If Only We Had More Time…

By: D. A. Slinkard

Many people have much more free time now than what they had just a few weeks ago. I am still intrigued at how quickly life, as we know it, has changed almost overnight. I was speaking with my girls about how life these past few weeks is very similar to how it was when I was a kid, except they have access to the Internet. The question becomes – how are you doing with the worldwide shutdown? It is an easy time to get out of sync with your everyday normal routine…Have you fallen prey to having too much time on your hands?

Right now is the perfect time to reflect on life and really think about the direction you want to go. Many distractions have been eliminated, and the way we go about our everyday life is having to be remapped. What had once been the norm has now become the old way of doing things as COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the entire world around us. Will we ever shake hands again? How will this change our view on toilet paper? I say this very tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended), but we need to focus on the positive coming from this.

With many of our daily distractions being eliminated, we must seize the opportunity we have to dictate how we will bounce back from this. The decision is yours to make; will you use your time wisely or are you going to mindlessly go through your day having no purpose? For instance, I have taken some of this newfound time and have begun to learn how to edit video. Why? It is something useful to know how to do, especially in a time in which everyone and their brother are using social media.

You can use COVID-19 as an opportunity to figure out something you would like to do and be able to carve out your own niche. For instance, take the company I now work for as a prime example – the company was birthed from the economic downturn of 2008. If you can figure out how to become relevant, you can make a difference. Maybe, though, you are not looking at adding a skillset; maybe you are wanting to make some personal changes in your life.

Use wisely the time that COVID-19 is giving you because right now you have the perfect opportunity to develop a routine you can use in your everyday life. Yep, I am talking about living on a schedule. Back in the good ole days we lived on a schedule and had respect for other people’s time. We no longer have that same respect, but COVID-19 has brought many people back to a simpler time. What is happening around us is forcing many people to interact as a family, which can be good or bad. This is all about perspective because I have enjoyed my time with my family.

Positive family interaction is not necessarily the case with everyone because I recently saw the news headlines about how the divorce rate in China went up significantly due to the quarantine. I read a joke about the suspension of sports and how on day two of life without sports, a man found a lady sitting on his couch which apparently was his wife. And he said that she seemed really nice! Obviously, this brings some chuckles, but the reality is many relationships are this very way. May I use this time for a commercial break to say how much I love my wife! In fact, I am going to give out the best advice of 2020 thus far.

If you are one of the people that find it hard to live with your spouse, I have the COVID-19 challenge for you and good news – it does not involve licking toilet seats! Nope…whether you are in a relationship that is barely surviving or one that is thriving, my challenge for you is to take this time and make a list of 25 things you appreciate about your significant other. If you have a thriving relationship, you will pick up more steam; and if you have a relationship that is barely surviving, you will be able to take this to a new level of satisfaction. If you take the time to make this list, you may actually find some emotions and feelings that you did not realize you had. We have been shocked by COVID-19, and life as we know it is forever changed. How will it impact your life?
By: D. A. Slinkard