It’s been over a month of staying at home, working from home, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an abandonment of previously established routine. There have been challenges of schedule and a seeming lack of structure. It is embarrassing to admit, but I am only just this week solving this problem: absence of structure and schedule.
Growing up, going to public school, I was introduced to the concept of a schedule. The schedule provided a nice structure, in which learning can occur. I was freed to learn, because I didn’t have to think about what was next, where I had to be and when. Later in high school, I had the option of choosing elective courses. I was able to direct my learning and activities to suit my taste. In college, I could create my own schedule based on availability of courses. There was structure by virtue of syllabi and the schedule of classes, even though I effectively chose which classes I took.
In the military, my schedule was largely given to me. When to wake up, when to shower, when to eat, when to work, when to exercise, and when to sleep were dictated. I had to follow the schedule. I had to be at a place, at a time, in the correct uniform and I knew up front what all of those requirements were. It was easy.
As my professional career progressed post-military, the structure of a work schedule became less dictated to me and more dictated by me. Moving up into management brought with it the expectation of self-direction and self-management. That isn’t so say that there was an absence of structure. The structure was more imposed upon me by scheduled meetings and routines of being at a place at a time.
Enter 2020, COVID-19, and the Stay-At-Home Order. Working from home became the new normal. What else changed? The landmarks of place and time evaporated. The work day, only steps away from home life, provided no transition. It less became working from home. It more became living at work.
I felt adrift and the days blurred and blended together. The week felt homogenous.
Things like exercise, reading, writing, practicing my musicianship skills, and daily devotions became options. They became things that I could do in my free, non-work time. With so many options, often times I would do nothing more than stare at my smart phone and scroll though social media. Things needed to change.
One fairly consistent thing I did, and am still doing, during this time was to host a men’s video conference group at 7:20 in the morning Monday through Friday. The group is fairly small, but God is doing big things in our lives. My commitment to this group made sure I got out of bed in the morning. It gave me a time and “place” to be.
How could I use the small success of my weekday morning meeting to give my days what they’re missing?
I decided to create a weekly schedule for myself of days and times where I would purposely do the things that I’ve been neglecting. After I created the schedule on “paper” (Microsoft Excel), I created recurring appointments for myself in my Google calendar for each of the items.
It’s working.
It’s not easy, but it’s easier. I now have reminders to do specific things at specific times. I can measure my days according to my completion of the tasks I’ve set out for myself.
This is a fairly small victory during this pandemic. But it’s a win that I needed.
David A. Larson 