Modest Goals

During these ongoing times of home confinement, it can sometimes be a struggle to find things to do.

When the pandemic started, I, like others I know, set about an ambitious program of decluttering, emptying closets and drawers of things no longer wanted or needed, cleaning out the garage, etc. That ambition lasted a while, but then it became more difficult to find things that needed to be done, or that I was willing to tackle.

Now, four months into the shutdown, my daily goals are much more modest. I might, for example, decide that today I will dust and vacuum my bedroom. Nothing more. Or perhaps I will clean the kitchen or steam mop the floors in the kitchen and dining room. And rather than trying to force myself to declutter my office, I now have a daily goal of removing one thing. That's  it. Just one thing. I might throw something away, recycle it, file it away, or put it on a book shelf. Handling just one thing every day is definitely manageable, if not a major accomplishment.  And if I am so motivated, I will remove more than one thing.

My daily exercise goals have remained consistent: walking a minimum of 9,000 steps each day, but preferably 10,000 steps. Yesterday I walked 5.25 miles, or 13,000 steps. And I try to keep my dogs, who are creatures of habit, on their normal daily schedule.

I also try to put in at least a few minutes each day editing some of my photos, and learning new photo editing software. Since I can't travel due to the pandemic, reviewing and improving my photos from previous trips bring back great memories and bring a bit of joy to an otherwise boring existence. I continue to look for interesting things to photograph locally. Today, for example, I drove to Los Poblanos, an old dairy farm that now grows fields of lavender, sells a variety of lavender products, and has a boutique hotel and farm-to-fork restaurant. I had three reasons for this trip: to buy a birthday gift for a dear friend who loves lavender; to get out of the house for a few minutes; and to take some photographs.

I think all we can do during this ongoing confinement is find something enjoyable to do, or something productive, or something that helps us pass the time in some meaningful way. We are all under a great deal of stress, so let's not add to that stress by setting unreasonable goals for ourselves.

I have finally started to seriously work on learning a new photo editing program. After several false starts over the past year, I'm finally doing it. I work on the program a little bit every day, doing a half dozen or so lessons. This is a productive use of my time, and I feel good about finally getting to work on this.

Until we can resume our lives, please stay safe!