Grow Where You're Planted: Your Goals Can Survive COVID-19

I, like many others in the U.S., have been put on punishment and sent to my room (home) by the government thanks to state-mandated “stay-at-home” orders. With the mortality rates of COVID-19, rightly so I might add. However, I’m facing a new stressor, the frustration of not getting as much done as I thought I would. From what I’m hearing from friends and reading online, I’m not the only one feeling the pressure or who finds themselves disappointed with his or her lack of physical activity and work productivity. If you’re going through the same thing, then this is for you. This piece is about how I decided to turn it around and, hopefully, how I can help you to do the same. Keep reading for a bit of inspiration and 10 useful things you can do while “grounded” to grow where you are planted.

The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed piece at the beginning of April that shared the stories of readers who are dealing with this same concern. One reader in the article discussed in detail how she spent her time reading Instagram posts and staring out her window at her birdfeeder while it seemed others were accomplishing creative things. She wrote about how her days were once bustled with teaching, running errands, and social outings with friends; but, now she found herself with plenty of time and still not getting anything done. I could so relate! Unfortunately, this seems a common lament among many quarantined professionals. Before the mandate, being sent to my room, well home, would have been a welcomed delight. I assume most of us have played with the idea of putting a cot in our offices. No? Just me?

This thing hit at the worse possible time for me. Is that even possible? All times of a pandemic are worse possible times if you get what I’m saying. But moving on…I was finally in a groove at work. I was feeling in control of my schedule, my employees were motivated, and even my emotions were in check. Then BAM! COVID-19 reared its ugly face from who knows where. I was sent home with a laptop and told to carry on with teaching from home. After five mostly sedentary weeks of watching television and napping most of the day, and eating the rest of it, I am finally finding my new groove.

Monday I awoke with reimagined purpose! This week had to be different. I had to do something differently. I made the conscious decision, the keyword is “conscious,” to focus on getting something, anything done so that I had some level of satisfaction unlike the weeks before. I mean, the guilt of not using my time wisely was eating at me. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was destined for eternity to roll a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down again. I realized, I didn’t need another colossal boulder of stress on my shoulders. If you’re anything like me, then you know exactly the feeling I’m talking about now. As an achiever, I always carried the weight of a neverending, incredibly long mental--and often written—To-Do list to accomplish for my betterment before this thing hit. So, not progressing was another disappointment I didn’t need messing with my esteem.

What I've found, and I believe some of us have found out about ourselves in this new circumstance, is that it wasn't lack of time as we thought which kept us from planning, performing, and producing. No, I think what we found was plaguing us was more of a lack of "get up and go." Can I get an amen? I'm here to tell you to let go of the blame you gave yourself and the accompanying guilt you may have found yourself wallowing in as they are useless emotions. They truly are. Instead let's shift our paradigm a bit shall we? I think there’s a positive way to look at your newly found time at home: As a gift of time and opportunity to refocus on your goals.

This time is a blessing, a gift. You're reading my ramblings and, therefore, home and safe. Decide to change any feelings of deprivation from being able to go out, spend money, eat out, and get into other shenanigans. Seriously, how many other things are we doing out there—in the world--that are good for us? Let's be grateful for this time since we are mandated to have it anyway.

This is a time where you can finally catch up on much needed mental and physical rest. So many of us are plain exhausted. It’s okay to rest. How about making an effort to keep your promise to stay in touch or to spend more time with our significant others, friends, and family? Let’s use some of this technology we have at our disposal and do some telephone talking and video chatting. It’s 10 o’clock at night; do you know where your grandparents are? Only old heads will get the reference. Moving on, maybe consider rethinking and revising your goals, cleaning and organizing your home, working on your personal "glo-up,” as the young people call it. Seriously, your goals can and will survive COVID-19 with a bit of refocusing. Easier said than done, right? Maybe not. Let's look at the 10 ways I mentioned to make the most of this time in, let's call it "focused growth."

1. Start with small steps; one or two things at a time. Nothing has to be conquered today. If you've been doing a whole lot of sleeping, your body may actually be craving more of it. So, start with just one or two things towards deliberate action. Like staying upright on the couch.

2. Try to put a bit of structure back into your life. Rise and shine at a set time, even if you decide to set your alarm for a couple of hours later to sleep in now rather than when you were headed into an office. Unless you have a set time to be on the clock from home, you get to determine your new hours. Don’t forget to schedule time for rest and TV or any other activities you enjoyed during your downtime in the past weeks.

3. Set a couple of goals for the day. What do you want to accomplish today that will help you feel productive?

4. Set a couple of bigger goals for the week. What items would you like to scratch off your list for this week? Concentrate on getting those done no matter what.

5. Here's a big one that probably belongs at the end, but here goes. Answer honestly: Have you ever really, truly thought about where you want to be in the next five years? This is a popular question and is often asked in interviews, even on romantic dates. We usually have some off the cuff answer we think is pretty clever for it. But in truth, have you ever really sat back and thought about this question? Find a quiet space and think about it. The answer is between you and whoever you decide to tell. Through God's grace, life will return to some form of normalcy. Be on schedule or ahead of it when the doors reopen. Think about what you can do while home for the next few months to put you closer to achieving your life's goals. Then, write it down and/or make a vision board.

6. This is a perfect time to build a plan for your health and mental well-being. I suspect some of us are going to come out of this with some form of post-traumatic stress after this, in addition to whatever was stressing us when this started. Now’s the time to make YOU a priority. Many doctors and therapists have moved online and started building their practices around telephone and/or video visits. Use them as a resource and get started. This is also a great time to build a team around yourself or to identify professionals you need in your life such as a therapist, life coach, dietician, financial planner, credit advisor, resume writer, or career coach. You're at home with the documents you need and time to work on you. If you are with others, even small children, pick activities they can participate in to start the pattern of developing themselves. For instance, popular financial advisor Dave Ramsey has a family appropriate game he created to assist parents with teaching young children and teens financial literacy. Or, maybe now is the time to speak with a dietician about the eating habits of your family and to create a healthier food plan.

7. If you have been on the job market, searching for a job or considering a career change, this is not the time to stop. On the contrary, this is the time to conduct research on positions and perfect your application documents. No more sneaking to work on your resume or to look at job search sites at work. Yes, we were spying on you. Now you can take the time you need in the privacy of your own home to ramp up your search.

Keep in mind, at the end of this you want to walk out in a better position than when you started. Do you want to go back to work in three months with regrets about what you wish you had done during your time at home? "I wish I had..." or "why didn't I take advantage of my time” laments will most likely cut deep. A wise ma [my dad] once said to me, “Time will pass whether you are productive or not, so you might as well be productive.” It was more like: “Look girl, time…” You get the point. But my father’s words have moved me to accomplish far more than my own ambitions. Furthermore, contrary to what you might be thinking, some industries and employers are still hiring! Keep it pushing.

8. Clean and organize your own house. I don’t know of any cleaning services sending workers into private homes right now because we don’t feel like cleaning. Trust me because if there were any I’d already know about them. The key to organization is everything should have a place. Yep, that’s it. Again, don't try to do it all at once and burnout. Instead plan to do one thing a day such as on Monday you'll clean the kitchen junk drawer. On Tuesday you'll organize your closet. Wednesday might find you conquering spices! Not to be judgemental, but almost everyone's spice cabinet needs work. Does paprika go next to turmeric? Or should these two spices be in the back since you probably rarely use them?

9. Set aside a few minutes to do some form of meditation or spiritual girding, even if it's while you're in the bathroom playing on your phone. I told you we were spying on you. And, wash your hands please. Perhaps read a chapter of a book you’ve been meaning to get to every day or every week. The key is to reflect and then journal about what you’ve read. Reading the words is a great start, but breakthroughs happen in the process of reflecting. Work on making breakthroughs.

10. Finally and most important of all, be kind and gentle with yourself. This is new to most of us. The “right way” to handle this or the “proper thing to do” during this time is relative and just as personal as how we should feel. Keep in mind that there is no blueprint for how YOU should be during a pandemic. I haven’t seen a book written for me; have you? Keep sight of your goals, but be flexible in your approach.

I'm trying to remember to do all of these for myself as well. SLC & Associates has an extensive network of professionals who can help you plan your time. Stay safe and isolate.

Peace be with you.

Sonya C.