White Point Beach Resort | An Autumn Cottage Weekend

*as I post this, I recognize our province could announce a second lockdown at any moment. That being said, there are skills and a renewing of the mind that has occured, that even if that has to happen, we are better equipped to handle what it means to create a rhythm inside the home.

March 2020 was a month none of us will forget.

For some, the worldwide pandemic was already at their door. For us in Nova Scotia, it was March when the reality provincial state of emergency was announced.

We changed everything in our lives in a matter of 24 hours.

A bit like being in a snow globe and having everything you knew being shaken and tipped upside down and then right side up again to only wonder how everything will fall into a new place. Or if it ever will stop spinning?

That has left some effects on us.

In our coming and going, we are still living in a state of unknown, of work and life colliding in the home and of many things being delayed or put off indefinitely.

This Autumn, one of my goals was to find some semblance of ‘weekdays’ and ‘weekends’ again.

Having a daughter go to grade primary was a marker for us as a family, and despite the pandemic, it has renewed many things in our lives. We hope she can remain in school l her whole primary year, but we embrace it for what it is for now.

Week Days

Morning routines are back. An alarm goes off, and it isn’t helpful to ignore it in the least.

Work hours are evident in some respects.

The school hours mean we are bound to drop-offs and pickups.

Weekends

time for the home DIY projects

the seasonal activities ‘pumpkin carving, fall walks’ etc.

Errands and household logistics.

Scheduling an event that is safe and within guidelines that provides an exhale.

Life still has been shaken like a snow globe.

Stores don’t open until 11 am.

Extra circular activities are limited and harder to get into

parties, celebrations and events are generally prohibited unless adequately managed.

Planning ahead is difficult.

Yet, somehow we are starting to feel our weekdays and weekends again. I hesitate to say it, but there it is.

We are finding our way back to a right-side-up world, even if the right side to us now was upside down to us before.

We adapt and start realizing the world will always keep spinning, but we can remain standing still amidst it all.

It's no secret that I carry my Bullet Journal close to get me through my days and ADORE sitting down to plan a fresh week.  But the truth is, I do it for the sanity.  For the ability to juggle my personal and professional life. 

Planning for a new week takes me from mid Friday to Sunday night.  If I am blessed to have an open stretch of time then it might only take me one day, but non the less, to have sanity I carve out the time despite how busy a weekend may be to plan the new week to come. 

How?

1. Schedule the dailys.

Chores, exercise, and hygiene/beauty regimen all get scheduled in without question.  A clean home, ability to move my body and take care of my physical/emotional self are high values for me.  I make them a priority.  

2. Ink in the meetings/events/appointments.

Being that I am the main care giver for my almost three year old and a writer for theatre, film & television, any event, work meeting, appointment and child care has to be planned ahead and chosen wisely.  I know my point of exausthion and do my best to make sure that I rarely hit it so that I can always be giving my daughter, colleagues friends and family the best and healthiest version of myself.  This also means that every week looks different from the next.  Scheduling can feel like a game of chess at times.

3. Empty inboxes & links saved.

I am a huge fan of starting the week with a fresh inbox, knowing that I have dealt with the weeks correspondence and along with that, any links that I have saved to be read, watched or looked into are carefully minimized and put in folders such as "Professional Development".

4. Update budget, groceries, meal plan, etc.

Being wise with our finances, and eating healthy whole foods are values of our little family.  This means we have to make a weekly effort to prepare for the week to come.  It is all to easy to buy cheap processed food and buy needlessly.  Taking the time to review our spending and financial goals once a week along with what recipes we want to make has helped us hugely in maintaining our financial and physical wellness. 

5. Pre set rooms, technology and laundry for Monday.

Nothing says it's a new week better than fresh sheets on the bed, laundry washed and folded and phones and laptops charged and cleaned.  (I have a habit of working while eating a snack or dinner and I ALWAYS end up with a dirty screen and keyboard by weeks end)

This may seem excessive to some, but for my personality, whom thrives on maintaining my inner and outer expectations, this routine not only ensures that I maintain my own contentment but also my follow through with that and those I commit to.  

Week Planning is the foundation of my personal and professional life.