By Dr. Chrissy Whiting-Madison @joyfulgurly

The world is crazy right now.  Yesterday I went to get some groceries, and I saw a woman with a stroller that was completely and tightly wrapped with plastic wrap. I could’t help but approached the woman, because I thought her baby was going to suffocate. She proceeded to argue with me that the chance of suffocation was better than the virus. Mind blown, I continued my trek into the grocery store only to find what I assume was a human being completely encased in trash bags and duct tape…. 

Existing in a world like this has become the norm for so many of us. We are working from home in pajamas or laid off completely. We are homeschooling our children and learning to sew so that we can wear masks to the doctors’ appointments that have not been cancelled. How on earth, amid all this chaos, can we stay focused on anything, let alone our writing?

I would like to offer a few suggestions that I found helpful to keep myself on track.

1. Start your day with the Word (and coffee!).

Before I do anything else, including opening my laptop, I sit down at my kitchen table with my bible and some heavily vanilla creamered coffee. If I complete one reading plan, I dive into another one the very next day. For me, as well as all Christian writers I suspect that we all have a strong desire to write what God wants us too. This puts us in the right frame of mind, and spirit, to write the Lord’s words, designed with intention to reach others.

2. Structure, structure, structure.

It is so much easier to stay on track if you have a plan. Whatever you do, do not think for a second that you will remember this plan in your head! Write it down. Make a plan, a schedule and a checklist. There is something exceedingly motivating about crossing things off a list. 

3. Reward yourself for your accomplishments! 

If that reward requires a trip to your local store, I caution you—you never know what you are going to see. If you are easily entertained, this might be reward enough.  

Perhaps the most important recommendation I can make is to see this time as a gift. In our lifetimes, we have never had the opportunity to have so much spare time to be with our families or spend time in prayer and in the Word! See this time as a gift from God, and make sure that you use the time to do things that honor God.  Embrace this strange and unusual time to be a better you, and a better follower of Christ. 

Dr. Chrissy Whiting-Madison obtained her BA in Psychology from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, her MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from Langston University and her PhD in Rehabilitation & Research from the University of Arkansas. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rogers State University where she avidly researches positive psychology, happiness, humor and joy. Dr. Chrissy published her first book this past year, called Choosing Happiness. She has presented all over the United States, and is currently working on her second book, Even Happier.

When Dr. Chrissy is not teaching, reading or traveling, she loves scary movies and spending time with her friends and family. She is also a proud mom of one daughter and 6 cats.