March, of course, took an unforeseen turn for the whole world. And, as an Enneagram 7 and someone who has built an identity on travel and family adventure, it took some time to get my head around what my new world looks like. I don’t want my life to stop, and I don’t want to wallow in feeling as though I am a victim. Because, quite frankly, I am not. We have everything we need, we are comfortable, and we are safe. Millions can not say that.
We are absolutely staying at home. And we have been for weeks. We believe in the curves and graphs and numbers and, not only do we want to keep our family safe, we also want to do our part to help the world figure out how to handle coronavirus. Staying home for 22 days straight (with more to come) is something we have never experienced before.
But instead of stressing about the news, wondering what the future holds, or creating a story in my head about the hopeless of my life, I decided to dig in and figure out what my days will look like right now. Because I have a lot more control over my day, life and choices than I usually admit.
So what does goal setting, what does taking life by the horns and successfully wrestling it into the direction we desire and want, look like during this time?
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Here’s how March looked, and thanks to my Powersheets, I felt as though I didn’t lose momentum or spend wasted weeks when everything started to go haywire:
✔One family adventure. We did this before COVID-19 happened, and it was a perfect hike to the top of a mountain here in the Blue Ridge.
✔Date night. This was an at-home version, watching a movie online and ordering Thai food from the local restaurant.
✔ Listen to two PC3 messages. These keep me full and focused on what matters, and I spoke about them in this article.
Read next book club book. Book club was canceled and, honestly, the sci-fi Chinese Revolution based book just isn’t the right fit for my life right now.
Cultivate April activities. Well….at this point, that has become homeschooling, work from home, and lockdown. So I guess this can be considered done?
Book Niagara Summer Trip. Obviously, this is postponed indefinitely.
✔ Prepare and plan mudroom renovation. As I shared on our Instagram story, we are getting there! Staying home has really opened up the time I was searching for to get some of our DIY renovations done.
✔ Refresh mint budget. Our expenses have gone way down as we aren’t traveling, don’t have kid activities, and have seen all summer camps canceled. Which is good as we, like everyone else, are so worried about our savings, retirement and jobs.
✔ Meal plan/grocery shop. This has completely changed without going into an office and having weeknight activities, but we are still eating healthy using some of our go-to recipes, and keeping the pantry and freezer stocked (without hoarding).
✔ Work out 3-4 times/week. This has actually gone up given online work outs are my emotional release each day. (I desperately miss teaching group fitness and yoga, so it helps me to connect to movement and music every day.)
✔ Yoga 1-2 times/week. Yup. I missed one week before we all went into social distancing, but the fact that so many studios are now offering classes for streaming is fantastic. I have been practicing MORE now!
✔ Moment of solitude. I formulated this weekly action item when I realized that I felt so inundated every day by demands, social media, kids, family, and simply needed time to parse through my own thoughts. This is sometimes a hot bath, sometimes a walk in the woods, sometimes meditation. But it has become more critical during these lockdown days.
✔ Get outside. Yes. I have been making a goal to do this daily now, actually.
✔ Journal. I stopped the habit for a little while, but when the world started going crazy, I started again using some tricks I had learned, and I am so very glad I did. (By the way, I also highly recommend the Write the Word journal experience.)
✔ Vitamins. “Because if you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything.”
But in March, I also managed to learn Lightroom on my phone (albeit I still have a long way to go), tended to this website a little more (it’s a passion project), called my best friend and connected with her in a meaningful way, started our journey towards waste-free toiletries, finished our downstairs half bath, and wallpapered our “command center.”
Again, these are all items that would have been lost (perhaps not done, certainly not celebrated) without the intentional goal setting and reflection.
So that brings us to now: April.
Goal setting in the time of a worldwide pandemic.
After a lot of thought, prayer, meditation, and self-reflection, I decided to embrace the word “abundance.” And I also returned to what I had (ironically? coincidentally? prophetically?) set as my goal at the end of 2019 for the new year. I wanted this to be my depth year. I wanted to stop feeling the need (again: Enneagram 7) to try more things and constantly do something new, and, instead, go deeper into hobbies I already know I love.
I also wanted to RELEASE (my word of the year) fear. I wanted to live like there is plenty to go around, like we are blessed, like we have more than we need. Because we do. And we are.
Here is the quote guiding me this month:
When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.
Here is what I settled on as goals for April given those thoughts:
Celebrate Easter. (Here’s our 2018 basket guide.)
Homeschool with love and abundance. (In case you missed it, I shared a list of some of our favorite resources that we’ve been using for awhile.)
Consume the Internet wisely. (I will be using more of these sites and less of Apple News.)
One fun family experience. (I am not sure what this will look like, but I know we will find something.)
Gratitude lists/shining moments. (Because when we write down all the amazing things that happen, no matter how small, we realize how many there are.)
Paint basement.
Plant flowers & mulch.
Keep The Family Trip going.
Work out 3-4 times/week.
Get outside.
Moment of solitude.
Watch a message online.
30 days of yoga challenge. (My mom, sister-in-law, friend and I are all doing Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day yoga challenge, and checking in with each other through text each day.)
Journal.
Vitamins.
I choose to be excited about what this month of forced isolation and quietness will change in me and lead to. I am going to be open to this new story, and see this time as an opportunity.
NOTE from The Family Trip: This post assumes that you are part of the lucky few (like us) who are not struggling for food and shelter at this time. I assure you that we do not gloss over the pain and incredible hardships many families are going through. If there is any way we can help, please drop me a line. I’d like to compile a list of resources and ways to help (much like this).
Here are some things you can do at home, some ideas for goal setting during a pandemic:
- Learn a language.
- Take an online course, the sky is the limit so just pick anything you’ve always been interested in.
- Learn an instrument. Maybe you were gifted an old guitar years ago and have always meant to learn it…someday? Maybe now is the time.
- Start a blog. Trust me, it doesn’t matter if 1,000 people read it or if you earn money off of it. It is a fabulous creative outlet.
- Journal every day.
- Read more (check out my book picks), join a virtual book club.
- Get 10,000 steps a day (if you can get outside).
- Cook new dishes, explore a specific country’s cuisine.
- Write letters, mail cards.
- Take up yoga, try some new fitness classes. (No one is watching!)
- Step up your photography game.
- Try daily meditation. (I love the Calm app and pay for that, but there are plenty of free online guided meditations.)
- Craft. Scrapbook. Organize family photos.
- Do something cultural. There are a never-before-known amount of shows, tours and art opportunities online. (But still no Hamilton!)
- Paint a room or do other DIY projects (many paint stores and hardware stores are offering delivery and/or curbside pickup).
- Clean out the clutter.
- Start a garden.
Don’t push off goals or trying something because we feel so much fear and anxiety. In fact, this might be a good time to dig in to goals, engage in self-reflection, and funnel energy towards a new endeavor. (By the way, to get started, grab the undated 6-month Powersheets at Cultivate What Matters.)
In this strange new world, friend, let’s remember that it’s still a wonderful trip… that we are the owners of our lives, no matter what circumstances are thrown at us…
And our family is sending yours a lot of love right now.