How do we plan now?!

How the world has changed in such a short amount of time. I’m writing to you as the the country goes on lockdown in an attempt to stop Covid19 spreading. Although I’m not too worried about the health of my family, I am worried about the vulnerable members of my family and community, and the wider effects of the impending recession.  Auden has had a temperature so we are self isolating in an attempt to not be part of the spread. The sheer scale of the change both at home and internationally is dizzying, which is compounded by the speed at which it’s happened.

It’s hard to know what to say, how to start, where to turn. After a few days of shock, I’ve decided to continue sharing content, albeit with a slightly different tone. Today is the Spring Equinox, and the end of March marks the end of the first quarter. This is usually a time that I (and previous and current Life Book students) check in on their goals, but… how do we plan now?! How do we continue when things feel so strange and unknown?

There is no definite answers to this, but I have put my thoughts down below based on my own and previous students experiences of dealing with a crisis.

Planning in a time of crisis

Let yourself feel your feelings.

I have been equal parts impressed and intimidated about how others have been able to continue with their work and content in this time. I am now feeling ready to do so (well, readier, anyway) - but give yourself time to mourn this big scary thing, if you need it. 

Don’t run away from those hopeful plans. 

It’s really tempting to just throw all plans in the Corona bonfire-of-crushed-dreams whilst running in panicked circles but actually, hold on. You might just find that those hopeful plans and goals help you to feel grounded and connected, and we need that more now than ever. There will be an ‘after’, as unfathomable as that may seem right now, and there will be a time when things don’t feel like this.

Pivot, cancel or change your goals if you need to. 

Your goals and plans will probably need to change. (Prize for most obvious statement goes to moi) Do so in a spirit of self love and kindness- I mean, who could have predicted a global pandemic a few months ago? You might find that your goals don’t need to be cancelled, but rather altered or postponed instead.  Life is still happening around us and it IS possible to create you-shaped path through it. 

Be kind to yourself. 

I always talk about kindness when it comes to goal setting but OH MAN this is more important than ever. Be kind to yourself and embrace change and flexibility. Things are gonna continue to change and feel scary and facing this as a friend to yourself will make the hugest difference.

Create a new structure or plan to meet your goals. 

In a time when our usual routines and structures have gone out the window, take a bit of time to create your own instead. Dave and I have made a new mid week plan to meet our families needs and just having that has helped all of us feel clearer and calmer. In my Life Book e-course and my Planning bundle I have planning sheets which help you to break down your goals into quarterly, monthly and weekly plans and I’m giving away a free quarterly review and plan sheet below which might help. Creating some routine and structure can provide a surprising amount of solace in scary times like these. I’m not talking about strict time blocking (unless you love that kind of thing) but more about creating a structure for our days/weeks and months that mean we can meet our own, our families and our communities needs, without burning out. I am VERY aware of my privilege in this situation, and I want to be able to spend it supporting my community where I can. To do that, I need to support myself and my mental health first. Love yourself, love your community.

So, for now- I’m sending out a lot of LOVE. (from a 2 meter distance)

Get my free guide below for doing your own quarter point review.