How to have control during a pandemic

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I GET A COMMISSION FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

At the beginning of the year, we were hopeful of what this year would bring to us. We set goals, planned trips, and outing with our friends and family. We never imagined our life would-be put-on pause so to speak for an indefinite amount of time.

The thought about having to pay bills, not accomplishing certain goals, not being able to go out and enjoy life is something on everyone’s mind. Most importantly staying safe from this very scary fatal virus is something we should all be taking seriously.

The truth is whether we panic or stay calm we are not going to change anything. Worrying won’t end the virus, but trying to remain at peace will help your wellbeing. One way to remain at peace is the feeling of having control over your life.

In reality there is a lot of things out of our control so why stress about it? Think about what you do have control over and take action.

If you are fortunate to work from home or are just at home more now, take advantage of this time to everything you have wanted to do but were just too busy or too tired to do before.

It is devastating the number of people who are being infected by the virus and losing their lives, but if you are fortunate to be healthy, take this “pause” to your advantage.

#1 Make a list

First thing first, make a list of what you have always wanted to do but never did. Write down everything you can think of. The list may be long but don’t get overwhelmed, this is supposed to be fun and productive.

Write down all the tasks you find tedious and annoying that you never had “time for.” This can include shredding documents, organizing your kitchen cabinets, cleaning your closet, etc.

I highly recommend doing something that shows an instant change every day. This allows you to feel like you didn’t waste your time when you get back to your normal. It also helps you feel you have your life together every day as you focus on more long term goals. 

If you want to learn French for example, you are not going to become fluent during this time, so you might feel that you got nothing done. But if you did those smaller tasks you had been avoiding, you won’t feel like you wasted your time because you can visibly see what you did.

Personally, I am taking this time to learn French using Duolingo. It is a free app that teaches you how to pronounce, read, and write in the language you want to learn. Every morning I take out my phone and click on my Duolingo app and practice for 20 or so minutes.  Just doing that makes me feel productive and in control of my life.

#2 Schedule it in

Take out the device you used to stay organized. I personally enjoy using agendas. Now break things down and schedule it in. Your list might be a combination of small tasks that only require a few hours or days with something more long term such learning to play the guitar.

My advice is to do the things you have been avoiding first thing in the day to not have to worry about doing it later in the day. If you put that chore you’ve been avoiding for the end of the day, chances are it will keep getting pushed for the next day, and the next day and so on.

Schedule your long term goals every day in small increments of time. Scheduling long term goals is important so you don’t forget to do it. Scheduling things also allows you to make it a routine.

Pro tip: Set a time goal to finish your task. This helps you stay focused and on the task. If the task is boring and won’t be finished fairly quickly, spread that task throughout the week.

For example, if you have a lot of papers to file, doing this until you finish will give you a headache. Instead, break it down into increments that work for you. I would suggest getting it done sooner rather than later so it is no longer on your mind.  

After you have finished that small task, work on another bigger goal you want to accomplish. The important thing is to do something every day to get things done, feel productive, and have some control during these unpredictable times.

Shop the products

#3 Make it apart of your daily routine

Take this “time off” as a start to a new life. Take it as a time to make certain life long goals or side hustle be apart of your daily routine.

So if you are going to be working from home for let’s say, one month then you are obviously not going to be an expert guitar player by the end of the month.

This “time off” is a great time to make guitar playing a part of your routine. Don’t stop playing the guitar once everything goes back to normal, if you do, then what was the point?

#4 Track your progress

I would suggest making a sort of checklist where you check off the things you wrote down on your list. This includes smaller tasks like cleaning your closet, to more long term goals, like learning a new language.

Not mastering a goal might leave you feeling like you got nothing done. Having a checklist allows you to see the progress you’ve made and what you actually accomplished.

This is different than scheduling it in. If you schedule it in it doesn’t mean you always get around to it. Personally I just find it confusing looking at my agenda when it comes to seeing my progress.

Instead, I have a specific document where I only have my goals and task I want to get done for that day or week. This allows me to easily see my progress. If you want to use the template I use then just click here.

These are hard times for all of us, but just know our life will resume. Things may not go back to normal soon, but we will get back to our lives. Stressing and worrying won’t take our problems away, so try to focus on what you can control which is your well being.

Focus on things that will change you for the better, such as reading more, exercising, learning a new language. Take this self-isolation to your advantage and come out as the person you have always wanted to be but never had time for. You got this. You will come out a much better version of you at the end of these hard times.