It's Blursday again...

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I shared with my family last night that I feel like I am in a bit of a time loop. Even with a long weekend to delineate between workdays, I found myself less than excited about "reporting" to work at my home office this morning than usual. (For some people this is a regular occurrence, but not for me.) So, as with most things, I investigated some new strategies and refreshed myself with old ones. 

Here are some things that I am committing to doing this week that I hope will help me break up my days. 

  • Getting outside - even if it means just going for a drive because the weather is bad, I realize that I need to, at least once a day, get outside my four walls. If the weather is nice, I will take a walk down the road. 
  • Scheduling my errands - It appears now that grocery shopping is a low risk activity because people inside the store are moving and, as long as people are maintaining social distancing and wearing face coverings, your exposure to particles is lessened. Thus, I am scheduling a couple of errands each week. Grocery runs (curbside pickup or going inside), mailing a letter at the post office, filling my car up with gas, depositing a check, getting coffee from a drive thru, medical appointments - simply having an out of the house tasks to do helps me feel like I have something to accomplish outside the bubble. (Please note, I am not encouraging anyone to go anywhere if they are in a high risk category, curbside pickup is a great option.) 
  • A visual calendar - I bought myself a small desk calendar that has the day of the week on it so that I can see not only the date (because what do the dates even mean anymore), but I can see that it is Tuesday, not Blursday. 
  • Personal progress report - I have always been a list person because I find that tracking my activity is helpful in keeping me aware of what's coming. However, a major advantage is also writing down what I have actually accomplished. So, whether or not I had a task on my to-do list, I write down that I did it. This allows me to get a clearer picture of what I have done with my time. 
  • Turning off my phone for at least 3 hours a day - perhaps this is first thing in the morning, or maybe this is during a block of time while I'm cooking dinner. Regardless, because the isolation is starting to sink in, I find myself reaching for my phone when I'm seeking interaction. Whether that is to distract myself or just keep busy...I'm not totally sure. It also means that I am making myself "available" by checking my email constantly, and that is not healthy. 
Perhaps you can use one of these tips to help compartmentalize your days. I would love to know what you are doing that's working for you! 


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