It has been awhile since “Get Your Fix” was last seen in the featuressection where it routinely resides. For those who don’t remember,”Get Your Fix” is a problem-solution column aiming to help people copewith day-to-day problems. This time, “Get Your Fix” starts off itsroutine appearances by helping you with your routine.

For a whole school year you operate routinely: you study hard, try toimpress your teachers, and socialize with your school mates all on aprecise schedule. But once summer hits can you really expect to be inthe same routine, except free from academic or career obligations?

When summer begins, you lose your school routine and start a new one,especially if you are a student who is taking the summer off. You arechanging a lifestyle that has gone on for ten months. You wake up aslate as you want, eat and drink whatever, and lay around becausesummer is the one time each year you can.

Change is good right? It is invigorating, exciting and spontaneous. Well, a routine that has worked well in the past can be just as good. For 10 months, or 83 percent of the year, you wake up early to go to school, do homework right when you get out of class, and/or work out at the end of the day. These are routines that one actually works hard touphold.

Maybe I am sound prudish by ruining the summer bliss of ultimatelaziness, but a problem that summer laziness invokes is a hardertransition to the new school year.

Get your fix over this summer laziness by having fun, just in a moreself disciplined way. Spontaneity is good, but some planning does nothurt.

One easy thing to structure is the time you wake up. Try waking up ata decent time of the day and think of it as maximizing your summer,not hindering it. This way you can do more activities within one day,like playing sports, going to the hottest amusement parks or doingcommunity service. No one is stopping you from sleeping in, butimagine what you can really do when you get out of bed and make themost of your day.

That brings me to the next goal–being active. If you are stillavoiding that workout you promised to do this summer, try workingaround your house, instead. For example, try rearranging the inside ofyour closet or garage. You might find a lot of neat stuff to rummagethrough. If you really feel spontaneous, try painting your house awhole new color. By working around your living quarters, you canbreak into a sweat and also clear up ten months worth of overloadedmess.

You don’t have to swear off all academic activities, just because itis summer. If you loved doing something during the actual school yearlike reading or writing, by all means, do not stop. Make the summerfun and pick out text that interest you, not your professors. Maybeyou can even keep a personal journal and write about things you didduring the day. Looking back on your writing in the future may helpyou find additional meaning in your summer activities.

Another great way to fight the sluggishness of summer is to staysocial. Instead of isolating yourself in front of the plasma, trygetting a job. Like school, you can gain experience and socialize atthe same time. Unlike school, you get paid. Most jobs requiresocializing in order for people to work together ideally and will begreat ways to beat the urge to be a hermit for the summer. Having ajob will ease you back into the school mindset by giving you a certainsense of responsibility and pushing you to become a more diligentperson.

Think about it this way do you want to walk into the new school yearunprepared, unhealthy and stuck on summer lag? Well, for those who donot want to be last in everything in the next school year, put alittle more thought into what you are doing this summer. I don’t meanget your fix by planning every single day of your summer. Where isthe spontaneity in that? But, try having a solid routine thatactually helps your lifestyle for at least a good three days within aweek. That way the transition getting back into school would not beas hard.

Getting your fix over summer laziness doesn’t require scheduling everysingle day of your summer. Try having a solid routine thatactually helps your lifestyle for at least three days a week. Noone wants to walk into the new school year unprepared, unhealthy, andstuck on summer lag–all effects of poor planning and excessively idlesummers. For those who do not want to be last in everything in thenext school year, put a little more thought into what you are doingthis summer. That way, the transition getting back into school willnot be as hard.