Before eagerly returning to the same routine and life you had before this pandemic, you may want to hit pause and decide what you will keep, add or subtract. Now is the perfect time to revamp your life.
Many of us have been home for quite a few months.
Our calendars wiped clean.
Our life routines revamped and undone.
Like so many things, this can be both good and bad. A blessing and a curse.
So, what have you noticed? Learned?
Before eagerly returning to the same routine and life you occupied before this all happened, you may want to hit pause.
Now is the perfect time to rebalance your life into something even better than before.
Blessings in disguise.
This time period of cleared calendars and life put on hold reminds me of a time many years ago.
I was sitting in the office of my therapist, trying to sort through what was now my life.
It had been months since a school bus hit our car and our injuries had put life on hold. Abruptly stopping all work and normal life.
I was just now trying to take baby steps to return to work and engage in simple life. Buying groceries. Reading a bedtime story to our daughter. Teaching an English class.
“You are in a unique situation,” my therapist said.
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I nodded anyway.
“Everything has been wiped from your calendar. Your life is back at point zero. And now you get to decide what to add back into your life.”
“If you liked volunteering, add it back in. If not, don’t. Think about all your previous activities and commitments and decide which ones you liked and disliked. Keep some. Replace others. And be careful you don’t recommit to something just because you have done it for the past 5 years.”
“Also think about your goals,” she said, “save time and energy for them.”
We have control over our calendar and life.
As time passed, I carefully tried to evaluate each thing I returned to my calendar and the family calendar.
Somethings, like cleaning the bathroom, were put back on the to-do calendar, even if I would have liked to have wiped them permanently from the slate.
But other things, like saying yes to every volunteer opportunity, were carefully thought over and even said no to.
Things like learning to laugh, getting together with friends, reading for pleasure, attending plays, and planning a new class curriculum were added back into my routine.
And other things, like saying yes, just because someone asked me and my calendar was not yet stuffed to overflowing (or I felt flattered I was considered), were done away with. Or at least seriously weighed before a decision was made.
I began to realize that I had control over my schedule.
That my calendar was dictated by what I said yes or no to.
If I didn’t like what was on my calendar, I had some control over that.
And the same is true for you.
You have more control over your calendar than you probably think.
Now is the time to decide how you want your life and calendar to look.
Right now, many of us are also in a unique situation.
Our calendars have been wiped clean.
It will be awhile before all our options are open again, but before they are, think about your time commitments. Your options.
What are you going to put back on those now empty pages?
And what are you going to leave off?
What are you going to say yes too? And No too?
Knowing your answers before you need to decide puts you one step ahead of the calendar game.
Your new normal can be a new and different normal because you get to recraft your new normal. You get to choose and make choices.
Do you want to get out of some commitments and refocus your energy on different activities? Do you want to learn something new and sign up for a class? Get together more often with friends? Restart the gym membership? Start a small group? Keep de-cluttering your house? Take a vacation?
Decide on the things to add to your life and calendar.
Being home for day after day may have taught you some new things about yourself.
Have you discovered any new hobbies you want to continue?
Activities that make your soul sing? Quilting. Playing the Ukulele. Running.
Things you are ready to quit doing? Or hire out? Mowing the yard. Mopping the floor. Painting the 20-foot ceiling in the entry way.
Have you learned that you need an accountability partner and now are going to ask someone to be yours?
Have you been reconnecting with old friends and now want to stay in touch via a monthly brunch?
Maybe you realize how much you need to sit in the back yard during early mornings and listen to the birds sing as you great the new day.
That you have a knack for impromptu rapping about news items.
That helping your neighbors makes your soul-sing.
That laughter with another person is the best way to end a fight.
Maybe you like a puzzle going on the side table. Family dinners. Board game nights. Making scones. Bon fires in the back yard. Weekly bubble baths. Long distance chess games.
Keep the good things going and work them into your new life schedule.
Don’t forget to acknowledge the things you want to change and work on.
Being home day after day has probably also taught you some not so pleasant things about yourself.
That your relationship with your mate was stretched in ways you thought not possible. And you realize it needs work.
That binge watching Netflicks does not make you a better mom.
That stress brings out the not so good parts of you.
That you need to be more flexible.
That your children know how to push all your buttons.
That you try to ignore your emotions and feelings, and this is not healthy.
That you really need connection with others.
That your constant going was causing you more anxiety than you thought.
That you really need more sleep than you have been getting for the past 5 years.
That your standards of cleanliness are only doable if no one is home.
That you need more silence than you are getting.
And that you need to listen to others more carefully.
What are you going to do with this information?
What can you change? What new habits can you develop? Do you need to ask for help? How about seeing a therapist or coach to get new ideas, help you see new solutions, and keep you motivated and moving forward.
Now is the perfect time to decide how your life will be.
Let’s take the information that we have learned about ourselves and from this time and be careful with our future.
Let’s carefully plan what to put back on our calendars.
Let’s use the information we learned to grow and improve our future self.
I have a friend who is going to start homeschooling.
Another who is going to schedule more friend dates.
One who is going to keep running each evening with her husband.
Another who is going to continue working on a new long-term goal.
One who is going to schedule more fun time with her husband.
And another who is going to work on restoring a relationship with a family member.
This time was not a waste, but the start to a new beginning. (quote)
Use the knowledge and wisdom you have gained to carefully reschedule and revamp your calendar.
Move forward with your new knowledge and put it to good use.
Thanks for stopping by. Keep remembering what’s important.
Theresa
Join the Discussion: What are you planning to keep, add, or subtract from your schedule or life?
May link up at Kelly Balarie (#purposeful faith), Crystal Storms (#HeartEncouragement), Maree Dee (#Grace & Truth), Anita Ojeda (#inspirememonday), InstaEncouagements ((IE Link-Up), and Mary Geison (#tellhisstory).
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Wonderful, wise words, Theresa. This is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate what we want to put back on our calendars and what to leave off.
I had a similar experience 3 years ago when I retired. Suddenly, every day stretched before me and, for the first time in my adult life, I could fill those days however I pleased. I was offered some fulltime and some parttime teaching jobs, all of which I turned down. I loved teaching but no longer wanted the responsibility. I volunteered for several organizations, found the positions I loved, and those I did not, and kept only the ones I felt called to do.
Now I am wishing I could put cleaning the bathroom on the discard pile too. Unfortunately, I can’t. Or won’t! 🙂
Yes, Laurie. Or maybe put cleaning the bathroom on the once yearly list!
Good for you for narrowing your choices down to the ones that feed your soul. We want to help others, but we can always find ways that use our talents and ones we enjoy.
So true, Theresa. Thanks for this encouragement today. Pinned and tweeted.
Thanks Sarah.
Thank you loved this – to craft our own new normal, to see it as a fresh start! Lots of thinking to do now – I’ll have to sit and listen too! Also love your flower photographs, inspiring 🙂
Oh, this is good. I have to stay on top of not getting overbooked. It has always been difficult for me but God kinda took me by the collar and said stop it by allowing Chronic pain in my life. Now if I overdo, I pay.
The lockdown hasn’t affected us really that much since we seldom go anywhere but church and doctors. 🙂 I love the idea that this is the time to really look at that calendar and make decision about what you will allow back into your life.
Your neighbor at Grace and truth.
Hi Mandy! It is so easy to overfill our calendars. Sometimes we do things from guilt, pressure, or wanting to look good. I am trying to do that less and less. An older wiser lady to my younger self told me “there are so many good things to do, but you can’t do them all. And that’s all right, save some for a different life season.” That’s what I remind myself when I don’t have time to do somethings I really want to. I tell myself that I can do that another season. And sometimes, the desire is gone when that season comes, and sometimes it is not. But it also gives me something to look forward to. Right now I am planning to learn to watercolor paint when I retire. We will see if I do. But it takes the pressure off not having the time right now to do it. Take care, Mandy, and listen to your body.
Hi Sharon! I love floral Photos too — they are cheerful and usually don’t clown around in the picture 🙂 Yes, let’s use this reset to start anew. Even young people I know are saying they have enjoyed the break from hurry hurry life. There is no need for us to rush back to it. We can choose to leave some more breathing space and fill our time with things that we enjoy and that are best for our families and us. None of us has the time to do everything we want to do, so let’s choose the best things.
Theresa, I absolutely love this fresh invitation for a clear evaluation, new horizons, inspired goals. Thank you for taking us there. It’s a perfect time to let go of all that never worked that well to begin with.
And embrace what God’s calling to in the days ahead.
Bless you.
Yes to letting go of things that don’t work and embracing God’s calling. Blessings Linda.
I love the idea of crafting my new schedule. Most of the time, I let life dictate to me what my schedule would look like.
In this new season of life, I want to schedule plenty of margin!
Yes to plenty of margin, Jerralea. Having margin helps reduce my stress level. And allows me to be available for the unexpected.
Theresa,
We are at a great crossroad. It truly is a blessed opportunity if we look at it that way. I pray that I will be able to take some of the treasures of this time with me ie: enjoying more time in my garden and making floral arrangements to bring indoors. I see some things that perhaps have served their purpose and it’s time to say good-bye. I realize that time in His Word (and I’m talking quality time) is not a luxury but a necessity. Terrific thought-provoking post.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Hi Bev! I would love to see your garden and flower arrangements. I love flowers (no surprise there), but don’t often pick or arrange them. Yes, I think having a little more breathing room will hopefully be something we carry on and now be a priority for our calendars. It is important to know which things are necessities and which are luxuries. Time in His Word is so necessary for our soul care. Keep enjoying your garden and arranging those flowers. – Theresa
Theresa, this is so powerful and beautiful. And such fresh insight. I didn’t know your story about your car being hit by a school bus. But your therapist relayed great wisdom in how to carefully add back the things you loved to the calendar. It’s such a good lesson for us right now to evaluate beforehand what we want our calendar and life to look like in the days ahead.
This post speaks to me because I’ve been reevaluating and reexamining my life during this time. I’m crystal clear on what stays, who stays, what goes and who goes. A friend and I are huge gym enthusiasts. I mean we go to the gym at least 3x/week. We take our gym memberships seriously.
While talking the other day, we both agreed that with the abundance of online and IG workouts at hand, we no longer need to go back to the gym if and when it reopens. For me, that gym money will now go to bi weekly full body massages.
You are right about my therapist’s wisdom. She often said that blessings would come from the accident. And she was right. I couldn’t always see them at the time, but could latter.
Good for you Yvonne, re-evaluating your life. I like your idea about thinking about who goes and stays. Or maybe who you will spend more time with and less time with.
Yes, I am with you on the gym. I have been exercising along with YouTube videos and getting a good workout. There are so many options available.
I do feel like many of our lives have been taken back to point zero and this is the time to seriously pray and consider how to put our lives back together once covid recedes. I’m not sure which opportunities I’ll add back in and which ones I’ll exclude so I appreciate your encouragement to take this task seriously.
Most things are not available yet to put on my calendar, but I know that thinking about it now will keep me from just saying yes and going back to what was. I want to learn from this time and carefully re-plan my life and schedule. Here’s hoping, Lisa, that you add in some fun things to your schedule and some new things.
Because of the nature of my ministry, I’ve gotten busier and busier as this COVID situation has worn on. Reading your post was a confirmation that I have got to say “no” to more of the things that have been coming my way. Thanks for sharing so much wisdom. Blessings!
It is so busy to get busier and busier, Donna. Especially when we are helping people and doing good things. Blessings on saying no and getting some breathing room.
You are right! Now is the time to think through what brings us joy and how we want to fill in those little calendar squares. Thank you for your thoughts.
Mary, I know if I don’t make plans, those calendar squares just fill up on their own with things. So here’s to filling some of those squares with things that bring you joy.
This totally speaks to me, Theresa … “This time was not a waste, but the start to a new beginning.” At times I wish none of “this” had happened, and then other times, I am grateful for the changes that we can make now that we have eyes to see. I also love your pictures, by the way. Are some of them of a leatherleaf viburnum? I have a few in my yard and I LOVE them!
I am so with you, Lois. Impatient with this all and how it has changed our lives, and yet grateful for some of the opportunities it has presented. So many emotions, and different ones on different days.
Yes, to some pictures being the leatherleaf viburnum. It is pretty. And has delicate blossoms.
I so enjoyed your post on You Might Be a Gardner If . . . (https://www.loisflowers.com/you-might-be-a-gardener-if/) Gardening is one of the activities that is helping me through this time.