It seems that during this time of isolation, there are a couple of tendencies. For most people, they have more free time. This can be a good and bad thing.
There’s a quote out there that says “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” More often than not, it’s the case. I’ve seen it in my own life. When I have a lot to do, I’m extremely productive. Even within my job, I’ve realized this. As soon as I have that feeling like I’ll never catch up, all of a sudden I’m a beast at working. The speed at which I can do tasks feels unreal. This isn’t tooting my own horn only. I think many people are like this. When they have a lot to do, they can accomplish those things extremely quickly.
On the other hand, as soon as you accomplish those things. Now you have so much time to get tasks done that you don’t need to work at the speed you were. As things pile up, you continue to tell yourself that you have a lot of free time and don’t need to do it.
It’s a destructive cycle, and I think it’s one that probably most American’s (if not humans) are dealing with around the world. There is more time now at one’s house to be able to pursue projects or skills that they always pushed off. They’re at their house almost 24-7, so now would be the perfect time to work on the kitchen project they always talk about or to learn that instrument they never pick up. After all, they have so much free time, right?
But that side that tells you you have all the time in the world is going to try to prevent you from going after any of those goals. In fact, many people will actually make more progress on these projects and skills when things are normal than they will during quarantine.
It’s the same basic thing that happens with exams and auditions that come up for people. Instead of a steady amount of work leading up to it, we often cram at the end when all of a sudden it feels critical. It’s so hard for us to put in effort when we don’t need to.
It can be a bad thing to fill one’s schedule with things, but I’ve often found, the more I can fill my time with things, the more I can accomplish. Humans really are capable of accomplishing a lot more than they think, but it’s so easy for us to become content or lazy and think that we need breaks and rest.
Which by the way, we do. But often not at the times that we think that we need it.
It’s tough, but see what you can accomplish this quarantine, not what you can put off.