How to Stay Productive at Work During Summer

It's not fun to be the only person at work in the summertime while everyone else seems to be enjoying a vacation. But there are a few advantages to being at work during a season that's known for downtime. Here are some tips to get the most out of things and stay productive during the summer.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. 

   Review your resolutions. Remember those goals you set in January? Well it's the halfway mark for the year and a great time to take advantage of getting back on target with your objectives. Maybe you wanted to do something work-related and haven't had time-now you just may (and in today's economy, going the extra mile at work is extremely valuable, so why not?).

2. Clean, clean, clean. This may not be what you'd ideally like to spend your time on, but it's a great time to get organized and clean your desk. Spend time sanitizing your phone, which gets tons of germs on it (along with your keyboard). Coordinate your files or take the time to implement that new filing system.

3. 

   Get on top of your industry. You know all those industry publications that have piled up or websites you've been meaning to check out? The summer is an opportune time to plan your next industry conference attendance. It's also a wonderful time to catch up on your networking-and if you happen to hit a beach café to network with a contact, who says that's not working? (If you can get out in the nice summer weather for networking purposes, go for it. No one says all meetings have to occur in the conference room!).

4. 

   Plan your vacation. For me, living at the Jersey Shore means that I don't take much vacation time in the summer. There are so many tourists everywhere that seem to want to go exploring all the hotspots, so I take my vacations during the off-season. This is better because I love the cool weather-and less crowds.