5 Creative Questions to Ask to Overcome Summer Doldrums of Boredom

As I write this, it’s the first week of July in 2023. It was a cool, breezy morning and I spent time writing outside, nearly mosquito-free, and it was delightful! Since it’s the beginning of the month, I always like to reflect. I look back on each month about what went well and how I might like to adjust focus or priorities for the next month. I reflect on my priorities and goals overall in life and also in my creative work.

I also like to reflect regularly each week and ask myself the same five questions. I wanted to share these with you as we’re in the middle of summer. I’ve heard a few friends who have lamented that summer is almost over. Eeks! Especially my friends who have school-age children, the summer can bring an extra level of creativity needed. It can be a time of summer doldrums and boredom…so, let’s overcome those doldrums and bring some new creativity in your summer for yourself or any young ones you have in your life.

Let’s get into the questions and share some interesting insight for how you can overcome summer doldrums and re-invigorate creativity to enjoyable be present in this season.

1. Who is in your life?

Where I live in northern Minnesota, summer is such a special season. We finally have warmth and sunshine. It’s such a welcome break from the below freezing cold and snow that we jokingly (in all seriousness) say lasts 10 months of the year! Now that we don’t have to wear socks with our sandals, we can participate in a lot of different activities. With different activities come different people.

Assessing who the people are in your life can be helpful to keep creativity alive in your life. If you find yourself alone in your office or your home and the weather is gorgeous, you may want to join a sports league, go to a coffee shop with another mom or work-from-home friend and work outside to catch the sunshine. From walking groups, running and mountain biking clubs, to paddle boarding, kayaking, and many other water sports (examples: fishing, pontooning, rafting, wild swimming, etc.), there are so many opportunities to get outside and meet new people.

Maybe you’re happy with the people who are in your life, but you need to change up your activities and how you spend your time. Often reflecting on the “whos” in your life helps you to assess all of the “whats.” Seeing who is in your life allows you to decide if you need to expand or narrow your relational circle.

2. What are you listening to?

There are so many different sounds in the summertime. Because we can get outside so much more easily in this neck of the woods, it can be a treat to do normal things outside. A memory I have from childhood is bird watching. We did this year round, but when I could be outside to spot the birds in the nearby trees, and better yet–hear the birdsong, it was magical.

Listening to and identifying birdsongs could be a joyous summer tradition to develop in your family with friends, no matter your age. Like gathering with people to partake in seasonal activities outside during summer, listening can be communal, too. Where my husband and I live, there is a lot of live music year round at local public attractions and breweries. But, when it’s warmer, the music reverberates joyously outside in tents, in parks, by the lake. Asking yourself what you and your family or friends are listening to can be a gift to point toward an enlivening solution.

Whether you take up bird “listening” (ie: bird watching) or attending concerts in the park, these special and “out of the norm” activities can add creative inspiration to your life.

3. What are you reading?

Reading is a year round activity in the Ovenden household for me, at least! But during summer, I like to read certain types of books and more books in general. For students and children, to continue reading may feel like a chore, but if they are given the chance to pick fun or silly reading, their relationship with books can improve. Or, at the very least, it continues the creativity and learning they’d been doing the last several months in school.

Maybe a child wants to spend time reading a graphic novel or comic books. That’s brilliant that they are enjoying reading. Give them the gift of literary enjoyment so they can take it with their whole lives. It can be a great idea for kids to have several types of reading on the go. They can explore lighter literature alongside chapter books or series, depending on their age and ability. As a Language Arts teacher at heart, I’m always going to promote reading for enjoyment as well as for learning.

During the summer, I like to ask myself what I am reading because I tend to give myself permission to choose lighter fiction. There are some incredible books written by amazingly prolific authors who do a really good job writing lighthearted cozy mysteries or chick lit love stories. One practice I have in the summer is to have several books in a stack whose titles include keywords like summer, lake, beach, sun, etc. (I like to do this in other seasons, too!)

Thousands of books come into the world every year. If it feels overwhelming to pick what to read, ask your local independent bookstore staff for recommendations on what to buy or you can ask a librarian–libraries often have summer reading programs and contests, as well as curated summer collections to help you feel inspired by reading something new or different this season. Maybe you’ll even try a new collection of poetry here!

4. What are you eating?

This is always a great question for me as I’ve been paying attention more to my body and how it responds to certain foods. In the summer when the weather is great, my body feels better, too. So, when I eat something that doesn’t make my body feel amazing, it’s a lot more noticeable for me.

In Northern Minnesota, there is not a very long growing season from many fruits and vegetables, so it’s usually challenging to get the freshest fruits and vegetables year round. Choosing strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, scapes, etc. can be really exciting when the flavors are so much stronger in season.

If you’re used to eating out of a box or from a wrapper, asking yourself this question can jolt your culinary spark to include foods without wrappers. You may likely have a local farmers market once or twice a week nearby. If you’re not sure where you might go, you can always ask your local grocery store where their most seasonal and local produce is in the store. Then you can choose seasonally.

5. What are you creating?

There is so much to create over the summer. New habits or routines with food or friends. Travel plans or memories of meals outdoors. I remember as a child roadtripping to several state parks and taking the activity classes happening in the event centers. One summer my mom and I learned how to make dream catchers out of willow branches. We got hooked on creative these beautiful mobile-esque sleeping accompaniments to catch bad dreams to be consumed by spiders or melted by dew drops.

Maybe you are creating a garden full of flowers you can pick for fresh bouquets in your home. Creating barbecue spreads for the neighborhood families to eat together can be a fun challenge, too. Maybe you create new habits around reading or eating or exercise. Whatever you are creating, I want to encourage you to press in to it because we can have movement and momentum through creativity.

Sometimes undertaking art projects can feel overwhelming and messy when you’re stuck inside, but splatter painting, sun printing, gelatin printmaking, or another messy collage or art project can be great to do outside, too. Many local programs in schools or art organizations have special summer programming for adults and children to explore new areas of creativity in art.

When we build a rhythmic life of assessing levels of creativity, we can know that developing a solid summer rhythm of newness can mean that we go into the quieter, darker months of autumn and winter with a depth of energy and new life that can feed our souls as days grow shorter.

Which question feels most inspiring to you?

No matter how you answer these five questions, I hope that you’ll be able to assess your life on a regular basis. I hope that my creative practice of asking myself these, almost weekly, questions helps you make the most of this season and spurs you on to enjoy the fullness of summer even when some folks young and old around you might get “bored.”

If you’re struggling with decision making or feel like you’re at a crossroads in your creative life, I’d love to talk to you. I offer one-time and packages of individual coaching sessions. If you need a sounding board to help you hear the call of creativity in your life, I’d be delighted to offer constructive guidance and professional encouragement. Check out what it looks like to work with me here and here.