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For many of us, the pandemic has greatly altered our lives. Now that we are beginning to get our first glimmers of a post-pandemic life, it is a good time to begin thinking about what you’d like your life to look like after the pandemic. Without knowing exactly what a post-pandemic world will bring, we can’t fully anticipate every change, but we can examine our priorities and decide on what pandemic habits we want to keep and what we want to throw out. Start thinking about this now to prevent falling back into old, undesirable habits.
Take stock of your pre-pandemic life
It can seem like a big undertaking to overhaul your life and habits, so let’s break it down. Begin by taking stock of how your life looked pre-pandemic. What did you like about your life? What did you not like?
Take into account how your life has changed since the pandemic and what would be reasonable to expect of yourself moving forward. Examining our lives and habits can bring up unpleasant emotions, especially if you’ve experienced loss this year. Be gentle with yourself and take breaks to take care of your emotional needs.
Take a look at your pandemic life
Next take a look at what your life looks like now. What do you like? What do you not like? What have you implemented in your life since the pandemic that serves you? What isn’t serving you? Maybe you’ve picked up a new hobby that you want to ensure you have time for and fear falling into old time-wasting habits.
Once you have these lists compiled, take what you want and leave what you don’t. You can start this process by identifying activities you definitely want to eliminate or decrease time spent on, activities you want to continue to include in moderate amounts, and activities you want to prioritize.
Begin to implement changes
As you determine what changes you want to make, begin implementing the changes now. Small, sustainable changes often lend themselves well to long term change. As you feel more confident with small changes, you can add to them. By the time we’re into post-pandemic life, it will feel well established.
Hold yourself accountable
Finally, hold yourself accountable and stick to your changes. There are many strategies for this. Some ways to stay accountable might be including other people in your changes (think a workout buddy), scheduling activities in a planner or calendar, tracking your habits in a chart or spreadsheet, writing down goals in a visible place, or setting reminders on your phone.
If you’re looking at bigger life changes and feel that you could need extra support, you’re not alone. Many people seek out therapy to work through life changes. Most therapists continue to offer video sessions covered by insurance companies. Take the first step toward the life you want.
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