The first day of summer is tomorrow. Are you ready?

Summer days should be lazy and unstructured. I love that notion. In fact, I try to follow a saying by Annie Lamott:

I fill my days off with pool time, bike rides and beach reads.

However, I also find that I need some structure otherwise I may not achieve anything. I particularly like this list from Online Colleges, which offers 100 productive ways to spend your summer vacation. Their recommendations include to take an education vacation, learn a new language or visit museums.

One of my favorite suggestions is from a 2013 article by Les McKeown who suggested doing something “It’s never the right time for.” I have several things that fit the description and I’ve now added them to my summer list with incremental deadlines. I already feel better knowing they might get done this summer.

Also on my list this summer:

#WalkOn: It’s a hashtag I used when I was consistently walking 10,000 steps a day. My stepping significantly decreased due to a knee injury, but I’m now building back up. I’m tracking my steps from Memorial Day to Labor Day, although instead of 1 million steps my goal is 750,000 steps. If you’re on Fitbit, let’s challenge each other and #WalkOn.

Writing books: I’m finishing my book of travel essays, and will spend the summer reaching out to agents and editors. I’m also going to pick up my mystery (it’s about time!) and resume writing it. And I’ll attend meetings of James River Writers and Sisters in Crime. Their programming helps me grow my skills and become a better writer.

Exploration: My vacation won’t happen until late in the year, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take some time to explore in my backyard. It’s always fun to visit a farmer’s market and see what is in season. Two area attractions have new exhibitions that I plan to see. And I’ll check out some new restaurants with friends.

Of course, the beauty of summer is that you can always toss your list and do nothing!