Genuinely Simple Ways to Achieve Balance in a Pandemic

By Dawn Marie Beauchamp of EmbraceControlledChaos.com

Fancy Comma, LLC is honored to feature this post by Dawn Marie Beauchamp, a wife, mother, business owner, and freelancer at the blog Embrace Controlled Chaos.  Read on to learn about how Dawn strives to achieve balance amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“During chaotic times, simple things can give you great joy.” @DawnMarieBeauc1

Tweet

I never thought I would live to see a global pandemic. Yet, here I am navigating the fifth month of the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on everyday life. My roles as a wife, mother, business owner, and freelancer do not disappear because the world is in crisis. Throw in a healthy dose of anxiety and depression, and achieving balance is not only useful, it is absolutely necessary. Let me share some of the simple ways I achieve balance when the world around me is chaotic.

Make a List of Priorities

After a few months in quarantine, I realized that my days were monotonous and unfocused. The parts of my routine that structured my time — for example, school drop-off and pick-up — were gone. I spent my days reacting to the events around me, but not spending even a minute of focused time on a task. My anxiety was amping up and I needed a way to put a little focus back in my day.

As a genuine “planner girl”, I pulled out my calendar and made a simple, short list of priorities for the day.  I keep the list short, with three to five things at most. Having some structure gives me a sense of accomplishment. Not to mention the joy of crossing things off a list. During chaotic times, simple things can give you great joy.

Know When to Put Things Aside

While priorities are important, it is also necessary to know when to put things on the back burner. We only have a finite amount of energy. When adding stress and tension to the mix that energy level is depleted before we even start “doing” anything. Here is where decision making becomes an important life line to balance. Look at what is sitting before you as “to do” and decide what is a “must do”.

As a chronic perfectionist over-scheduler, I know that, at any given moment, there are things on my list that can be put aside for another day. When the walls feel like they are closing in, I narrow my list to the absolute necessities. The necessary items are not always the ones we deem most responsible. Necessary may be snuggling on the couch with my kids watching movies. Pandemics are scary; sometimes the dishes need to wait while the snuggling comes first.

Take Time for Yourself

I know a lot of parents are rolling their collective eyes right now, but hear me out. We have been conditioned to think that self-care needs to be grandiose. It needs to involve all day adventures outside the home to be fulfilling and recharging. This definition is doing us all a disservice, and I say we create a new narrative.

“Especially now with the restrictions of the pandemic, I encourage everyone to find the things that rejuvenate your spirit and mark them as a priority.” @DawnMarieBeauc1

Tweet

Fifteen minutes on my porch swing with a cup of coffee is time to myself. In bed with my laptop, while my son watches Netflix is time to myself. Pulling the weeds in my garden and watering all my plants is time to myself. Any activities that help me feel rejuvenated count as time I am taking for myself. Especially now with the restrictions of the pandemic, I encourage everyone to find the things that rejuvenate your spirit and mark them as a priority.

Stay Connected

During the pandemic lockdown, staying connected with my people is imperative to my balance. I need regular communication with my loved ones to feel grounded. Now, I do not have time to sit on the phone chatting for hours and hours every day, so we find simple ways to stay connected.

Texting is a huge lifeline for me. It allows me to have running conversations with multiple people at the same time. We all answer when it fits into our schedule, and we can add pictures if something of note is happening in our homes. My children are using video chat through various apps as a way to stay connected with their friends. I’ve seen family have game nights on Zoom. Pick your favorite medium and stay connected with the people you cannot physically visit.

Balance is Key to Navigating the Pandemic

COVID-19 is teaching us that we can do hard things and survive and thrive amidst the challenges. Take note of the simple things that provide the most balance and then schedule them into your week.

There is no need to be a superhero during these trying times. It is enough to survive this pandemic moment by moment. If we find balance, everything else will fall into place. @DawnMarieBeauc1

Tweet

Remember, there is no need to be a superhero or a martyr during these trying times. It is enough to survive moment by moment.  We want to get to the other side of this pandemic with our sanity intact. If we find balance, everything else will fall into place.

About Dawn