Friends,
As we come back to work after Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial kickoff of summer, I want to give you a simple tool to help make this your best summer ever.
Whether you work full time, work 10.5 or 11 months as a principal, or have the summer off as a teacher, we all know the truth.
Summer moves fast.
One minute we are grilling burgers, watching ball games, and saying, “We’ve got all summer.”
The next minute, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and somebody is putting pumpkin spice back on the menu like we asked for it.
Not yet, cinnamon people. Not yet.
So before summer slips by, let’s decide to make the most of it.
Here’s the tool:
Win the day.
That’s it.
But here’s the catch. To win the day, you first have to define what a winning day looks like.
Too often, we walk through life without a target. We want to have a great summer, be more present with family, take care of our health, get a few projects done, and create memories, but we never actually define what success looks like.
And when the target is fuzzy, the aim gets sloppy.
So here’s what I like to do.
I choose three simple actions that would make the day feel like a win. Then I give myself grace. If I complete two out of the three, I win.
For the summer of 2026, my winning day looks like this:
Do something fun with family or friends.
Exercise or move my body.
Complete one task or project around the house.
That’s it.
If I go 2 for 3, I win the day.
And friends, this matters because winning is contagious.
When I do something meaningful with my family, I feel connected.
When I exercise, I feel stronger.
When I knock out a task around the house, I feel productive.
None of those actions have to be massive. This is not about turning summer into a second job. Nobody needs a color-coded clipboard at the pool. Although, let’s be honest, a few of us principals just thought, “Actually…”
This is about creating a simple system that helps you enjoy the season instead of accidentally watching it disappear.
Last summer, I used a similar system and won 87% of my days.
Were there days I missed? Absolutely.
Were there days the wheels fell off? Of course.
Were there days when the “house project” turned into me staring at the garage for 12 seconds and walking back inside? I plead the fifth.
But here’s the beautiful part.
When you miss a day, you don’t quit.
You just start again tomorrow.
No guilt.
No shame.
No dramatic life review while standing in front of the refrigerator at 10:37 p.m.
Just reset and go win the next day.
That is the power of a simple system.
It gives you clarity.
It gives you momentum.
It gives you a target.
And once you know the target, it becomes a whole lot easier to aim.
So as we step into this summer season, I want to challenge you to define your winning day.
Maybe your three are:
Read 10 pages.
Take a walk.
Put your phone away during dinner.
Maybe they are:
Pray or reflect.
Exercise.
Do one thing that makes your home better.
Maybe they are:
Play with your kids.
Call a friend.
Complete one work task before lunch.
Your list does not need to look like mine.
It just needs to matter to you.
Because the goal is not perfection.
The goal is progress.
The goal is presence.
The goal is creating a summer that feels intentional instead of accidental.
Whether you are a weekend warrior, a full-time leader, a teacher starting summer break, or someone just trying to keep all the plates spinning, this system works because it is simple enough to use and strong enough to create momentum.
BOOMLeaders don’t wait for better days to magically appear.
We define the win.
We design the system.
We do the work.
And then we start stacking wins.
So here is your challenge:
Before the day ends, write down your three winning-day criteria for this summer.
Then start today.
Go 2 for 3.
Win the day.
Win the week.
Win the summer.
We got this.
Onward >>>>>
Tom
#TeamBOOM
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