As I write this, I’m in that delicate space between the end of school and the start of summer camp—two kids fighting and bouncing off the walls, a baby who has apparently forgotten how to nap, and me trying to maintain some semblance of sanity.

Thankfully, camp starts Monday!! And that means, by the time you’re reading this I maybe…perhaps…have regained some semblance of normalcy? Cue the parade!

If you’re running a law practice, especially a virtual one, summer brings its own unique set of challenges and opportunities. While some practice areas naturally slow down (I’ve always found summer to be my slower season and fall to be my busiest), others might see different patterns. What remains consistent is that summer demands a different approach to how we structure our professional lives.

The key isn’t to fight against the season’s natural rhythm, but to work with it intentionally. This means taking that aerial view of your entire summer—all twelve weeks of it—and getting crystal clear on what you want to accomplish both personally and professionally.

The Summer Paradox for Solo Practitioners and Small Firms

Summer presents us with a paradox. On one hand, we want to embrace the slower pace, spend quality time with family, and maybe even take a real vacation (imagine that!). On the other hand, we’re still running businesses that need attention, clients who need us, and goals we want to achieve.

The mistake many of us make is trying to maintain our regular school-year intensity while also accommodating summer camps, family trips, and the general chaos that comes with having kids home more often. This approach usually leads to frustration, burnout, and the feeling that we’re failing at both work and family life.

Instead, what if we intentionally designed our summer differently? What if we acknowledged that this season calls for a different rhythm and planned accordingly?

The Power of Intentional Summer Planning

The magic happens when you zoom out and look at your summer as a complete unit rather than just a series of disrupted weeks. This perspective allows you to:

• Identify your natural busy periods (maybe that’s the weeks before everyone goes on vacation)
• Plan around your family’s schedule instead of fighting against it
• Set realistic expectations for what you can accomplish
• Create space for both productivity and presence

The goal isn’t to have the most productive summer of your life—it’s to have a summer that aligns with your values and leaves you feeling energized rather than depleted when fall arrives.

Five Essential Tips for Summer Schedule Restructuring

1. Embrace Seasonal Business Patterns

First, acknowledge your practice’s natural summer rhythm. If estate planning typically slows down in July, don’t fight it—plan for it. Ideally, if you know this going into the summer, it’s wise to have a bit more in savings at the end of spring, so your business and personal expenses are unaffected. Another option is to reassess reoccurring business subscriptions that you won’t need as much and could be paused until the fall.

Use slower periods for business development, continuing education, or those administrative tasks you’ve been putting off. If your practice tends to get busy in August as people prepare for fall, block that time accordingly and plan lighter family commitments.

Track your patterns from previous summers. When do clients typically travel? When do referrals slow down? When do they pick back up?

2. Block Time in Larger Chunks

Instead of trying to maintain your usual daily schedule, consider blocking time in larger chunks. Maybe you work intensively Monday through Wednesday and take Thursday and Friday for family time. Or perhaps you alternate between “work weeks” and “family weeks.”

This approach reduces the mental load of constantly switching between work and family mode and allows you to be more present in whatever you’re doing. It also makes it easier to plan around camps, vacations, and other summer activities.

3. Communicate Boundaries Early and Often

Summer is the perfect time to train your clients (and yourself) about boundaries. Maybe send a summer schedule announcement in May. Update your website and email signature to reflect your summer hours. Let people know that while you’re still available for urgent matters, your response times may be different during certain periods. And don’t forget to set an auto-reply when you don’t want the pressure of response times weighing on you while you’re at the lake.

4. Prepare for the Unexpected

Summer with kids is inherently unpredictable. Camp gets canceled due to weather. Someone gets sick the day before your family vacation. The babysitter has her own family emergency.

Build buffer time into your schedule and have backup plans. This might mean having a trusted colleague who can handle urgent matters, or maintaining a small time buffer around important deadlines. The goal is to reduce your stress when life inevitably throws curveballs.

The more white space on your work calendar, the better. We both know it won’t stay white space, and you’ll need it!

5. Design Your Fall Re-Entry Strategy

Don’t wait until Labor Day to think about getting back to your regular schedule. Plan your fall re-entry while you’re planning your summer. What projects do you want to launch in September? What client outreach will you do? How will you ramp back up to your usual intensity?

Having a clear re-entry plan allows you to truly relax during your summer downtime because you know exactly how you’ll get back into your regular rhythm.

The One-to-Two Goal Rule

Here’s perhaps the most important advice: limit yourself to one or two major business goals for the entire summer. Not per month—for the entire season.

This might feel restrictive if you’re used to ambitious quarterly goals, but remember, summer brings completely different demands on your time and energy. You might be juggling client work with kids home from school, family vacations, and the desire to actually enjoy the season—while still setting yourself up for a strong fall.

Your summer goals might be:

• Complete and launch your new client onboarding system
• Prep to launch a new podcast or blog in the fall
• Develop a new package offer
• Implement a new case management system
• Build relationships with four new referral sources

Notice these are substantial but focused goals—the kind that benefit from sustained attention over several months rather than frantic sprints.

Making It All Work

As I write this, camp starts Monday (I know I mentioned that already, but I’m pretty excited), and I can already feel myself beginning to breathe a little easier. The key isn’t perfection—it’s intention. Some days will be chaotic. Some weeks won’t go according to plan. But when you have a clear vision for your summer and realistic goals to work toward, you can navigate the chaos with much more grace.

Remember, you’re not just running a business—you’re building a life. Summer is a beautiful opportunity to model for your children (and yourself) what it looks like to work with intention, embrace seasonal rhythms, and create space for what matters most.

The planning worksheet that follows will help you turn these concepts into a concrete plan for your unique situation. Take some time to work through it thoughtfully—your future self will thank you when you’re sipping that iced coffee on a Tuesday morning in July, kids happily at camp, and you’re making meaningful progress on goals that truly matter to you.

Want some inspiration and strategy around craving the perfect summer schedule? Grab our free Summer Law Firm Reset Workbook here.