Open-survey: How are you oscillating between routines, ruts and rest?
Perhaps, by now, you've already been bombarded by articles and memes on how to optimise your days during the time of the Coronavirus crisis. Perhaps, by now, you've already been bombarded by the counter-arguments to ignore all the productivity-pressure.
Perhaps, by now, you're wrestling with the inconsistency of it all. Are we doing enough, not enough, too much? Do we attend to those creative projects we've been putting off, do we take the time to rest, or do we scrabble for our uncertain futures?
Unlike the articles arguing for or against, I don't know the answer. But what I do know, is that just how there is no one creative process that suits us all, there is no one way to navigate a pandemic.
You might need to lean on routines and keep busy during this time – be it out of necessity financially, or for a sense of control when everything feels uncontrollable.
You may need to step away, rest and reset, placing productivity and creativity to the background, either to focus on the people around you, what you need, slowing down, or surviving.
You may need to lean into the rut, to feel the loss, to thrash around, inspect the confusion and grieve.
Personally, I’m oscillating between all three, all the time, and I think many of us are. Be it leaning into routine, allowing for the rut or finding rest, navigating this profound shift to daily lives looks different for everyone – because it always has been.
People have always had varying responsibilities, stresses, privileges, challenges, income, drive, desire and varying states of mental and physical health.
This crisis has amplified our variances. Some of you may be working from home for the first time. Some of you may still be called into work. Some you may be struggling with laying off staff. Some of you may have no work for the foreseeable future. Some of you may be living alone. Some of you may be surrounded by children or company. For some, life has been flipped upside-down. For others, perhaps it remains unchanged.
There is no one routine or approach that can be prescribed to us all. And while, yes, we will all experience varying degrees of change, challenges and discomfort, I gain reassurance from knowing that there are varied approaches to everything.
I learn so much from the people I interview, as I hope you do too. And in difficult times, I find myself wanting to collect and amplify even more lessons and variances – to learn, to observe, to feel more connected and less alone in what ails us.
In this time of a collective rut, instead of sharing a prescription I want to showcase the variances and invite you in so we can all learn from each other.
For an upcoming special episode of Routines & Ruts, I’ll be sharing your reflections and challenges, routines or ruts, lowlights and highlights in these extraordinary times.
From your generous contributions, I will not only create a special episode of the podcast, but also downloadable guides and various resources to attempt to both illuminate how it feels to navigate creativity in uncertain times, and share gentle suggestions.
We can all learn from each other about how our days are changing, where we might be stuck, and remember we are all figuring it out for the first time.
The survey is now closed.
Be sure to subscribe to Routines & Ruts to be notified when the special episode is live.