As I mentioned earlier this year, I’m writing monthly to-do lists to help me keep track of what’s on my plate. I thought it might be interesting to share these lists here, and to report back each month on what I was able to accomplish.
My March list was 25 items long, but… the month got pretty much blown to smithereens with the pandemic situation, so there was a LOT that I didn’t get to. About a week into the month, I decided to let a lot of things go to make way for other tasks coming onto my plate.
For example:
- All of my conferences and speaking engagements for March (and April, and May, and June) were cancelled. This was actually a huge relief since just a couple of weeks ago, the pandemic was really in the early stages.
- I did get to my dentist and doctor appointments early in the month, but my haircut needed to be cancelled, along with several other personal tasks like getting our car registration done and our hot water dispenser installed.
- My meetings all got shuffled about halfway through the month to make way for academic continuity planning and then remote work, which started a couple of weeks ago.
I doubt that this is new information for any of you, since you’re probably experiencing just the same kind of disruptions to your normal plans. I’m a person who likes routine, so it’s been an interesting couple of weeks to adjust to my new reality.
Honestly, though, I’m mostly just grateful. I can source the food I need. I have a job that’s stable. I have family and friends who I can check in with when I need to. My partner and I are currently healthy.
A lot of the to-do items on my list were actually pretty easy to de-prioritize.
But now it’s time to plan for a new month of to-do items and… it’s little bit hard to plan at this point. Since things remain pretty uncertain, I decided to use my list for this month to share all of the fun things that I’m planning for April to keep myself sane and healthy.
Here’s my April list:
- Complete four more weeks of my strength training and run/walk plan sessions. These got adjusted to make them a little easier, but still to help me get in a good sweat 6 days out of the week. Not only does exercise help me stay healthy physically, but it’s a huge boost for my mental and emotional health as well.
- Go to bed early every night, sleep in a little later in the mornings, and take naps on the weekend. The past couple of weeks, I found myself needing a lot more sleep since my anxiety is physically draining and it’s a bit on overdrive right now. I’ll be making sure that I get a full 8 hours each night whenever possible.
- Watch all available Star Wars movies with my partner. This should be fun since he loves these movies and I’ve never seen them all. His birthday falls in April and I couldn’t think of a better gift then binging all the movies and asking him a ton of questions that let him play the expert on one of his favorite topics.
- Finish the 1,000+ page mystery novel I’ve been working on reading for the last several weeks. Plus, I’d like to get through as many books in my library stash as possible. I’ve been reading a lot of novels to escape the overwhelming news cycle and they have been just the right amount of distraction. I have lots of physical books out from the library (which is now closed so all my deadlines got extended) as well as some ebooks and audiobooks at the ready depending on what I feel like.
- Continue to have Friday date nights with my partner. Even though I’m working from home now, my partner and I are doing our own thing for most of the day. Then, some evenings, we’re picking up a grocery order or I have coaching meetings. It’s worked well to have Friday evening reserved for connection and catch-up time. I think April is going to be devoted to lots of Star Wars discussions…
- Draft four newsletter/blog posts & record and prep four podcast episodes. Keeping up with this routine will allow me to continue to reflect and share what might be helpful tips and strategies for others, so I’ll still be prioritizing content creation.
- Edit and prepare season 3 of the Coach to Coach podcast for release in May. I’m wrapping up recordings for season 3 in the next month, so it’s time to start editing the earlier episodes and getting them ready to release. After years of podcasting, these kinds of tasks are routine and familiar, so they can offer a comforting distraction for me.
- Launch my coach training 201 course. I almost can’t believe that my 101 coach training course wraps up next week! Once it’s done, the cohort moves right into the next stage with the 201 offering. I’ll also be using part of April to prepare my marketing plans for the June coach training enrollment period. Having regular meetings with my coach training participants really grounded me this past month, so I’m glad those meetings will continue.
- Wrap up meetings for the spring 7 Weeks to Radical Self-Trust group coaching program. Like the meetings with my coach training participants, working with the participants in this coaching program has been an amazing opportunity during this period of uncertainty. What better time to dive deep into topics related to radical self-trust?
- Email my coaching clients that have remaining sessions to remind them to sign up whenever they are ready. A lot of my coaching clients have their own disruptions to deal with right now, so I’m here as a thinking partner for whatever they might need during this period. I’ll be adjusting my coaching schedule, as needed, to make sure I’m getting in the solitude time I need in April — I don’t know about you, but I’m experiencing a little Zoom meeting overload.
It looks like I’ve got a full list of fun things planned for this month! What are you looking forward to for the month of April?