It’s finally summertime! Yes, I know it is July, but it’s finally summer for those of us who work in college football. See, the college football season starts the first weekend in September and goes until your team plays in a bowl game. This could mean your season ends sometime in December or early January, but that doesn’t mean that work is over. It’s actually quite the opposite. With a demanding recruiting schedule that is 247/365, football literally never stops, and time off is like gold around here. Every sport has a different off-season, or a “less busy part of the year”, so when you are given the opportunity to wind down, it is necessary that you make the most of it.
In college football, our time to take vacation and slow down is the month of July. After going through quite a few football seasons by now (I’m entering my 7th full-time with LSU), I know exactly how I like to spend my less busy part of the year.
REST, RELAX AND RECHARGE
It’s hard for me to completely turn off, but it is extremely important to do this when we have time off. Once the end of July hits and fall camp starts, we are locked in for the duration of the season. Since I am used to working every day, when I am not at work I can feel so lazy. Shea always reminds me that I would kill for some extra down time during the football season, so I need to take advantage of it when I can get it. This can mean spending a full day in pajamas, binging on multiple Netflix shows, tackling that summer reading list and sometimes not even leaving the house. There is no need to stress on your down time!
DO THINGS YOU CAN’T DO DURING THE SEASON
For me this includes going out to eat on Saturday nights with Shea, sleeping in, going to the movie theatre (I haven’t been in years!) and brunching on Sunday with my girlfriends. Football season is a routine where your schedule each day is the same week after week, and there is not a lot of time to do things with people outside of work. (Thank goodness I enjoy spending time with the people at my office!) This list can also include trying new workout classes, taking a day trip somewhere in the middle of the week and going out to a long lunch on a work day just because you can.
GET ORGANIZED
Football season is much more manageable with a good schedule and a lot of organization. I love to make lists and prefer to schedule everything out – appointments, interviews, social media posts, meals, etc. – to know exactly what I need to accomplish each day during the season. This also means picking my interviews out, doing research on the team and getting questions set up in advance. I focus on these things during July when my coaches are on vacation to get ahead of my media work for fall camp and the beginning of the season.
I also use the quiet time in July to get things in order at home, like organizing my closet, start planning gameday outfits and dealing with all of the other odds and ends that have been left unfinished during my busy season. This feels like a a never-ending task, and while there is always going to be stuff to do, I can at least start out on a good foot in August for fall camp.
SET A ROUTINE
The season might be hella busy, but it’s a routine which I love. Each year I find new things to incorporate into my daily and weekly routines to help my days go smoother, keep my health in check and be able to manage home and work responsibilities. Setting these routines during the summer helps make successful routines for the football season. This means getting into a good nighttime and morning routine, preparing a running schedule and working in some down time.
HAVE FUN
While the to-do lists around the house might seem never ending during the summer, you still have to get away! On our vacation list, we have a couple of trips to New Orleans, a vacation in Austin, and then we are heading to the beach right before the staff officially reports back to work. I have fun with Shea just being at home with our puppies, but I think he is always kind of ready for me to go back to work in August so he can have the house back to himself!
