Spring may have only just arrived, but let’s face it – summer will be here sooner than we know. dAfter a long winter hibernation, you were pretty sure that you were destined to spend the rest of your life buried under blankets, while your only contact with the outside world was when you answered the door for your Seamless delivery. Suddenly, you’re expected to start wearing sundresses, when the reality is that your legs are so pale they might be translucent (and while vampires are always on trend, that doesn’t mean you’re trying to look like one in reality). If you’re not quite ready for the sun-filled days, don’t worry – I’m here to help.
Here are 7 ways to get ready for summer – and since you’ve got a few months notice, I know you can do it.
- Fake that tan. Even if you’re not in college anymore, you still deserve a summer vacation for the ages. Oh, you can’t afford one since you’re making glorified minimum wage and get zero vacay days? That’s understandable, and unfortunately pretty much normal. Luckily, with the help of a solid bronzer, a YouTube contour how-to video, and some Jergens lotion (just make sure not to get it all over your hands/bed/everything you’ve ever owned), you’ll convince your co-workers that you’re secretly a world traveler.
- Don’t obsess over everyone else’s vacation pictures. If you’re only a couple of years removed from college, your Facebook feed is about to be mocking you regularly with perfectly filtered pictures of sunny beaches, day drinking, and hijinks that would probably leave you hungover for days if you tried them now. Maybe everyone you’ve ever met is going out of town for Memorial Day weekend while you’re stuck in the office — that doesn’t mean you have to stalk their Instagram feed.
- Join a gym immediately. When it’s 0 degrees, putting on Nike shorts and a tank top to go work out doesn’t exactly sound tempting. If you’ve managed to put off any and all work out plans for months now, and if the only marathons you were participating in involved Netflix, it’s time to slowly build up to a more active lifestyle. While you don’t have to run an actual marathon, signing up for gentle classes until you get back in the swing of things is the perfect way to prepare for swimsuit season since you’ve got a couple of months.
- Sign up for exercise classes. If the elliptical isn’t your style, there are way more options than running to nowhere on a treadmill. If you sign up for a program like ClassPass, you have lots of options if you’re not exactly a gym rat. It also means that you actually have to go to classes so they don’t charge you for them, so you’re forced to get in shape, just in time for swimsuit season.
- Don’t complain about the weather.If the only time you enjoy being outdoors is when day drinking is involved, it’s time to start exploring more than just the closest patio bar. It’s way too easy to go straight from complaining about the cold to complaining about the heat, which is why you need to remember how many layers were necessary for even a trip to the bodega before you’re sad about how strong the sun is. Instead of whining about how you have to shave now, realize that it’s far superior to turning into an actual bear (which is what was inevitably going down if winter lasted any longer).
- Start dating again.It’s easy to ignore another sex when you’re in a committed relationship with your bed, but everyone knows that spring is the best season to start boyfriend hunting for the summer ahead. If you’re single and ready to mingle (once you’ve had enough colorful cocktails), it’s far easier when you’re not freezing. You’re going out more because it’s not miserable, which makes it much easier to meet someone. After all, you probably didn’t meet him in your apartment, which was your primo winter location.
- Plan a getaway.Even if you can’t afford to take time off and go on the tropical vacation of your greatest fantasies, you can still plan a beach weekend for when the weather’s the hottest. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be a beach — find some kind of body of water, whether it’s a pond, a pool, or a puddle, and plan a weekend with your besties or boy toy. It’s something to look forward to for when the winter weather is finally for real over, and it’s the perfect Instagram opportunity. Planning it now will give you something to look forward to, and that can be the difference between slogging through spring or sprinting towards your awesome summer.