Quarantine Update- Week 8 of the #StayAtHomeChallenge: The 10 Best Journaling Prompts for Reflecting on This Time in Quarantine

Although some parts of the country are starting to open up, I will be staying at home. Given the medical issues in our family, I want to see how things pan out with the infection numbers. And with schools closed, it just makes sense for me to continue working remotely.

I started the week by delving into the #Next90Challenge (which is still going on, and it’s not too late to jump in by signing up here). This week, it was Dave Hollis who handled the lecture, and the topic was “Essentials.”

For those who don’t know him, Dave Hollis is married to Rachel Hollis, who I have mentioned in prior posts. He is now a life coach and has written a book that he claims has a lot of what I’m learning from him in this challenge. I’m ordering it soon:

Essentials

When I first saw the topic, I let my mind wander and came up with images associated with “essentials.” It’s used quite a bit in our culture, to describe everything from wardrobe basics to pantry staples to aromatic oils.

If you think about it, though, what we consider to be essential is completely subjective. For some folks, it’s living a minimalist lifestyle, while for others it represents living a life with intention.

Dave Hollis reminded me that there are a number of ways we can apply the concept of what’s essential to our lives. This was what I took away:

• Core Values. What core values are most important to me and the person I am striving to become? This basically asks us to figure out who we want to be and which things to focus on in order to achieve it. For example, is family the main value in your life? If so, ask yourself what kind of person do you want to be for your family members?
• Necessities. What are my basic needs? For this question, you need to dig a little deeper and ask, what do you need to not only survive but to feel like you’re thriving and living your best life? This is a great question, because if you are lacking some basics for survival (you are ill, unhealthy, or sleep-deprived), you may need to address these needs first before you can move on to more big-picture changes such as working on being a better leader at your job.
• Obstacles. Are there any things in my life right now that are holding me back from achieving my goals and dreams or are holding me back from being my best self? This is similar to the prior question about basic needs, but takes it a step further and asks you to identify things in your life that are obstacles to your becoming the person you wish to be. Reflect on where you are in life and where you would like to be. What would it take to get there? What is preventing this change? Is it a bad relationship? Lack of money? Once you identify the obstacle, you can start working on work-arounds or solutions for it.
• Self-Care. Which habits should I implement or maintain to make sure I’m taking care of myself (and, therefore, making sure I’m in the best condition to care for those around me)? I’ve said it before in blogs posts such as this, self-care is so important. It is the equivalent of putting on your life vest before jumping in the water to save someone else. Having a solid self-care routine will make sure you are not completely tapped out when it comes time to show up for the other people in your life. Self-care includes making sure you are taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally.
• Time Management. Am I setting up my week to make sure I am both prepared to meet my obligations and also reach toward my goals? This is basic planning, and it can cut down on a lot of stress when it’s done properly. My recommendation is always to have at least one calendar or planner where you manage every aspect of your life- family, work, etc. Sit down with your family members at the beginning of the week (Sunday night is my planning night), and coordinate your schedules. Make sure that anything that needs to be arranged such as childcare or transportation to appointments, is agreed upon at that time. It’s also a good time to see if someone needs to have something purchased (for a mid-week work or school event). Making sure you have everything written down avoids the embarrassment of missing an important meeting or the frustration of not knowing who is going to watch the kids.
• Finances. How am I handling my expenses and am I setting myself up for security or putting my financial health at risk? Money is a big stressor for a lot of folks. I’m trying to get better at budgeting and making sure we save more than we spend (despite the obnoxious number of home repairs we’ve had to absorb in the past year). Tracking spending and making sure you’re not living outside your means is a way to ensure you can weather a storm should an emergency arrive.
• Priorities. Finally, have I prioritized my activities to reflect what I value most for my life? When you take an inventory of all the things you are obligated (or have obligated yourself) to do, are these things that really benefit you? When you look at all of your weekly activities, check to see that you are spending your time doing things that serve a purpose in helping you become the person you wish to be. Make sure that your activities do at least one of these: bring you joy, bring you income, or are meaningful to you or a loved one.

These are all great questions to ask, and ones that I think will help to clear away what’s not a true priority in my life.  When we set aside what is not working for us and instead focus on the things that we know will lead us to a more fulfilling life, we are able to figure out what is truly essential for each of us.

Using this time to reflect on what’s important

I took a lot of notes when watching this week’s challenge video. The whole conversation about essentials actually reminded me about what it was like to sell our last house. In order to show the house, we placed the bulk of our belongings in storage. When we moved, and I saw how nice it was to live in a less cluttered space, I almost didn’t want my stored items back.

As I worked through the various portions of the challenge video, I actually started journaling a bit. And, it occurred to me that this time of sheltering in place is actually the perfect opportunity to take a step back and reflect on those obligations that have been put on hold.

I and many friends I’ve talked to have found that even if we are still busy, we are living very different lives than we were a few months ago. With activities and events currently shut down, we have been spending our time in different ways.

Think about it. Time is like currency- a resource that is limited and can be used in different ways. The only difference between time and money is that everyone gets the same number of hours each day, whereas everyone has different amounts of money to work with.

Those 24 hours exist and will pass no matter what we do with it. Our choices determine how we fill those hours and whether they are spent in ways that bring us satisfaction or joy.

So, when I began learning about the concept of “essentials,” I thought it would be interesting to list the things I cannot currently do while quarantined and which I am happy to not be doing. That exercise was so helpful, it set off some other list-making and journaling sessions in which I carefully examine the pros and cons of the way I was living before we went into lockdown compared to how I’m currently existing.

From my post on the best journaling supplies, I continue to recommend my favorite notebooks (with gorgeous illustrations on each page):

And my favorite writing instruments, Frixion erasable gel pens:

Now, I know what you’re thinking- “she’s talking about journaling . . . again!” I know I discuss journaling a lot as in this post here and here. And, just a warning, I’m probably going to write about it again. Heck, this blog is practically an online journal!

The reason I keep encouraging folks to journal is because I not only have found it to be a valuable habit in my own life, journaling is a practice successful and creative people do regularly. The writing process is really therapeutic and there’s something about it that gets the sleepy and neglected parts of our minds to open up, letting us gain some perspective and work out issues we’re having.

Whether or not you believe everything happens for a reason, we can always treat changes as an opportunity. We are all in a situation where the world has stopped functioning as it was before, which makes this a great time to reflect on life before quarantine and how it might inform our decisions going forward as the country opens back up.

10 Journaling Prompts to Reflect and Reevaluate Life As We Sit in Quarantine.

Because I think journaling is such an effective tool in getting us to think about things in a deeper way, here are some prompts that can help us figure out how to make the best use of this uncertain time and prepare us for when we transition to post-pandemic lives:

1. Activities. What were the activities that made up your regular obligations before you began sheltering in place? Include any activities you engaged in on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For each, ask yourself how has it felt to not be able to do these things? Are you missing these activities? Have you enjoyed having a break from them?

2. Relationships. Which relationships were you actively engaged in before the pandemic that you have not been able to foster because of social distancing? Are there certain people you used to see often that you do not see as often right now? How did those relationships serve you and are they ones you want to resume once social distancing lifts? Can you find ways to connect with people you miss if you have not been in touch for a while?

3. Routines. Are there any new routines that you have developed while sheltering in place? Are you doing any sort of physical activity you did not feel you had time for before this all started? Include any daily or weekly habits that you have added since states ordered people to stay home. How are these routines working for you and how do they make you feel?

4. Hobbies. Have you tried any new hobbies or activities since you’ve been at home? Did the stay-at-home order result in your trying some things you hadn’t before like cooking, baking, sewing, running? Do these things feel as though they are a lesser alternative to your pre-pandemic hobbies, or have you found you would like to keep them and even replace other things you had been doing previously?

5. Spending. What things have you stopped paying for since the shutdown? Are you eating out less or did you cancel any memberships or services? Has this been helpful to your overall finances? Do you feel like you should resume paying for those things when stores and businesses open back up? And, make sure that you are looking at new expenses you’ve taken on during the pandemic. Are these working for you and are they sustainable if we stay sheltered for a longer period of time?

6. Traditions. Did you celebrate a holiday differently while in quarantine? There were several holidays that took place during the couple of months we have been in lock-down. How did you celebrate them? Did you do anything differently? How does it compare to what you’ve done in the past with your family? And, are there any aspects of what you’ve tried this year that you think you’ll keep for future holidays?

7. Bucket List. What do you miss from your life before we went into quarantine? Make a bucket-list of things you would like to do when you are able to travel more freely and meet up with people. They can be big things like taking a cruise to small ones like going to the movies.

8. Anti-Bucket List. What have you not missed from your life before quarantine? This is where you can see what you would like to prune permanently from your life and what you might want to give less of a priority even if you cannot get out of it entirely. These can also be big or little things.

9. Goals. Did you alter your goals during this time of sheltering-in-place? Before the pandemic, many people had goals that necessarily involved being with other people or traveling. After we were asked to stay home, those goals were no longer an option and we all had to shift gears and focus on other ways to move ourselves forward in our lives. How did you refocus your goals? Are there some aspects of your life that you decided to pay more attention to as a result of having time for them? What does that reveal about your values moving forward?

10. Sabbatical. Has it been helpful to have life paused for a while? There are many individuals who take a sabbatical, either personally or professionally. It provides them an opportunity to focus on a different aspect of their careers or lives so they can determine in what direction they should be moving in the future. Have you viewed this time as a sort of sabbatical? If so, is this something you feel you may need to do periodically in the future to be able to stop and reevaluate how things are going in your life?

This quarantine has been like hitting the reset button on our current lives. Once we get past the grief and shock of living in a “new normal,” it can be a great opportunity to re-think what really matters to you in terms of time, people, and energy spent.

I hope these journaling prompts will provide you with food for thought (or food for writing) so you can make this time in quarantine one of reflection and positive change. For all of them, be thinking about what lessons you can take into the future when there will be an attempt by many to have things brought “back to normal.”

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As always, here’s how the week looked:

Saturday. Because our back yard is under a canopy of trees and gets very little sunlight, we are unable to have a vegetable garden. But, we love herbs, and since having a few containers out front won’t violate our HOA rules, we decided to plant some basil and thyme. My husband and son also swept, vacuumed and power-washed all the yellow pollen off of our screened porch. Just in time for chilly weather! 😂

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Sunday. We decided to use up some buttermilk from another meal and try it in a buttermilk French toast recipe. Although our gluten-free bread slices are little, they soaked up the tangy custard mix and made for a really delicious breakfast! After that, we had our remote Sunday School and Church service, during which my daughter set up our communion (and one for her dolls). I ended the marathon cooking spree that day with some time for watercolor painting. I followed Ahmad Art’s tutorial on YouTube and really enjoyed the process!

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Monday. It was back to work for all of us. The day was pretty uneventful until the end of the day, when we received the great news that we’d been granted the school assignment transfer we requested (as I mentioned in last week’s blog post)! Talk about joy and gratitude!

Tuesday. I was busy with both work and kid stuff. With my daughter being transferred to a new school, I reached out to the school see how her assignment to a music class would work. Given that she’s been playing instruments for a few years, we offered to have her send in an audition recording. She settled on trying out for the Intermediate Band with her flute.

Wednesday. As you can imagine, I am so grateful that the pandemic has not shut down planner companies, and this week’s planner launch is one I look forward to all year long! Ban.do launched their planners on this date, and I was excited to be able to purchase the planner I will use starting at the end of summer through next year. When I receive it, I may do a bonus post to explain just why I use a large, 17-month weekly Ban.do planner as my main planner.

Thursday. After months of waiting to complete our garage repair project, we settled on painting the mismatched brick and leaving the remainder of the house with the original brick. It’s a risk, but we worked with a designer at Sherwin Williams, who thought it would be a nice compromise. The garage painting started this week, and it will hopefully be done next week!

Friday. After a fitful night’s sleep, I ended up with headaches and only able to work part of the day as a result. That said, because my kids did not have a lot of meetings, they were back in the dining room with me, which felt really nice after weeks of us all scattering around the house to participate in online meetings. Since it was teacher appreciation week, we decided to end the week by filming my daughter playing her elementary school’s old school song and posting it on social media to thank her teachers for all they do.

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Lessons learned from this week:

Time is what you make of it. We can either look at this time as one to muddle through until we can get back to our old lives, or we can use this experience as an opportunity to reassess what was working and what was not working for us before life as we knew it was placed on hold.

Even if you don’t have more free time, you may have more flexible time. I spent the first few weeks of the pandemic feeling like I had been robbed. Everyone else (not essential medical workers, of course- those are the true rock stars in this situation) seemed to be binge-watching TV shows, discovering new hobbies, or complaining about how bored they were while I was working at all hours of the day trying to keep up with my day job, my part time job, and my full-time mom work. What I have realized is that, while I don’t have more free time than I did before, working from home has given me some flexibility. So, that means that I can fit a walk into my day and just pick up on my work when I get back to the house. It may not have been the freedom that was first advertised, but I’m finding that I enjoy this and will likely try to find ways to hold onto it once things start opening back up.

Wherever you are during this crazy time, I hope you are well. Have you been doing any journaling during this time? Any ideas you can share? Leave a comment below.

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**Image credits- Tree reflection, “My Journal,” and woman journaling images found on Pixabay.