The Secret Benefit of Covid-19: The Gift of Time

Michelle Wolk, Springboard Enterprise Associate, shares her experiences with Covid-19 and how to take advantage of the gift of time.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

A few weeks ago, I stood in Springboard’s office — not knowing it would be my last physical day there — talking to Amy about how Covid-19 was affecting me as a student. Within that week, my spring break plans were cancelled, my university announced classes were moving online, and I headed home to New York to wait the virus out, not knowing how long it would be until I could return to DC.

33 days later, and I’m still home, the rest of my semester will be carried out online, and I’m fortunate enough to be able to continue interning for Springboard remotely. Growing up in a family of Friends superfans, every time there was a snow day, a meeting was cancelled, or I had a school break, my mom would quote Ross to say that I had been “given the gift of time.” Coming home now was no different. In fact, we have all been given the gift of time. Instead of commuting, travelling, and engaging in all of the other tasks that normally keep us busy, we can’t go anywhere at all. Here are 3 tips to make the most out of that time:

1. You know those things you have to do that you file away in the back of your head because you just don’t really want to do them and there’s always something more pressing or an excuse not to? Use this time to start checking those things off of your list. For me, I had been putting off studying for the LSAT for months because I had schoolwork, internship responsibilities, and a social life. The first morning I was home, I enrolled in a live online class and now spend about 20 hours a week on LSAT class and homework. I’ve already seen an 8 point increase in score, just from the last few three weeks of intensive studying. Spending this much time — although clearly beneficial — never would have been possible if I had still been living my same life in DC. Take advantage of this extra time to identify that thing you’ve been putting off, make an action plan, and get to it.
2. Plan your day. My parents aren’t just responsible for my Friends addiction, they’re also responsible for my incessant need to plan. In a new city, my sister once accused my mom of not properly planning because my mom hadn’t identified where we were going to eat all of our meals in advance. Trust me, this may be taking a bit too far. But still, it’s important to plan your days out in advance. Instead of waking up and seeing what you feel like doing that day, set an alarm, stick to a routine, and have a daily to-do list. At Springboard, the first thing I do when I sign into work for the day is update our daily priorities tracker with my 3 goals for the day. Laying it out like this holds me accountable to myself and to the team for accomplishing what I need to, and it allows me to manage my time.
3. Use your calendar. My friends all know that if it’s not in my calendar, I’m not showing up. This includes class, work, dinner plans, events, travel, and literally anything else. I live religiously by my calendar — even now, when I’m not “going” anywhere. Not only does it help you plan your day, but it helps you stick to a routine similar to the one you had before Covid-19 and similar to the one you’ll have afterwards. Pencil in events to keep track of your routine. On my calendar, I include blocks dedicated to the times when I know I’m going to do homework, hours scheduled off to go on a walk, and more. It’s easy to give in to the temptation of sleeping just a bit later, saying you’ll get that work done later, or deciding to stay in and watch TV instead of taking that walk. But if it’s in your calendar, you’ll be much more likely to stick to that schedule and you’ll be better off in the long run.

Remember, we can’t control everything — especially how long we have to live in quarantine — but we can control how we respond. As Olaf so eloquently put it in Frozen 2, “we’re calling this controlling what you can when things feel out of control.” You can control how you spend your time, so take advantage of this inadvertent gift, and let me know in the comments how you’re spending this extra time.

Michelle Wolk is a junior at the George Washington University and an Associate at Springboard Enterprises. Originally from Long Island, NY, she has loved living in Washington DC for these last three years, while studying Political Science and Law & Society. She is a member of George Washington’s University Honors Program and is looking forward to what comes next after graduation in December 2020.