by M. Frances Erler
I know I’m paraphrasing Shakespeare, so I hope he doesn’t mind. With the Shelter-at-Home orders due to COVID19, I’ve been facing a challenge I’ve never encountered before. We all have, I know. Over the past three weeks all the plans I had for the next five months have gone out the window. Or into the trash. And yes, I know I’m not alone.
My quandry is whether to have a schedule for my empty days or not. I’ve always been a planner, with a daily schedule on my bulletin board and a well-marked calendar on the wall. Setting up a new schedule has the appeal of helping me cope with everything and giving me some stability. And a way to make sure I don’t ‘waste’ my time.
On the other hand, now that the calendar is gone, along with the schedule, I feel a strange sense of liberation. I can do what I feel now, go with the flow. Though I admit I find myself playing Solitaire on my Kindle a lot. But maybe I need this bit of down time in a stressed life.
Hmm…I’m not sure which is better. To schedule or not to schedule, that is the question. Any ideas out there?
Montana Women Writers 
To plan or not to plan during this quarantine period…good question. I felt ‘lost’ for several weeks, until I made the decision to make a ‘to do’ list for the following day. It worked! Every morning I had a purpose, to do something on my list. And if I did something ‘off list’, I added that accomplishment to the bottom of my list. I kept that list going, giving me an ongoing drive to see what I’d done. Sure beats doing nothing and feeling bad all the time. I took days off from the list too, depending on my mood. Cleaning house was on the list, but not underscored (boring!)
Another thing I tried to do often was to get outside and go for a walk on sunny days.THAT really lifted my spirits! Janet Smith/Janet Montana
On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 2:59 AM Montana Women Writers wrote:
> MontanaWomenWriters posted: ” by M. Frances Erler I know I’m paraphrasing > Shakespeare, so I hope he doesn’t mind. With the Shelter-at-Home orders > due to COVID19, I’ve been facing a challenge I’ve never encountered > before. We all have, I know. Over the past three weeks all the pla” >