Knowing that we did after all had time.
When working from home, as we (here in Denmark) mark the beginning of week five in “lockdown”, it is becoming difficult to continue to self isolate and stay indoors as Spring arrives. The weather has been pleasant and gardening activities have increased. This usually marks the beginning of spring gatherings, confirmation celebrations, end of school year parties, and outdoor concerts. Yet this year is not just any year. This time everything is different. There will be no celebrations of any kind anytime soon, so what do we do? We do what we as creative beings always do. We adapt and create a sense of purpose when working from home.
By creating a sense of purpose we stave off those fears of isolation, aloofness, literally feeding our feelings of uncertainty and loneliness even when were are surrounded by family and friends. Some of us will finish that “if we only had the time to-do list”.
Some of us will finally finish reading those books on our nightstands. Some of us will learn a new skill or improve on a skill learned many months ago. Some of us will start that fitness/health journey we promised ourselves on the 1st of January. Some of us will call people we have not spoken to in months and some of use will finally finish that 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle that’s been giving us a hard time. As long as we all have a purpose our daily routines will have meaning that will inadvertently improve our lives. The purpose, big or small, is something we should all implement in our daily schedule.
Let’s do something different than, wake up, check our phones, and plant ourselves in front of the tv or computers. Let’s start each day with a purpose to make that change we all professed that we didn’t’ have time to do/make. One of my purposes is to get through a few books that have been sitting on my home desk for months. One of the books on my desk is a book in Danish called, ‘Deltoras Bælte’. It’s part of a series of 15 books, a children’s fantasy. I have been promising my Danish friend teenage daughter that I would read them and we could discuss when I’m done.
I have many books in Danish given to me over the past 15 years. I think it is past time to give them all a good read. The other books on my desk that I’ve been wanting to read for a very long time and I am looking forward to learning something new about the human brain, coaching, and atomic habits.
To help you find your daily purpose take some notes from the schedule below. Substitute something you have been wanting to do but never had the time. Create not only a schedule but a purpose for you and help your family create their own purpose. And when the lockdown is over we all will have the feeling of accomplishment and knowing that we did, after all, had time.
