Prompts to Reflect on Your Time During the Pandemic

I’d like to invite you to spend a few minutes reflecting with me today.

You may recall some of my ongoing research is investigating our experiences of time during the pandemic. The reflections I’ve received from people, in formal data collection processes and through informal conversations, have been fascinating in both their recurring patterns and unique qualities.

Recently published, an article I wrote outlines some of the intriguing ways that people described their experiences of time during the pandemic.

What words would you use to describe time during the pandemic?

One question I’ve asked my research participants is what words they would use to describe their time. Before reading on, I invite you to reflect on how you would answer that question.

Perhaps time has felt slower or faster than before the pandemic? Many participants described their time in these ways.

Maybe you’ve had more time, or less time, because of changes in your personal or/and professional routines.

Since we’re talking about a two year period at this point, perhaps your time has gone through various phases. At times, meaningful and at others, meaningless. Sometimes frozen and other times fast. Maybe precious and pointless in turn. For many of my participants, these varying experiences often overlapped and blended into complex and sometimes disorienting temporal landscapes.

I find that untangling these landscapes can be useful in a number of ways, hence why I’m asking you to take some time on your own reflections.

Why Is It Useful to Reflect?

We can identify time habits we hadn’t recognized. These might be norms or routines we didn’t realize could shift. They could be the shoulds that used to take up our time and energy that, in being paused or disrupted, we could step back from and decide whether they were actually serving us. These time habits might be new rituals we’ve developed to cope healthily with the changes of the last two years.

We can bring awareness to and hold appreciation for experiences that made our time meaningful. That slowed down morning routine. The video calls with friends and family. The leisurely walks in nature. One key component of time awareness is being able to hold space and presence for the experiences that fulfil us and make our time matter.

We can decide how we want these insights to guide us moving forward. By reflecting on what we’ve experienced, we might also find that we’ve learned a thing or two about ourselves and what we value. We can use this awareness to make intentional choices about how we want to spend our time both now and in the future.

I find that untangling these landscapes can be useful in a number of ways, hence why I'm asking you to take some time on your own reflections.