Trying to keep your entire team focused and productive during the summer months can be a massive challenge. Aside from the weather and school being out, there are so many other distractions that can revert your teams attention causing productivity to drop.

If you’re one of the few people holding up the fort while everyone else seems to be out on vacation, don’t worry. Here are 3 ways to keep yourself and your team both productive and inspired during the hot and steamy days of summer.

Get Some Vitamin D

One of the hardest things in the summer is to be stuck indoors all day. It makes people feel lethargic and promotes boredom, not very motivating! Increase productivity during the summer months by encouraging your team to get outside. Move daily or weekly team meetings outdoors and encourage your team to take frequent breaks during the day. Allow your team to take a 3-5 minute break every few hours to take a walk outside and soak up some summer rays. If you work in an office where there needs to be people in the office at all times (to cover the phones, etc.) breaks can be done in intervals. This not only breaks up their day but also allows your team to disengage from their work for a minute recharge their batteries.

Encourage Summer PTO Days

It can be difficult to maintain an office when everyone is out on vacation. Therefore, many are discouraged to use PTO during peak times of the year and also during the summer months. However, this can cause burnout with your team. Instead, try reminding your team of their benefits and personal days, especially if they have accumulated a significant number of days off and work is slower over the summer months.

As a manager, you can create a strategic schedule ahead of time allowing work to be covered when team members are out. This paired with trained time management skills will allow them to keep their workload maintained so they feel safe to leave for a day or two. A refreshing day out of the office can help your team to refocus which will help productivity overall. If you are short staffed and cannot have people taking full days off, consider letting them break up their hours to leave a little early on Fridays. Flexibility can help you balance work load while also offering your team a break.

Summer Challenge

One great way to inspire your team is by adding a little competition to their day. Create a summer long competition according to production goals with prizes! Start by giving your team an overall goal to meet by the end of the summer, along with weekly challenges they can compete for individually. Small prizes like gift cards, extra PTO days, free lunch etc. can be given out at the end of each week to winners of the small challenges. Plan for an end of the summer celebration with a chance to win a grand prize as a team. This could be a catered lunch for your office, taking them for ice cream or a fun day at Dave and Busters. Whatever you feel would motivate your team. Pass out little trophies or metals, the more fun you have with it, the better. This is a really fun way to keep your team engaged all summer long while also offering some great prizes that will make their summer fun even if they are stuck in the office instead of on the beach.

The dog days of summer can get to all of us. As a manager, you have a unique opportunity to create a little bit of fun and relaxation to your employees. This will not only help them get through the summer months, but it will also help you as you will be spending less time trying to motivate your team to work and more time having fun all while increasing productivity.