29 Sep 2022 | 3 mins

Office jobs are kinda like the Grinch - but instead of just stealing Christmas, they steal the whole damn summer.

If you’re stuck working for the man all summer, it can be easy to feel the fomo. There you are, typing away like a good robot while your mates are chilling at the beach, getting their tan on, making sangria and just having an all-round great time without you.

However, doing the whole 9-5 thing might not be as restrictive as you think. There are a bunch of sunlight hours during the day in summer, and if ya get yourself organised you’d be surprised at just how much of that glorious sunshine you’ll be able to soak up.

Get up early

This one’s a no-brainer. For most of the summer, it’s light before 6am. That gives you at least three hours to do all your favourite daytime activities.

There’s so much you can get done in three hours. Watch the sunrise, go for a nice walk, whip up some bacon and eggs, play a game of chess, chop some wood, change a flat tire, play some Call of Duty, make a super smoothie, paint your nails, play a game of Twister. If you were efficient enough, you could probably get all of those things done in one morning… Maybe.

Smash that meal prep

Meal prep is something you’ll never truly appreciate until you work a summer 9-5.

Imagine getting home from a big day in the office, it’s 28 degrees outside and the sun won’t be setting for another two hours. The last thing you want is to spend an hour in the kitchen getting dinner ready while the last rays of the day are slowly fading away (rhyme game on point).

My advice – make Sunday evening the time of the week where you cook… everything. Get your dinners and your lunches for the week ready and packed into Tupperware containers, and cram your freezer full. It’ll be a mission, but it’ll be worth it for all the free time you’ll get after work during the week.

Maximise that lunch break

If you’ve got a full hour break, use every last minute of it! Bring a change of clothes and go sunbaking at the nearest park. Try a leisurely stroll. Look up the closest public pool and race over for a quick dip before heading back to work. Soooo worth it.

Change up ya commute

You can’t properly enjoy the fresh summer air from the inside of any four-wheeled vehicle. If you can, ditch the bus or car in favour of doing things the ol’ fashioned way. That’s right - use those legs of yours and walk or ride to work!

The office won’t feel so bad if your morning featured a solid summer fix.

Make your office feel more summery

There are a few ways you could do this one.

Start by changing the office playlist to something a bit... summerier. Get the good vibes flowing through the place.

Next up, colourise your desk! Do whatever you can to get some bright colours into your workplace. Get a fluoro drink bottle, a snazzy laptop case and maybe a plant or some fresh flowers. It’s much harder to feel summer fomo when you’re surrounded by great colours.

If that’s still not doing the trick, then try chucking some fresh fruit into your water. Get some strawberries, watermelon, mint, cucumbers and anything else you can think of and chuck them in a big water jug for everyone to enjoy. You’ll be a star, trust me.

Own the weekends

If you’re still not getting enough of a summer fix during the week, then make sure you absolutely live it up over the weekend.

Don’t get sucked into the classic Friday night party. Get yourself to bed at the type of respectable hour that would make your Grandmother proud and wake up early the next day – ready to soak up as much of that sunlight as possible.

Get all your chores done during the week and keep that weekend as free as possible for you to do whatever it is you like to do best.

An office-bound summer doesn’t have to be the three-month equivalent of the Grinch stealing Christmas. You’ve just gotta make sure that you’re making the most of all the free hours you have!