Dealing with Time Warp
(Cue the music from Rocky Horror Picture Show, for your earworm delight.)
I think it’s Monday today.
Oh wait. I KNOW it’s Monday today. Google wouldn’t lie, would it?
See? Monday!
Keeping track of days and dates easily is an overlooked benefit of working for someone else. You follow a calendar of meetings and work days, with weekends a blissfully different routine.
When Jeremy started taking every Friday off, we considered Friday just part of the weekend. This matters, you see, because our weekend routine includes coffee in bed with our favorite YouTube channels; there’s not time for that during the week when those work calls intrude. During December, when he took a lot more time off, we had a decision to make. Is EVERY day a weekend day?
Sampson Boat Building, absolutely our favorite channel
What do you do when there’s nobody else setting the schedule? Do you toss it all into the air and just go with the flow?
Here’s my advice, for what it’s worth. Maybe I’m sharing it here so I follow it myself.
Keeping track of what day it is feels significant. We’ve got a call with our son every other Monday, for example. Sunday is when the local hardware store is closed. We’ve started a tradition of CrabCake Fridays - and the world would totally fall apart if that happened on a Thursday or a Saturday.
I try to write a journal entry every day, where I write down not only the date but also the day of the week. It’s not unusual for me to check back on yesterday to make sure I’ve got the date right - unless I’ve already opened my computer or my phone.
Set a routine. For us, we’ve decided that even though there is no longer someone else setting the schedule, so every single day is full on boat work (the way only weekends used to be), we’re sticking to the “coffee and YouTube in bed” on weekends only. We snooze a little longer, stretch a little more, lazily make coffee and catch up on 2 or 3 (sometimes even 4!) videos each Saturday and Sunday. See? I told you it was important to keep track of what day it is!
Still, the days kind of blend together. Couple that with the pandemic and we’re in full-on Groundhog Day. At least the boat projects are different.
Wait. Haven’t I painted all that before?