The summer of 2020 is the first summer I’ve ever had that won’t fulfill a specific need. At this point in the year, I’m generally desperate for some R&R, ready for a vacation, and excited to tackle new projects. The last few summers have been a busy mishmash of the three, and I’ve enjoyed them thoroughly. They’ve provided me much-needed distractions from the stress and anxiety of the school year.

But the summer of 2020 has no such distractions. I have no real need for R&R, since I’ve already been sleeping more and exercising better. We’re not going on any big trips this year. And we’ve already started a lot of home projects. Right now the summer looms long, a stretch of unfilled days, leading to a very uncertain September.

I can’t think about September. It causes me extreme anxiety. There’s no back-to-school scenario that will be good for my family or my school’s music program. Due to the virus and restrictions, whatever our state and district comes up with as a reopening plan will be a series of uncomfortable compromises that are inconducive to elementary-age learning and unsustainable for a family with young kids. September feels like a snake waiting to bite me.

But I can’t spend every minute of my summer thinking about it. I need distractions! Vacations are out, R&R is automatic, so what I need are new projects.

I have my novel to finish, after I hear back from the editor I’m working with on the first ten chapters.

I want to get my writing “out there” more– more essays, more opinion pieces, finding this blog and The Joyful Creative newsletter a bigger audience. I don’t have a strategy for that yet, though. (Any suggestions? I’d love to hear from people who’ve grown their own audience or witnessed it successfully done.)

I’m thinking about making a short-run podcast. Maybe just 10 episodes. Just to get some experience and have some fun. I’ve always wanted to do a podcast!

I keep thinking about puzzles and games– jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, Sudoku. Doing one every day might be fun.

I’m planning to declutter my house, one room at a time. That’s not particularly fun, but it will feel good after it’s done.

I could also take this time to play my flute more and get better at piano.

And of course, there’s always plenty to read and watch.

These are all great distractions. Unfortunately, they’re all self-motivated. Which means I’m going to have to keep my spirits up in order to actually do them. It’s kind of a vicious cycle: I need the distractions to keep me from feeling anxious, but if I do start to feel anxious, it will be hard to keep up the distraction habits.

Any suggestions for distractions or other positive-thinking aids?