You’ve turned in the last paper and taken the last test of the academic year. And what a year it’s been. To call it interesting would be an understatement. Masking, social distancing, and remote video learning have changed the texture of education in so many ways. It doesn’t matter where you are in your academic career – the last 12-plus months were undoubtedly a tad bizarre.
But what hasn’t changed is the potential that comes with a three-month break from the routine of school. And, if things continue to go well, relative normalcy seems to be on the horizon. Who’s ready for guilt-free interacting with others and going anywhere without worrying about becoming a carrier?
Summer break can go in one of two directions: serious and not at all serious. “Serious” might mean something like a summer internship or a seasonal job. “Not at all serious” might mean the freedom to have a relentlessly good time – beach time and travel, for example. While our wish for you is a little of both, tough choices about how to spend the summer might need to be made. Three months is not a lot of time.
But in the spirit of those choices, let’s speculate about what practical and fun summers might look like for students of each personality type. There are many ways to take a break during summer. The content below comes in the form of suggestions – but there’s no reason to limit yourself to what we offer here. Consider our ideas as springboards for your own, and there are no rules against borrowing suggestions from other personality types.
Traveling this summer? Which of the four traveler types do you belong to? Take our Traveling Preferences test and find out.
Analyst Personality Types
Architect (INTJ)
Practical: You’ll look at the expanse of the summer months before you and feel like you need to fill them with purpose and direction. If summer school of any kind is an option, taking needed courses may feel like a direction for you to go in. But maybe, as an alternative, expand your experience by doing something completely new. Perhaps learn a language or take up a musical instrument.
Fun: What about those books you keep saying you’re going to read, but other pressing things always get in the way? Summer might gift you with some time for those. Find a quiet, solitary place, perhaps in nature, and dive into the books that winter schedules prohibit you from enjoying. What’s on your nonacademic booklist?
Logician (INTP)
Practical: Perhaps summer break might be the time to embrace that thing that’s on the edge of your radar but that you don’t have time to explore during the school year. With everything that’s going on in that busy imagination of yours, it might help to keep a journal or creative notebook with you at all times. Then pick one or two things from your notebook that you know you won’t have time to deal with during the school year. Use your summer to satisfy those interests. Now’s the time to get anything nagging you from the periphery out of the way.
Fun: Life can be full for Logicians, and they generally like it that way. However, they also enjoy a little time off. A summer that involves relaxation for Logicians involves a balance between getting into the things that catch their attention while not extending the school year by doing so. Independent discovery is essential for your personality type. Having your kind of fun may look suspiciously like work to other types. But be careful not to overthink your summer, and make sure that you get some more conventional opportunities to rest. When was the last time you went to the beach?
Commander (ENTJ)
Practical: Get a head start on the coming academic year. Either find out what you’ll be using, or if you know who the instructors are, ask them if they have any suggestions about how you might be better prepared to enter their classroom in the fall. Pay attention to the fun suggestion below – all work and no play, as a practice, doesn’t work for many people.
Fun: How about a little parkour? This sport is a fun way to challenge yourself and to get fit. Find an instructor or experienced traceur who can help you get started. Start small and easy, and of course, be safe. Jumping around, under, and over structures is a great way to release some steam.
Debater (ENTP)
Practical: You know better than most that life is a series of experiments. You’re always proving or disproving various hypotheses. What better time to add more elements to your “life lab” than summer break? While you may not need us to tell you this, let us provide a reminder: this is a great time in life to discover more about yourself and your path. What comes to mind when you think of something yet to be explored in your life?
Fun: Make a list of at least ten movies that you’ve never seen before but always thought you might like to. Then see them. It might be fun to watch these films each time with the same people and discuss them afterward.
Diplomat Personality Types
Advocate (INFJ)
Practical: Volunteering may be just the thing that makes your summer something special. This suggestion is a little stereotypical for Advocates. Still, there are a couple of reasons why this might be a good time to reach out to others. Your satisfaction level from pursuing something that appeals to your empathy can be most rewarding. And, being a bit more mercenary, you are also likely to find yourself working with people when you graduate, and volunteering will give you a chance to practice some of those skills. Oh, and it can also look good on a résumé or an application.
Fun: Plant a garden and watch it grow. Whether it be veggies or flowers, take some time to cultivate the earth and bring forth things of beauty. Many life metaphors can arise from watching plants grow and thrive. And it’s just kind of fun to play in the dirt and to eat fresh tomatoes once in a while, and it all provides some time for quiet reflection.
Mediator (INFP)
Practical: Become a minimalist. Most personality types report a high percentage of emotional ties to their possessions, but Mediators are more likely to say they have such attachments, second only to Advocates. Too many things in our lives can prove to be a distraction if we’re not careful. Be ruthless in letting go of possessions that no longer serve you or give you emotional fulfillment. Throw away, recycle, sell, or donate anything that seems unrelated to your genuine happiness. As you start releasing yourself from your possessions, you may find your life becoming more agile in many ways. It’s never too early to reevaluate your relationship with things.
Fun: The Japanese have a wonderful practice called “Forest Bathing.” Participants immerse themselves in nature to relieve stress and other types of suffering. The Japanese organize the practice complete with forest therapists and doctors. But where there aren’t such services, a DIY approach is fine. Do your practice your way. As a Mediator, you are likely to appreciate the beauty, the silence or gentle nature sounds, and a chance to ground yourself a bit. Take your shoes off while you’re there.
Protagonist (ENFJ)
Practical: While you are likely great with other people, you can be a bit sensitive and hard on yourself. Take this free time to learn some techniques that help in those areas. Perhaps this means lighting a candle and meditating, or maybe doing nothing but enjoying your favorite music playlist. Even sad songs can be cathartic and help with self-soothing. Gratitude lists can show us all that we have in our lives and help us restore our sense of well-being. Write something in a gratitude journal every day. Engage your senses as much as possible
Fun: Try your hand at being a photojournalist. Everybody carries a camera these days. Go on photo safaris around your town or wherever your heart leads you. Learn to make your camera into an instrument of art rather than just a device that keeps a record of events. Create a view of the world as seen through your unique eyes. How deep can you go with your pictures?
Campaigner (ENFP)
Practical: Take a job as a camp counselor or volunteer in a local youth center. Your combination of free-spirited fun and empathy makes you the perfect candidate for these résumé- and application-enhancing activities.
Fun: Join a class or group that focuses on a creative endeavor. Sure, you could probably learn to paint watching old Bob Ross videos, but doing it with current or future friends can bring new energy levels to such endeavors. The keywords here are “friends” and “activity.” Don’t worry about talent or success. Just focus on the fun.
Are you meeting a lot of goals this summer? Is that a sign of ambition? Take our Ambition Test and find out what your style of ambition is.
Sentinel Personality Types
Logistician (ISTJ)
Practical: What is the skill that you worry about not having when you think about your future? Get rid of the worry by taking a course or two that teaches you what you need to know. But more classes? It’s probably not a problem for Logisticians, who mostly want to get things right.
Fun: Place yourself in structureless but pleasant situations. When you were younger, you probably plopped yourself on the lawn and watched the clouds go by. Maybe you played the old game of trying to identify what their shapes suggested to you. Perhaps watching clouds go by isn’t your thing. Still, there is much to learn from the carefree days of being a little kid. Take a cue from your younger self and figure out how to free-form your recreation a bit more.
Defender (ISFJ)
Practical: Be more self-indulgent. Concentrate on full-on self-care. How about doing some of those hours at the gym that you were too busy to do during the school year? Have you considered meditation but found that too many other things came first, so you never made it to the meditation cushion? How many other ways can you pamper yourself (and, as a side effect, round out your life a bit)?
Fun: Similarly, how about just taking a break and enjoying doing a lot of nothing? Catch up on movies or take long walks. Set up game nights with a few close friends. Defender personalities can be pretty serious about life. Try to find activities that counter that impulse.
Executive (ESTJ)
Practical: Take part in an internship program where you can observe leaders and teams at work. The chances are good that these things are in your future, so why not learn about them? Even if you’re sorting the mail or fetching doughnuts, there is likely much that you can learn from an environment that relies on organization and collaboration.
Fun: You are a social creature, but perhaps summer offers you an opportunity to fulfill that need and up your game some. You may sometimes be a bit too busy with your academic work and activities to pay enough attention to the people in your life. Set the intention that this summer will be a social summer, and make a list of all the people you want to spend some casual time with. Start putting dates on your calendar.
Consul (ESFJ)
Practical: Set up a series of field trips to museums, sporting events, concerts, and other places of interest with your friends. These excursions can expand your horizons, supplement your knowledge base, and keep you connected with your friends during the summer. Nobody can take the memory of these experiences away from you.
Fun: How about taking up a sport involving teams and all the people who make up a team? Soccer (football) comes to mind. It’s a great place to burn off some Extravert energy while hanging with others and building friendships. Don’t like soccer or sports? What other activities contain energetic, relationship-building aspects?
Explorer Personality Types
Virtuoso (ISTP)
Practical: Learn to cook. Become familiar with kitchen tools and techniques, and take a step closer to being a chef. Even if working in a restaurant is not part of your plans for the future, you can never go wrong by acquiring some cooking skills on the side. There are plenty of instructional videos to help you hone this new ability or take the ability that you already have to the next step. How many new dishes can you make between June and September? Keep a record.
Fun: Create a summer-fun bucket list. Make a list of five to ten things that you would like to do recreationally during the summer months. This free time is a chance for you to revive old ways of having fun or to learn some new ways. But emphasize the fun over the learning.
Adventurer (ISFP)
Practical: Not everyone can afford to travel a lot, but there are ways to see the world on someone else’s dime. Apply to work in another country. Maybe tutor someone in a faraway land who is trying to learn your native language. A job overseas may be a way not only to feed your wallet but also to feed your soul as you explore other cultures.
Fun: Go camping. Roughing it in the wild will get you out of your normal environment, and there’s nothing like spending quality time around a campfire with some good friends. And there’s usually plenty of space to wander off and spend time alone when you’re living in the great outdoors.
Entrepreneur (ESTP)
Practical: Start a small business. This project could be something as simple as a lawn-mowing service or tutoring other students. It doesn’t have to be complex, but it might give you a chance to learn more about organizational skills and business. And if you’re like most students, a few extra dollars probably won’t hurt either.
Fun: What’s a hobby or activity that you already enjoy? Take it to the next level by strategically connecting with other people who enjoy the same thing. These new friends might be online, at local meetings, or even at conventions. The interests that you join in with others could be as simple as a movie or comic books or as complex as a dense role-playing game. You’re known for the fun that you bring with you. Connect your passions: your hobby + other people.
Entertainer (ESFP)
Practical: Learn the art of networking. Let’s face it. You’re likely a natural when it comes to pulling people into your sphere of influence. But, like anything else, there’s a lot to learn and experience. Make a summer goal that involves bringing even more people into your life. Watch videos or read books that can help you hone this skill even more sharply than it already is. Think of it as having a natural ability plus some.
Fun: Plan two or three memorable barbecues and picnics, and invite others to join you. Offer a lot of activities. Make these events extravaganzas and something that people will remember for years.
Summertime and the Living Is Easy
Whatever you decide to do with your break, we encourage you to make the most of it. You’ll never get another summer of 2021 again, so why not make summer memorable this year?
On the other hand, keep in mind that we’re talking about a break. So you might want to make sure that there are some revitalizing elements peppered throughout your time off. Keep in mind that a well-rested student is more likely to be a better student than a burned-out learner, and fall is inevitable. There’s nothing wrong with a little downtime.
Whatever the case, we hope that you have a wonderful summer vacation.