8 Ways To Ground Yourself During A Busy Summer

My experience with hustling this summer, and my own solutions to anchor into rhythms for you and your family during a generally busier time of the year.

Oh, summer. You’re full of expansion, and outwardness, and so much energy. While I personally love the more inward time of autumn and winter, summer has it’s place and I am fully in it currently.

Last year, I began to gently advertise my photography services and this year things have taken off. (I feel like I should write a gentle business style post, let me know if that would be something you’re interested in!) While I am so grateful, I have had to let so many other things slide away to embrace almost every day of photography shoots mixed with raising a two-year-old.

The late evenings of shooting at sunset, missing putting Maverick to bed, then editing even later into the night have been so full on. But it’s also been deeply rewarding getting to document sweet families on their vacations here at the beach. I couldn’t be more grateful. So while I am in go, go, go mode there are a few simple rhythms I am trying to keep attached to to keep some sense of slowness in our family, even when we’re in this busy season.

• Morning cup of coffee/tea - this is my non-negotiable. I live for that first sip of coffee or tea in the morning (mostly tea, but some days coffee calls for me). I always make sure to eat something before I “reward” myself with caffeine to help balance my blood sugar a bit more, so it’s helped me stay consistent with eating breakfast too. Bonus points if I drink it out on the back porch while watching the sunrise.

• Reading - I have been focusing on keeping up with my reading habit because I know it makes me happy, and keeps me off my phone less which is an extra plus. I just finished Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane and really enjoyed it.

• Watching the sunset - Okay this has been a routine that’s come easy for me because I find myself at the beach doing a photoshoot most nights, but it’s been so magical watching the sunset and connecting to nature in that way. I always try to grab a couple photos of the water and sky after the shoot and it brings me so much joy.

• Evening baths - Have I told you that in our new house, we have a bathtub?! After 6+ years without a bath, it feels AMAZING to be able to take a bath whenever I want to again. After getting home from a shoot, or if I’m home, putting Maverick to bed, I will go get in a bath and decompress from the day.

• Backyard grounding - I find when I’m at my computer editing for many hours of the day or just focused on getting shiz done, it helps to close the devices and go outside for a few minutes to ground myself. I’ll stand barefoot on the grass and watch the water go by, and the birds fly all around (and we’ve had a couple alligator sightings in our pond!) and it instantly calms and re-centers me.

• Nourishing myself - it is SO easy to forget to eat or not eat well when you’re in a busier season. I’ve tried to remember to nourish myself as needed and focus on getting enough protein each day to sustain the extra energy I’m spending. I also don’t sweat it when we run through the drive-through every once in a while, I’d rather be full than have an empty stomach (if I don’t eat well, it quickly leads to anxiety for me). It’s like that saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and so when there’s a lot going on, I find it even more important to make sure I’m well-fed and nourished so that I can serve my photography clients and my own family. When I know I’m going to have a busy morning, I’ll make this green smoothie (that Maverick LOVES too!)…

  • 1 banana

  • 1/4 cup frozen mango

  • 1/4 cup frozen pineapple

  • 1/2 cup spinach

  • 2 scoops grass-fed collagen

  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter

  • 1/3 cup orange juice

  • 1/4 cup raw milk or oat milk

  Sometimes I’ll add chia seeds or a fresh date, or flax seed oil or some greens powder, and I basically just fill most of the cup up to the fill line with orange juice (you can dilute it with some water too!) and then finish it off with milk of choice. It’s soo yummy and Maverick devours it! If we have any extras I’ll keep it in the fridge too for an afternoon snack.

• Minimizing blue light at night - I am the first to say this is a bad habit of mine and I am horrible as minimizing my blue light time at night, but something I definitely strive to get better at. Swapping watching TV before bed for reading is a great way to start, or utilizing red light with glasses or using night shift mode on my computer/phone or changing the color filters to red. These are some simple ways you can optimize your evening so you can get better sleep and function at your best the next day (can you tell I’m talking to myself here? Ha).

• Remember to PLAY! - I find myself getting very serious during these busy seasons. I have a to-do list a mile long and rush through the day trying to accomplish as much as I can, but it’s SO important to remember to have fun too! Especially if you have kids, I love to get on the ground with my daughter throughout the day and just play. Walk away from the computer when she grabs my hand and remind myself that life is short, and I can always make a few minutes to have fun with her throughout the day.

While these things seem like simple habits to implement, they make for big changes in being able to function at a higher energy level. While I don’t think hustling is a positive thing in general, and can really mess with your cortisol levels and hormones long-term, life is all about seasons and sometimes we can embrace a busier season with joy and contentment as long as we focus on keeping our grounded practices going to support ourselves as best as possible.

I’d love to know what you do to keep yourself centered during a time of hustle.