I have always been a planner. Not your average, thinking ahead planner. I am a PLANNER. A looking-long-term-planner. An attention-to-detail-planner. A schedule-everything-planner.
While this has always been a helpful trait to have, in the midst of a pandemic, we planners of the world are truly living in chaos. We do not know how to take things as they come. We do not know how to roll with it. We can not be spontaneous. Our calendars and our to-do lists dictate our days, and both are now in a state of constant flux.
As a planner, I am always future-focused. Booking vacation tickets months in advance, getting book signings scheduled for next season, getting next semester’s syllabus done now, planning holiday parties in the summer. I clearly do not have a problem with procrastination.
This kind of planning is nearly impossible to do now though. Due to the Covid 19 recommendations hinging on daily data analysis, we do not even know what the next few days, let alone the next few months, will bring. That makes planning nearly impossible. Empty calendar pages calling for plans that cannot be made. This is torture for the planners of the world.
I have however, discovered a couple of positives to these circumstances, and that is on what I will try to focus:
- We are forced to Be Present. To realize that today- this moment- is where we should direct our attention. Embrace the day; enjoy the moment; savor the little things about today. As someone who was always future-focused, this was not always easy for me. I am trying to do better.
- We must focus on our priorities and let the rest go. Truly, lots of what filled our calendars we probably do not miss at all. Some we miss terribly. These are really important nuances to notice. That way, when life does begin to get back to pre- pandemic life, we can be more selective about what does fill up our calendars. We can make sure that what consumes our time, energy, and focus are the things that are truly critical to our lives and our joy.
Wishing everyone a joyful TODAY!
