Maybe you aren’t motivated for back to school (who can blame you?) but you have teacher guilt about not being productive. Here are some non-school things you need to do before back to school.

1. Clear out your email inboxes. You know why.
2. Decide if you want to meal plan this year. Try out recipes, precut basic veggies and freeze (EX: carrots, onions, celery), or fruit for smoothies. Cook up a few new recipes and try something you’ve been wanting to make.
3. Do a deep purge of your closet. Get rid of old socks, shirts that have holes, stains, or aren’t holding their shape any more. Get rid of those super dated clothes you know you will never wear again.
4. Deep clean the things you don’t have time for during the school year. Wash your pillows, scrub your baseboards, or those other cleaning tasks that have been bugging you.
5. Clear out old files – paper and digital. Put on your favorite binging show and kick back with your computer or a pile and get rid of stuff.
6. Get cute office supplies. What teacher doesn’t love a fresh notebook or new writing tools? You probably need something, and if you don’t reorganize, clean out the pencil case, and wipe things down so you feel brand new.
7. Grab a new planner and write in your personal calendar. I love this one. If digital isn’t your thing, this one is an ink friendly one you can print yourself.
8. Update your resume & CV even if you are staying in your current job. Why? Because in 3/7/14 years if you go looking for a new one you won’t remember what you did last school year. Making sure you keep things you have done up to date is a gift for later you. Especially things that were out of the day to day events.
9. Flex your brain. Read a book, take an online mini course in something you are interested in outside of school, or visit a museum or two. Maybe start a language on Duolingo.
10. Clean your car. Dust, vacuum, clean out the glovebox, and restock your emergency stash. I’m not advocating for the tiktok stock my car with me style, but pre-tiktok trends (since college!), I have kept a small stash of emergency supplies like a sewing kit, bandaids, hair tie, nail clippers, feminine products, lotion, sanitizer, a tide pen, and even a collapsible water bottle and such in my car. It’s helpful when I’m traveling, or need something in a pinch so I don’t have to pay gas station prices for a small item.
11. Start the thing you want to add to your schedule now. If you want to take a walk every day, start it now. New habits die hard when you start them the first week of school.
12. Sleep in and go to bed early. Take a few days/weeks to help yourself feel truly refreshed.
13. Physical self care – do a hair mask, get a massage, do some TLC on your nails, add in a few extra work outs, take a few walks, and make sure you really hydrate every day. If you neglect yourself during the school year, now is the time to give yourself some TLC.
14. See the doctor, the dentist, or make appointments.
15. Clean your tech. Run updates, delete old files, and inventory all the chargers, cords, dongles, etc to make sure nothing needs to be replaced. If you have a mac, I actually purchased Clean My Mac a few years ago to help me get rid of old installation files, clear out junk, etc. It is a subscription but I really love it and use it about once a week to keep things cleaned out. No kickbacks/ads/etc. Just something I love.
16. Vacation/Staycation/Fun Time!!! – Check out, get some sun, get in the water, be a tourist in your own town, or whatever you need to do to make some memories and have some fun.
17. Get out! Check out local to-dos for some out of the mundane. Local festivals, famers markets, etc are a great way to have a little inexpensive fun. I find a lot by checking local events on Facebook. Some towns have instagram or facebook pages that will list events too.

Hope this has given you a few things to feel productive but not school related!