ummer time is the best time.

But there are some times you take a look at your ‘Dolphin and sea creatures of 2015’ calendar and remind yourself that there is an end. An inevitable, sad, aquatic end.

This means you probably have a to-do list, which means you’ve finished ‘Orange is the New Black,’ but your deadlines are the crime that keeps you from really enjoying it.

Well, I have some good news for you.

I recently started a new job that calls for me to get up at 5 and work all the way until 2 o’clock.

On top of that I have a number of other obligations and events going on, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I live almost an hour out from all of those obligations.

Summer is really fantastic and so is this new technique I found to ease the stress of deadlines and mandatory happenings.

Are you ready? Here we go: lower your expectations.

What? You wanted me to list some yoga techniques or a new cleanse for you to try?

In all honesty, expectations are the very fabric of a bad time.

Sure, you may have high expectations for yourself and that’s totally fine but, let’s be honest, you’re not a mastermind like Red Reznikov, you can’t control every aspect of your surroundings.

It took me awhile to get that.

I have a very large fear of letting people down and the one phrase that I hate more than ‘To-do list’ is ‘I’m disappointed in you’.

It’s like my full potential wasn’t reached; like I was the reason for everyone else’s bad day- even though I can do great things, if only I could prove myself.

Listen: if you give your all on a Monday, what’s going to be left on Tuesday?

Stress happens, much like the end of summer.

But over-doing it in June is just plain torture and expecting your body and mental capacities to handle all the ‘little things’ is quite harmful.

I’m not saying be a slacker, but I am saying prioritize and know your limits.

People will always be disappointed but you’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of you and just because you rang up an order wrong or missed a game of DND that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.

It means you’re human.

You can ‘x’ off another day; the Dolphins will forgive you.