Create a Flexible Schedule During COVID

Add Variety to Your Schedule

Now that you’ve been locked down on and off for nearly a year, you have enough data to look back and see how you’ve adapted, and where you might even be in a better place, all things considered. By now, you’ve created a schedule that’s markedly different from the one you followed last February and early March.

You’re probably ordering more online instead of running to the store when you’re out of something. You’ve likely made use of one of the food delivery services for one of your nights in which replaced nights out. Zoom, GoToMeeting, Facebook Live, or some other application has replaced a lot of your in person interactions. More than likely, your daily, and even weekly schedule is more fluid than it used to be.

Some of you may still have a boss who expects you to be at your desk between certain hours, or children with specific class times. If you’re like me, you may have gotten into a habit doing certain chores like laundry, vacuuming, and gardening on designated days and times. But what about the rest of your day? Your week?

Many things are impacting that schedule, whether it’s access to the computer, the availability of others, or responsibilities you didn’t have pre-COVID. But if you’re like many of us who’ve been working from home all this time, it also means you don’t lose an hour or more a day commuting, and you don’t have to spend an excessive amount of time ensuring you’re office-presentable. As long as you look good from the waist up on days when you have face-to-face meetings, no one has to be the wiser, as long as you don’t stand up while the camera is on!

Navigating the New Normal

In the beginning, I fell apart, finding myself with too much time on my hands, and no idea how to rework it to replace some of the healthy habits I’d formed when life was that vague concept of normal I’d grown accustomed to. With weekly gym visits off the table, dance nights limited to once a week via Zoom, and grocery shopping a stress-filled experience I sought to minimize, there were some changes I enacted from the beginning, even while drifting through my days in a fog-encased no-man’s land.

It didn’t take long to locate many things at Amazon or Vitacost I’d become used to picking up at Target or Costco on my weekly forays for supplies. Frankly, there were others I’ve learned to either replace or do without. Even my choice of cleaning supplies changed with a few hits and misses until I found one that not only killed viruses, but didn’t give off a toxic odor which was harmful to the health of me and my cats.

On the plus side, orders can be placed after business hours, so I don’t have to impact the loose schedule I’ve put in place which includes not only writing, but marketing, research, and project management. Old habits like weekly gym visits have been replaced by ballet classes. At first, I took one class a week, then two, three, and finally, four. As time spent alone stretches further and further out, I fill my schedule with more variety to break up the monotony of work, chores, and the same four walls.

Keeping Your Expectations Flexible

Don’t get me wrong. I’m less affected by time spent alone than many, and have accomplished some wonderful things in the process. My yard is no longer a forest of weeds. Though I’ve sought help to maintain it, I’m getting a new kind of exercise by working on some of it myself.

I’m also using my patio more than I ever did before, keeping it relatively neat so I can give myself a change of scenery, weather permitting by working on the patio instead of inside the house, or gather with friends outside to minimize exposure.

When things inevitably break, I’m figuring out how to fix them myself, even if some of the repairs take time and ingenuity to get right. I’m also asking for help more often when I know I’ve taken on something that’s beyond my limited skills. I was less inclined to do that even a year ago, and frankly, I’ve benefited from the experience in more ways than I can count.

The best part of my own flexible schedule is having more room to add things to it. As I’m not limited to a 9-5 schedule, and can, in fact, honor my own nonconformist sleep patterns, what I don’t complete before dinner will often replace what used to be hours of mindless TV. In truth, after months of Hallmark Christmas movies, I’ve grown rather bored of almost everything that’s being offered, perhaps because so much of it is repetitive anyway.

Let Goals be a Moving Target

As my outlook changes, so do my goals. In fact, a window has been flung wide, shedding light on a plethora of projects which have been stuffed into my virtual closet for months, or even years, and are clamoring for attention. At least I’ve learned by now to tackle them one at a time instead of trying to spread myself too thin, thereby getting frustrated by lack of progress, and giving up on them all.

I’m also learning I don’t work well with a schedule that’s too strict. I need flexibility and variety so I don’t grow impatient, or bored. I realize not everyone needs variety. Many of you need a more structured schedule that guides you through your day. Know it isn’t so much about what your schedule looks like, as it is its effectiveness for you. I learned the hard way too much structure stifles me. But I know many who are lost without sufficient structure in their lives. Find what works for you, and tweak it until it fits you like a glove.

Know too that as life changes, you’ll reorganize your schedule again and again, whether it’s to accommodate new projects or tasks, demands from other people, expansion of your job or business, or new discoveries you want to pursue. I’ll hazard a guess that even the most structure-driven individuals need a few surprises; a little variety in their lives now and then. Keep your options open and your schedule a little loose so you can reward yourself with those tidbits when they drift into view.

New opportunities and ideas are always drifting by, and won’t wait for you to hem and haw about making a change. If something truly appeals to you, jump on it and make the necessary adjustments before it finds a more willing participant in the challenges and opportunities it offers. What’s a little temporary upheaval in your carefully constructed schedule in exchange for broadening your horizons and taking you someplace you’ve never been, but always dreamed of going?

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.

If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author.

Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.