As we enter July 2020, I want to talk with you about time. I want to talk about how time is passing during this global pandemic. You either have so much time you do not know what to do with it or so little time you do not know how you will get it all done. In my life, I have vacillated between those two thoughts, but it is different now.
July is usually the end of my summer because in August I start getting ready for fall. Fall is a super productive time for me, and I like to get started early. But, this year nothing is certain. We are living through a pandemic, and almost every part of our life is subject to change without warning. We are clinging to a past that does not actually exist, and many of us have fear about the future.
During this pandemic, I am feeling like I have too much and not enough time – all at the same time! Sometimes I feel like I need to hurry up and do #allthethings because there might not be enough time. At other times, I worry about my ability to find enough things to do to fill the empty time. I have spent hours (and days) consuming social media and news on my phone. I think I even “finished” Netflix.
We will probably be living with the virus for a while yet to come. It is going to take time to sort out all things that have been disrupted or changed by the pandemic.
During our Ready For the School Year Blitz, I kept reminding you to focus on what you can control. What are you in control of? How can you take control of your time (knowing “pandemic time” is different)? No matter how productively we had been living prior to the pandemic, now most of us are living reactively. To move towards proactive living and productivity once again, we need systems, routines, and habits. But, July is not the time to do any of those things. I am working on how I can best support you in September when your productive energy and focus will increase.
As you enjoy the rest of summer, I want you to let your brain noodle on a few ideas before we head into the fall. I answer two reader questions and share my own mindset about some concepts around time. Listen in as I talk about these questions:
How do you know when you have done enough? How do you balance the concepts of planned neglect and Laura Vanderkam’s idea of 168 Hours – You Have More Time Than You Think?
Do you have to be doing everything that you are doing related to the care and maintenance of the house and the people that live inside of it? With everyone living inside of your house 24/7, the workload related to caring for your home and people needs to be divided more fairly among the people who share your home. For this, I recommend going back to the podcast or book review of Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play.
