Our covid-19 schedule appeared on the horizon after a few weeks of self-isolation. It felt to restricting to stick to one in the beginning, yet as the novelty wore off I felt we all could do with the structure.

I was always a firm believer of routine, and my family also thrives on it (even though my eldest, 14, won’t admit it 😉 ). Furthermore, time blocking is something that I am very much devoted to. If you’re not familiar with it, time blocking is a time management process that requires you to divide your day in blocks of time. This way, you do not need to make decisions on the fly about what to focus on. Time blocking helps me focus, helps me get things done and be productive (and not, because we all need our down-time!) – as opposed to going about my day aimlessly.

Creating a schedule that works for your family is a very important task, especially in light of this situation. Sometimes, being home a lot means we feel like we have all the time in the world. Well, we do have a lot of time at home, but use them unwisely, and wasted they shall be.

If you can manage to get on the time-blocking horse at this point in our life, it will help you feel in control, get things done and increase the quality of your life, and those around you.

PS: I know that some of you might be back at work, however time blocking is quite a nifty skill to use whatever the situation.

Before I share our schedule

…(well, schedules, because I have adjusted it as the weeks went by), be aware that it if you have one, it may look very different to yours. You might have more kids, younger kids, more pets, you might be a single mum, you might be working out of the home, and so on.

I am sharing my schedule because I want to show you what our days are looking like (this is what our weekdays look like actually), in the hopes that I will inspire you to create your own.

Our first covid-19 schedule

Some further info about our first covid-19 schedule

  • In the ideal world, Nina wakes up at around 7:30-8am. When she doesn’t, I put on a movie for her so I can finish my work.
  • When I say reset, that means I put a space back to it’s original state.
  • My get ready routine includes having a shower, putting on a nice but comfy outfit, fixing my hair, moisturising, and applying some makeup.
  • I mention a lot of Nina because she is 5 years old and needs my constant attention. Yanik, who is 14, is very independent and is pretty much following lessons, doing HW or playing online most of the day. He joins us sporadically throughout the day, and for lunch and dinner.
  • When I mention declutter hour, this doesn’t mean I actively spend an hour decluttering. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. When we manage, Nina is usually with me and I involve her in this task, in the hopes of her latching onto doing this regularly.
  • We do not always stick to this schedule religiously, but I use it as a guide to ensure things get done and we get our down time. Let’s say Nina feels like watching TV or YouTube on her tablet at 9:30am. I will allow her to do so and then mentally switch craft/cooking time with quiet time in the afternoon.
  • Yes we might be home but we also get ‘interruptions’. Deliveries are arriving a number of times a week and that means it’s quite laborious sometimes to bring things up to our apartment floor, go through them, bring (some) things inside, wipe them down (or place them in containers), or put away a large shopping other days. What I do is prioritise, and this is done instead of one of the tasks. The first to go for me is quiet time or declutter hour. Sometimes even crafts if Nina needs us to have our quiet time together but happy to create crafts on her own. It is very important to gauge the needs of your family and go with the flow, always using the schedule as a guide, but not as a rule.
  • I do some thorough cleaning on Friday, so I do not have as much to do on Saturday morning. In the beginning this used to take out a huge chunk of my day, so I used to take out anything that needed to be taken out of the schedule for this one day. And that’s okay.
  • I sometimes have to attend virtual meetings, and when I do, the kids spend time together. This is not as straightforward as you might think, because the age gap is wide enough to have them argue like cats and dogs, yet not wide enough to have the eldest exercise great patience with the youngest (or the youngest to be on her best behaviour). But, I make it work somehow (treats usually play a part in this 🤣)
  • After 19:30, I will continue to reset the house, and then indulge in some self-care. I sometimes get some more work done too. My husband takes on most of the bedtime duties with the kids, because by this time I need to take some time ‘off’. Bedtime is early for me – 9pm. My husband and I spend alone time together on Friday and Saturday nights (our ‘date nights‘ 💓 ).
  • As the weeks passed, and as the days got warmer, and as Nina who had never played alone pre-covid picked up the art of imaginative solo play, our schedule changed. I will share it so you can see the schedule we are using now, which includes outdoor time in the afternoon, and more free play. Of course, as the weather gets warmer I will adjust this again so we are outdoors in the morning. This is the beauty of having your own schedule. You can play around with it as much as you like as long as it works for you.

Our current covid-19 schedule

Creating your own covid-19 schedule

I hope that I’ve inspired you to create your own covid-19 schedule, and take this forward whatever the situation. Be kind to yourself and listen to what your body needs. For want of being productive, you might take off with a rather aggressive schedule. Do not let this put you off. Take some quiet time and think about what’s working and what’s not, and adjust and try again. Whatever the situation, adjusting your routine is a constant process, so do not let yourself discouraged if things seem not to working for you. It’s normal, and can be fixed!

Love,

Nakita xxx