Making Time
Move Faster
Engaging routines, setting boundaries,
and practicing positive anticipation
Photo Credit: https://www.3rdactmagazine.com
I’m sure that you’ve noticed, it feels like time lost its anchor. We’re all caught in in a coma with time hanging on us. Stripped of our routines, the difference between Wednesday and Saturday gets lost. It’s like landing in the movie Ground Hog’s Day where we keep repeating the same day over and over. This isn’t good for our psyches. So how do we master time and put it back on the clock? We engage routines, set boundaries, and practice positive anticipation.
As the drone of isolation wears on us the necessity for establishing routines is evident. Everyone needs a bedtime and a consistent start to the day, even grown-ups. We still need to keep with good sleep hygiene. Turn off the tech and lower the lights 30 mins before bed. Get up at the same time every day, have lunch and dinner at relatively the same time, and work during work hours. Being busy is key to making time go faster. Have you found interesting work and home projects to fill your time? The sky’s the limit. From the systems you’ve wanted to improve at work to the hobby you never had time to start. Engage your mind. And what about the kids? If schoolwork doesn’t really cover the school day, what other learning activities would interest them? This doesn’t have to be a block of instruction. The best learning engages play. If your internet search for ideas leaves you empty handed, reach out to your child’s teacher, other families, or respond in the comments below and we can brainstorm.
Then it gets more complicated. Do we start into work while we sip our morning coffee? It’s easy to let the boundaries blur. We want to contribute, feel connected and be relevant. While it’s not black and white, for the most part, doing work during work hours separates it from family time; and, doing something completely different on the weekends, separates weekends from workdays. It’s a bit crazy when part of the “work” you’re engaged in may be home projects that you used to do on the weekends, but if this is the case then don’t do the project on Saturday and Sunday. Instead, plan something different that you can look forward to. Get creative. Make cookies from scratch with the kids. Go on a camping trip to the living room or backyard and do it up with S’mores. Set up a virtual Friday night dance party with your friends. If you have something that you’re looking forward to, you get to think about it and positively anticipate it all week. Talk it up at dinner. Get everyone engaged in planning and playing with ideas. Set something for each weekend that you can look forward to. This makes time feel like it’s moving again.
So, shake time off of your shoulders and kick it into gear by engaging routines, setting boundaries and practicing positive anticipation.
Deanna Beech, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychology
Helping children build skills for a lifetime of happiness.
The Brier Patch, LLC
www.thebrierpatch.com
