How To Keep Moving When Your World’s On Hold

Taking care of yourself and those you love during this uncertain time due to COVID-19 is a challenge no one could have prepared you for. Understandable, given the idea of time itself and how you are able to spend it, is suddenly unrecognizable. But to keep moving forward, recognize it you must. The more clearly the better.

Since the lockdown began here in Seattle, a few of my team members have expressed feeling bored. Others aren’t sure how they’ll keep young family members entertained. Some are feeling that there is more time, but available activities to choose from are unrealistically restricted. Others, suddenly unemployed, are struggling to decide how to spend newfound, unstructured time. Those fortunate enough to be employed and able to work from home are trying to decide how to spend time previously spent taking care of necessities working outside the home entails, not to mention the hours spent commuting.

Time is the most precious thing that we possess, and rightfully so. The thought of having extra time on our hands is something that we generally aspire to have, but never really feel we do have. Not at the levels, we think we need to do the things that we want to do anyway. Yet, here we are in this unique situation, and what we find ourselves with is just that thing that we’ve wished for, for so long – TIME. Time to hit pause and reflect on all the times we’ve told ourselves that if only we had a little more time, we’d love to do this, or that, or that other thing. I’ve made that very same statement so many times; I’ve lost count.

With the mandated stay-at-home rules, now you have the time. The question is, how are you going to use it?

To find the answer, I’m approaching it the same way I would any new project:

• Define what it is that you want to achieve
• Get started in making it happen

Start by writing down all the things that you'd like to get done between now and whenever this thing clears up or the stay-at-home mandate is lifted. Don’t get hung up on things like household projects and chores. Think a little more broadly. Like reading that classic novel you’ve always been meaning to read or learning how to cook that special dish you’ve always wanted to make. Maybe you'd like to teach your kids some of the valuable skills you’ve learned along the way. Start playing an instrument. Learn nuclear physics. Anything at all is fair game. Seems simple? Yes, I’m with you on that, and it is. The key here is to define your goals. What you’re likely going to find, is that your list is MUCH more extensive than you might have imagined. No worries, though. Try prioritizing your list as you would your daily work activities.

From there, get started. That’s the key – START! You’ll find that your master task list will morph a bit along the way, but that’s okay, adjust your priorities as they do and keep pushing forward. You won’t get all of the things done that you wanted to, but you will have made a dent in that list … and you’ll be delighted that you did because you’ll not likely have another opportunity like this any time soon (hopefully), so use it.