Summer is officially here, which means it’s the official season of fun; with beach days, festivals, backyard barbecues, pool parties, and more. It’s also the perfect time to add a few career-boosting activities to your summer plans.
So, to help you combine some fun with learning, we’ve compiled a list of skill enhancing activities you can add to your resume at the end of this summer.
1. Learn a New Skill
From learning how to create attention grabbing visuals and selecting the right tools to persuade customers to buy your products, to the communication skills crucial to networking;Â The Daily Muse has created a super list of 43 free career advancing courses you can take and finish this summer.
2. Organize a Walking Group at Work
Beyond the obvious health benefits like reducing body fat, a walking group at work is a great way to connect with your colleagues and schmooze with the leadership team in the workplace. The Mayo Clinic recommends that adults walk up to 10,000 steps a day or more, so to challenge your colleagues to get moving! You can even organize a friendly walking competition.
To assist with this, in addition to empower and inspire you to live a healthier lifestyle, Fitbit sells a cool selection of wristbands that tracks steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes asleep and awake to show progress to your goal. HealthUnit.org  has also compiled a list of steps to help you organize your challenge at work.
3. Join a Group
If it’s one thing we should all agree on, it’s that learning happens everywhere, not just the classroom. Joining a sports team, dance group, cooking club, or any other type of social community group is a fun, yet enlightening way to meet new people and learn something new.
4. Take a Digital Detox Vacation
Sometimes the best ideas happen when you step away from that which is familiar. Believe it or not, hotels around the world offer the perfect solution for those of us who may be a little obsessed with our tablets, cell phones, and social media networks. From providing a place for guests to store their electronic devices in a safe, to an on-call butler that acts as an executive assistant during your stay, check out the article 4 Digital Detox Vacations Around the World.
5. Travel and Give Back
Over the last several years, volun-tourism has become increasingly popular. Not only can you learn new skills, you can strengthen a community and improve lives around the world. From luxury resorts, such as Ritz Carlton’s Give Back program that offers travelers the opportunity to engage in half-day volun-tourism experiences, to Carnival’s new Fathom Cruise brand that customizes social impact trips for travelers looking to help underserved communities, give-back vacation possibilities are endless. Check out 6 Travel and Give Back Destinations for more.