Getting back into a routine

For a lot of us, the pandemic has meant that our routine has changed a great deal. Now that things are starting to return to a normal, it is time to start figuring out what the new routine is going to be.

Remote working

For a lot of people, working remotely was implemented during the lockdowns and something that is now may be changing for people. I have heard that there are some companies that are going to now have a blended work schedule where you can work remotely most of the time and only go into the office for meetings and special things.

Some companies are going to be asking that the staff return to work most of the time and only work remotely occasionally. I think a lot of the decision is how the remote working has helped the business. In some cases, businesses need to have more interaction between staff, so that means that they need to be in the office more often.

Events/Conferences

This year I think is going to be a very different year again for events and conferences as they try and figure out the new way of doing things. For us, we have had some events cancelled again this year due to the uncertainty of everything. Some events are going back to normal in person conferences, and then you also have some that are doing a blend of both in person and virtual. I am not sure what is going to be the best, but at least things seem to be moving forward.

Our routine

I think for everyone it is going to take quite a while for a normal routine to be established again because of how long we have had to deal with all the different changes. I know for us, we have worked remotely for years, so that won’t change. For us, some of the biggest changes are going to be the conferences and events that we have attended in the past.

I am not sure what the new routine is going to be for us, but I do know that it is going to take us a while to establish how we are going to be doing things moving forward. Part of our routine will be based on how clients are working, but we will also have our own routines as well to get established.

Working remotely does have its advantage as it means that there isn’t a commute to the office, but it also means that there are more distractions sometimes that need to be managed. Getting into a new routine is going to take some time, but at least once it is established it will make things a lot easier moving forward.

Hopefully everyone is getting into their new routine, even if it is the same as before the pandemic. I will now say that routines are going to be new moving forward because we have figured out ways to do things differently than we did before we were in lockdowns. Getting back to a routine is very important, and hopefully we are all going to be happy with our routine moving forward.

 

School schedule

When I was going to school, you were supposed to be in the school yard before the final bell rang. If you were late, you had to go to the office and explain why you were late getting to school. I don't remember having to go to the office because I was always in the school yard ahead of that bell.

What I have noticed around where I live is when the final bell rings I still see a lot of children still walking in the neighbourhood, not even near the school yard. Has society changed that much that we don't respect the start times anymore. Maybe that is why so many people today arrive at work whenever they want, because that is what they have been doing all their life.

The other thing I have noticed is that on days that there is school I see quite a few children in the neighbourhood mall with their parents during the school day. If the child is sick, they should be at home and not shopping with their parents. If the child isn't sick, they should be in school learning instead of shopping. I know if we were caught out of school, there were prices to pay because the parent was reported, especially if you were just avoiding school. Maybe part of this lack of caring is because nowadays, schools can't fail a student until they are in high school. So nowadays it looks like you don't have to really learn, and you will advance to the next grade no matter what. So many students have the entitled attitude, and the automatic passing could be part of that. There is no real cost of not doing the schoolwork, I know that when I was at school if you didn't complete all your work you failed and had to repeat the same grade again.

I guess what I am really saying is there really isn't any discipline nowadays for children going to school. They seem to get there when they want (this could be the parent's fault or the child's fault) and miss school for what seems to be no reason. Years ago, you learned early on that school had a schedule, and you worked within that schedule unless you were really sick.

So if someone can explain the new school schedule to me, it would be great because I really don't understand it. This school schedule may not apply to all schools, but I know it applies to the school near me, and that is what I can use as a reference.

Writing on a Schedule

For me, writing on a schedule doesn't work.  Some say you must write so many words a day, while others say write when you are inspired.

Some days I can write pages and pages of thoughts and ideas, while other days the pages stay blank.  For me, I try to capture all the ideas I get, big or small.  Sometimes a thought can be just a few works, later developed into an entry or policies or procedures.  Another time, a thought can be pages of a completed piece written all at once.

Not everyone can write on demand but capturing ideas is very important.  For me, I normally have something handy to write an idea on so that I don't forget it.  Some ideas don't get worked on for ages, while other ideas are quickly expanded on.  I have more than one method of tracking ideas, so that is why I sometimes end up with 2, 3 or even 4 small notebooks in my purse at once.  The notebooks are besides the tablet that normally is in the purse as well.

My writing is both professional and personal.  Ideas come when they do and not based on a schedule, so I need to capture all of them.

Writing for me is something I enjoy doing.  Please don't ask me to produce so many words or pages each day, as it isn't going to work.  Writing happens when it does, and ideas also come about when they do.

Writing on a schedule may work for some and not others.  Well, off to see how many more pages I write today.