BEING OFF-BALANCE

So, your life-work balance is whacked?

Your calendar is a predictably unpredictable mess?

I am SO with you.

It took me long time to do this (the first time), and now I needed to do it again. Like all of us, I needed to re-adjust to this new era of living through a pandemic and a changing world of home-school, work-from home and keeping a semblance of a home..

Let me show you what I did myself, with the hope there’s something in this for you too.

RENOVATING YOUR SYSTEMS

Whatever “system” you have been using until now, it’s not going to work the same.
Either (a) you need to scrap it and start all over again, or (b) make adjustments to fit the needs of the day. 

(It’s okay to be disoriented. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Transitions and times of re-novations are unsettling and need to be that way, in order to open the possibility of a truly better way forward.) 

FOUNDATIONS FOR DAILY MANAGEMENT

Here is what I did to help navigate my day.

I made two lists: personal-life and work-life.

Personal-life list- jot down the daily tasks and responsibilities you need to do for your personal needs, your personal growth and your love and care for the people in your immediate family. 

My list consisted of:

• Quality family time with each member

• Study/ pray time

• Call with long distant family members

• Exercise 

Work-life list- jot down the daily stuff you need to do in order to get work down and keep yourself sharp. 

Mine consisted of:

• Therapy hours/ appointments

• Phone calls

• Work emails

• Support for my team

• Content creation

• Admin work

TIME BLOCKING 101

Then, I reconsidered what has become the “new normal.” Because after all, many of the routines, opportunities and constraints of yesterday, are no longer the same today, tomorrow…

Things like:

• Wake-up time

• Instead of long hours at the office, it is now long hours at home

• Instead of early hours of work and evening hours at home, it’s more apt to spend daytime with family and work into the evening hours.

• Excercise habits need to shift in time, place and running buddies are not available.

• What atmosphere do I need to get in place to foster my most productive work?

• What tasks can I do with short sprints, shorter windows of work time and what tasks truly necessitate longer and deeper concentrated time.

Blocks of time help me prioritize and give my 110% in all that I do. 

Instead of minute by minute micromanaging your work, create blocks of time for a more flexible, yet structured outlook of your day and week. 

Please check out these resources on our website to help you navigate through this tough time. 

For more, visit: www.schneiderspeech.com/covid19 

Then click the button: “COVID19 Tips for Life”