I find that automating a weekly routine goes a long way in helping me feel like I’m in control in the time of the pandemic.

Breaking the day into time zones helps. Julie Morgenstern talked about time zones in her book Time Management from the Inside Out – 2nd edition.

The secret–as hard as it might be to do this–is to limit what you do each day. This is how I see it: an over-scheduled To-Do list will leave you frazzled.

What I’ve begun to do on Sunday is plan each day for the following week. I have bought in Staples a Weekly To-Do List pad with sheets listing the days of the week with space below them for your tasks.

This is a great way to to record what I’ve cooked for dinner each night.

As said I want to talk about what I’ve learned living in the pandemic. It ties into this topic. I’ve found that pacing myself and slowing down is the remedy for rush rush rushing through life.

To this end I’ve reserved Sundays for exercising and food delivery and planning the week ahead.

Limiting what I do every day seems counter-intuitive. Yet I think you could agree that attending endless Zoom and Microsoft Team meetings every day can deplete your energy afterward.

This is all the more reason to plan to take time out. I no longer regret that I have empty spaces of time.

In fact scheduling time to do nothing can benefit our mental and physical health.

Mixing in tasks you need to do with time to do nothing: what’s not to like?