The expectations about Covid-19 quarantine productivity during the “stay home” orders are running rampant through social media. Apparently, if we didn’t learn a new skill during this stressful time, we were just doing it wrong. While learning to play an instrument, finishing that book you’ve been writing for years, or perfecting your baking skills are all noble pursuits, it’s just not the reality for everyone. It’s true that some people have had success in reaching their goals while staying at home during this pandemic. That doesn’t belittle the fact that some of us are just happy to make it through the day.
How has your daily routine changed?
If you’re someone who’s unexpectedly been working from home during the past couple of months, your routine has likely changed drastically. If you have school-age kids, you may be even more flustered with working and helping the kids keep up with school work. For many people, an extreme change in routine is not the ideal time to try a new hobby. Working from home is not as easy as it sounds. There are many distractions when you’re at home that can cut into your productivity, especially if you have kids. Keeping the family fed and doing your daily chores while working from home should make you feel proud even if that’s all you’ve done with your extra time at home.
Did you get thrown into homeschooling?
I’ve been an intentional homeschool mom for years. But it was planned and I have months before each school year to plan curriculum and create a schedule. I can’t imagine how working parents have dealt with trying to school their kids at home out of necessity. From Zoom calls to dealing with online tests, homeschooling when it’s not a choice would be incredibly frustrating. Then you add in children who are used to being in a structured school environment and are now supposed to keep up with schoolwork at home. It’s a recipe for disaster. If you’ve stuck with it this long, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve earned it.
Focus on what you have accomplished
At first glance you may not realize how much you’ve accomplished during these mandated months at home. But your Covid-19 quarantine productivity is probably higher than you think. Maybe you’ve found more family time because everyone is home together? At our house, we’ve been playing a lot of MarioKart in the evenings, something we didn’t make time for before the pandemic. Plus, it’s been much easier to eat meals together as a family because we’re all home and we don’t have outside activities. When you consider the grand scheme of things, this is what you’ll remember. Learning a new skill or establishing a new hobby is a great thing, but spending more time with your family is a worthy accomplishment.
Businesses are starting to reopen and we’re all trying to find a new normal after months of staying at home. This may lead to comparisons about what you’ve accomplished during your time at home. For many of us, the main goal was to keep ourselves and our families healthy. If you’ve done this while adjusting to working from home and homeschooling, I would call that a success. Drastic changes in routines can throw anyone off their game. Hopefully, we can all come out of this pandemic with the knowledge that we’re a lot more resilient that we realized.
