The global status quo has been disrupted, local norms have been upended, and personal routines, habits, and goals have been unexpectedly shattered or understandably set aside as many of us struggle to understand and come to grips with our new, hopefully temporary reality.

For some, this pandemic has also become tragic due to the loss of a loved one, and the destruction of entire local and global industries.

For others, the tragedy has been less sharp but still stressful and impactful. We soak up bad news from around the globe and have trouble extricating ourselves from our information feeds, lest we miss some vital piece of information, or are left out of a collective moment of victory or mourning.

A great many people are struggling under the weight of financial stresses, health concerns, and both professional and personal uncertainties. Some of us have kids at the house all day, some of cope with crushing loneliness, and some of us must brave the pandemic-altered world to continue providing basic services for everyone else, from food delivery to medical screenings.

None of us are perfectly fine right now, and that’s okay.

This level of global upheaval, while not unprecedented, is incredibly unusual, and thus wildly disruptive to the normal state of things: an equilibrium that has its own flaws, but which was at least more knowable than what we face, now.

I’ve been doing my best to not make things worse (hunkering down here in Missouri, abiding by official advice on hand-washing, not touching my face, avoiding public spaces), and to help out where I can (doing grocery runs for my older/immunocompromised friends and family). But I’ve also decided to reframe things a bit to help me stay mentally engaged and psychologically healthy for the duration of the pandemic.

Alongside the work that I do for a living—writing, podcast production, publishing things—I’ve also bundled a collection of other efforts into what I’m thinking of as my “pandemic project,” in order to stay active and energized, while also, hopefully, coming out the other side better than I came in.

I want to approach this moment like a cocoon, not a prison. I want to be reminded of the opportunities inherent in unusual and even uncomfortable circumstances, rather than focusing entirely on the (great many) downsides.

To that end, I’ve made myself a syllabus, outlining what I want to accomplish in terms of the professional work that I do, but also for potential future projects, physical fitness-related efforts, mental health-related activities, and other random things that I think it would be neat or prudent to check out or invest in.

In practice, this syllabus is just a list of things, each of those things then broken into achievable pieces so that I have a near-continuous stream of attainable goals that I can disseminate throughout my day.

This is a concept that can be expanded to include other people, as well: your kids, your partner, your friends and family—the ones you’re in physical contact with, or those you’re staying in touch with, digitally.

Maybe it’s time to finally sit down and work on that book you’ve always wanted to write?

Maybe it’s time to learn how to use TikTok, or to play a video game all the way through, after years of watching your kids do so without fully understanding why they enjoy it so much?

Maybe it’s time to develop a meditation habit, or take up knitting, or learn to build a website, or practice your Spanish—perhaps with someone else who’s under lockdown and who’s keen to practice, as well?

You could use this time to play a co-educational game with a friend or family member, teaching them something you’re passionate about, and then having them teach you something they’re passionate about. This exercise, in addition to being mutually educational, can be a wonderful way to learn more about someone with whom you’re already familiar, because you’ll see what they think is worth teaching, and see the world from something approximating their perspective, for a while.

These projects needn’t be “productive” in the professional sense of the word. You could decide, for instance, to watch a whole season of a TV show, or work your way through the Criterion Collection, rather than picking up some Photoshop skills or practicing your piano scales.

The point is to give yourself goals that you can work to achieve, which allows you to reclaim some control over your day while also giving you something to focus on other than the near-constant stream of mostly bad news that we’re all inundated with, all day, every day, at the moment.

It’s good to be informed, but many of us are currently drinking from a fire hose instead of calmly sipping from a water fountain, and that can both add to our stress levels and distract us from all the other—far more productive—things we could be doing, instead.

Most of us have been disempowered by this pandemic in some way, and that can be scary, distracting, and draining.

Do your best to make it through this moment with humanity and integrity. Be safe, be kind, and treat your fellow human with even more respect than usual.

Consider concocting your own pandemic project, allowing yourself to dream big and get things done, while also forgiving yourself when you’re not feeling capable of doing much at all: that’s normal and okay, and successfully making it through those moments can be a part of your project, as well.