When it comes to being organized with my time - I am not the best at it. I have a million things I want to do, my mind doesn’t want to retain it all so I have to write things down to make sure I stay on track. This becomes ever so difficult when the sun comes out, the birds are chirping and my garden soul wants to be outside planting and designing. I guess I get that from my mom, who gets it from her mom. Which to me helps heal the soul.

You see what happened here? I went off on a gardening tangent when what I truly meant to write about was how to stay focused and busy while we self-isolate. Is it hard? If you are like me, kind of. I need structure to function and most importantly I need routine. Since my husband got deployed at the beginning of the year I had to create a new routine (and when he gets back I will have to readjust) because at first it felt like all I was doing was watching Netflix. My routine is written in the form of reminders on my phone AND all of my Alexa devices, that way no matter where I am, if I fall into a slump, I get reminded of what I was meant to be doing.

My next step is doing something for myself first - self care is important! Being at home we can fall pray to laziness, and forget that without loving ourselves and letting ourselves go, we won’t be able to love those around us properly. So whatever your self care routine is - DO IT! A morning spa routine, exercise - whatever, just do it (but give yourself grace if you skip a day).

My next step is education - I am big on that - wether it comes in a form of crafting my skill, or sharpening the mind - it is important in the long run (and now we all have so much time). I do a lot of online lectures on the most random subjects. One day I will listen to a course on James Joyce, the next I will practice by doing a marketing challenge, and another day I will learn about visual strategy. I change these up so keep going and not lose interest.

When it comes to work - I love creating, but I dislike have to sit for hours editing, so I take gardening breaks that I time (weather permitting). Since this activity gives me an absolutely different kind of mental and physical stimulation I like to do it and not think of work. When I am on a deadline or if it is late in the evening, I go on short walks in between long hours at the desk (gives my eyes a break).

And this is how I structure my days during quarantine, while understanding that there is also time to leave work alone and enjoy a day out with friends (on FaceTime or across the driveway). But there is of course so much more that you can do. Please share how you are surviving this uneasy time.