunctional family, we were all hurt or scared in some way.

While the people or situation who hurt us will forever be frozen in time, we can give ourselves some emotional closure by writing a letter acknowledging and letting go of the hurt you dealt with in your childhood.

Write a letter to yourself giving yourself the emotional support you needed then and then decide how you can show up for yourself today since there’s nothing you can do about the past.

Sometimes you just parent yourself and its hard but its the only way to grow emotionally.

Rediscover an Old Hobby

There’s always a hobby that we enjoyed in the past but for some reason (usually insecurity or outside pressure) we lost touch. Sometime you may not know it but that hobby was something that could be what is missing from your life.

We all need forms of expression! so rekindling the love for an old hobby on your own time could bring you back to who you were before the world intervened. Hobbies come in all forms and it doesn’t have to be the traditional painting, dancing, or singing.

Your hobby could be that you enjoyed writing, watching cheesy tv shows, coloring or scrapbooking, the options are truly endless but this summertime is the perfect occasion for you to get in touch with a part of your old self.

And that’s it!

Read: 10 Online Courses to Take for Free to Boost Your Resume

That is the complete list of things you can do this summer to change your life! This season can be anything you want it to be but just take the time to discover who you are and do things that make you feel happy whether that’s “productive” or not.

Stay safe and let me know if you're gonna try any of these suggestions.

XOXO,

Scholasticbabe