Repetition has saved me during these strange, isolated weeks.
In a previous post, I shared some tips that helped me adjust to working from home as a freelancer, full-fucking-time. A way to create a continuity of normalcy when my world wasn’t normal anymore.
Sound familiar, friends?
Those tips helped me then, and they helped me recently with the stay-at-home order from our state governor.
Shout-out to all the governors, medical professionals, and other leaders who sprung to action before it was “necessary.”
But as the weeks dragged on, I needed to create a new sense of normal.
And I have done so with repetition to the point of redundancy.
I have watched The Office on repeat for over a month. More than that—I have not started a new show; I can’t bring myself to start over with something else right now.
I have a Quarantine Sweater that I make new outfits with every day. It is big and grey and boxy and perfect for a chilly, grey New England spring morning, like today’s.
I have listened and re-listed to Rob Bell’s Robcast episodes on grounding and navigating this pandemic together. I have not started a new podcast, nor have I listened to any other Robcast episodes.
I wear lipstick every day, too. (The bring pink complements the grey and I don’t know why, but it helps.)
I am taking tiny, little pieces of my day and re-doing them—every day. It’s given me something familiar, a sense of Ahhhh.
More than that, it protects me from new uncertainty. Will I like the new TV show? What if Rob’s other episodes are Meh? (They never are.)
I remove the little risks from my day, and replace them with consistency as best I can.
Mary's One Hundred 