Scheduling in Uncertain Times

Scheduling. It’s something we hear everyone talking about today with no guidance as to how, what, when and where it should be done or achieved. If you relate to that statement, don’t fear, because you are then at the same level of confusion that I was as we were hit with the Coronavirus pandemic.

I, for one, had had it listening to countless celebrities advocate for family time, going out for walks, and picking up new hobbies and projects we had put aside for so long because I was completely lost.

On Sunday, March 15th, The State of New York had closed their public schools until April 20th, which happened right after my spring break. However, rumors were flooding the media saying that the state would not open back up until late June. So, as anyone else handling the news of an uncertain future, I was so completely devastated. What would be my next move? What about school? Homework? Projects? College? Advanced Placement Tests?!?!

In the midst of all this confusion, I began doing some research that I wanted to share. Some working tips and tricks for High School students going through the same wave of confusion, motivational loss and upright desperation for answers.

The Background

Now, to make this short and simple, (I know you looked to this post because you are as hungry for some type of answer as I was on that fatal March afternoon) I just wanted to touch upon the research I had done and make sure to give credit where it is due.

My research began in week five of the Coronavirus Pandemic, at home, alone. Now, it’s not that I wasn’t busy that caused me to have this epic breakdown. No, it was the fact that I had been flooded with countless textbook pages and ten page essays to write for my classes, including AP Literature and get this, DIGITAL MEDIA, the class where we make memes for fun!

Being caught up in all this work left me neglecting the other aspects of my life that kept me going and made me who I am. My motivation for fitness, the arts, and any human interaction at all had slowly deteriorated the deeper I placed my head into the middle of my AP U.S. Economics textbook.

Unsurprisingly, this had become a very scary and dark cycle.

I found aid in websites like Pinterest, Tulsakids, and Lark to help me get my life back into order, or as much order as I possibly could.

I took inspiration from this super cute timed schedule, as well as this schedule with rose petals that I found on Pinterest, and created my own system that would work for me.

Tips

Tip 1 –

Create a list of activities you want to achieve in the span of one day.

Think activities like, take a walk at lunch, draft an English essay, stretch for ten minutes. And get creative and specific with it.

Tip 2 –

Make sure there is enough time in a 24 hours day to do each of these activities.

Don’t forget to dedicate some time to rest before getting a good night's sleep. Set up wake up times and sleep times. And hey, make sure your phone is off and away when going to bed.

Tip 3 -

Fill out time slots.

You want these to be between the hours you wake and sleep with the activities listed in Tip 1. Of course if you become too specific and create a detailed morning routine, you might need to make a longer schedule, but try to keep this simplified, and say morning routine, instead of each individual step.

Tip 4 -

Edit and reorganize.

If you find that you have too many activities to do in one day, and can't get to them all, have no fear! You can always go back and adjust your schedule by day or by week, or even keep specific days for specific activities. Maybe you want to focus on math and science on Mondays and on Wednesday you study English. Or take a walk on Tuesdays at lunch, and stretch for ten minutes on Thursdays. Whatever it is, just make it work for you.

Tip 5 -

Tracking.

This is a completely optional tip, but it's something I like to do to get extra perks with each of my days. Included with my daily schedule, I have a couple of other categories on my schedule, which include, the quality of sleep I attained and my mental state throughout the day. These are categories you want to track the progress of daily, so you can come back at the end of the week and assess.

Conclusion

Before I send you guys off to create the greatest, most fun packed schedule in the whole entire universe, I want to leave you with a few examples of past trackers I have created and used for myself that have worked!

Here are my lovely examples:

P.s. if you need help creating individualized goals for each day, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions, or even make a post about it.

See you on the other side!

- Celina