How To Cope With the Monotony of Life

Posted on by E. L. Jayne

*BEEP* your alarm clocks goes off for the umpteenth time of quarantine. The past and present fade together as the days play an infinite loop.

In January I posted an article here called How To Love the Repetition of Life. Little did I know that quarantine and a global lockdown that would last for months was around the corner.

Looking back on my article, I realized I’ve learned a lot. I haven’t been my usual happy-go-lucky self who always finds the positive in everything. I’ve gone from one coping mechanism to the next trying to center my happiness.

One of these coping mechanisms I’ve always had is writing. With all my solitary free time, I’ve been writing poetry almost every night. Recently I wrote this:

Maybe the goal isn’t to learn how to love the monotony of life. Maybe it’s just realizing that everything could very well change tomorrow.

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My personal blog can be found here: http://www.poemsandprose.travel.blog

74 thoughts on “How To Cope With the Monotony of Life”

  1. Pingback: How To Cope With the Monotony of Life — Pointless Overthinking – Poems & Prose

  4. Nice, E.L. I agree with the feeling, perhaps we’ll yearn for the lack of drama in these moments. I think I’ll embrace my precious boredoms as I may, and thank you.

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    1. Yes, it’s easy to miss the moments of nonstop plans and activities, but I also remember I used to miss having nothing to do. It’s important to remember that too. Thank you for reading 🙂

      Reply

      1. Most definitely! I’m a mental health writer. I’ve also been journaling and writing poetry since I was 12 years old. I prefer real life to story telling. Thanks for asking!

      2. that’s awesome, I’ve also been writing for as long as I could remember, I also looked up to my older sister’s journals and as soon as I got my hands on one I went to work! Have a great week 🙂

    1. There is so much similarity between boredom and peace, yet so much contrasting them as well. I’ve really been trying to find the peace within my boredom, some days it’s not so easy. Thanks for reading 🙂 <3E

      Reply

  9. You posted “The past and present fade together as the days play an infinite loop.” You read my mind this morning as I was up and to the gym early. I want to say its a rut but I’d have to explain why it looks more like a trench… My family and I had a great trip planned this year and it was going to be a dramatic change in routine but a pandemic got in the way, maybe next year. Thanks for the post, you nailed it.

    Reply

    1. Hey karac, it seems like we’re in a very similar boat. I’ve been in a rut lately but it’s starting to feel like more of a trench to me too. Going to the gym definitely helps me manage it, but sometimes I don’t have the motivation to go. I had a big trip with my family too that just was canceled yesterday which was really disheartening and felt like another downfall to this week, let alone year. Thanks for reading, let’s try to finish strong 💪💪

      Reply

  11. Your poetry does really speak for itself. We all want to change our regular lives, but if that change does happen, will we be able to cope with it or will we just want those silent nights?

    Reply

    1. Thank you! It really fascinates me how much I yearn for change yet I know when it does happen, I’ll miss what I have now. I know it, but I can’t stop it from happening. Fun right?🤣

      Reply

  13. Nice message! Our world has full of challenges today and what we should focus on is that, Despite all the uncertainties and dim situations we are experiencing, There will always be another hope for tomorrow! ♥️

    I hope you could follow mysite too. Let’s support each other.😊

    Reply

    1. Hi cristine, yes that’s true, there’s always hope for tomorrow! Thanks for the reminder it’s good to hear every now and again 🙂 and yeah I’d love to but unfortunately it looks like your site is deleted? Maybe undo a renovation! <3E

      Reply

  14. When I was in my 20s, I wrote and published lots of poems. Writing poetry is really hard work, harder than writing prose. At that time in my life, I loved Charles Bukowski, my favorite writer of poetry. I know exactly how you’re feeling. When I first started working at home, it felt like a nice break. Now, I think we’ve all gone a little nuts. I’m lucky in that I’ve lived through revolutions (Egypt, 2011 and beyond) and such, so I’m used to things being very weird. We may not realize it right at the moment, but we’re all growing and expanding in all sorts of interesting ways. I can’t think of a better therapy that writing poetry. We’ll be looking forward to see more of your poems (if you’d like to post them).

    Reply

    1. Poetry is definitely therapeutic. Sometimes harder than writing prose but more rewarding when you finally figure out the perfect way to say something in only a few words. Is Charles Bukowski still your favorite poet? I like his work too but Fernando Pessoa from Portugal is my favorite. Definitely will be sharing more soon!

      Reply

      1. I haven’t read a lot of poetry recently, but, yes, Bukowski is probably still my dude. It’s partly because he had almost no formal education, lived a life of extraordinary hardship, carried his share of crosses (including a life-long addiction to the bottle), and yet, despite all that, he became a poet. He’s the sort one would least likely associate with poetry. He was hard, coarse, ugly, disturbed, but he wrote poetry that turned average folks onto poetry. He was the poet to ordinary folks. He befriended gamblers, renegades, prostitutes, the crazed, and he told their stories. Thoreau once said something like most people lead lives of quiet desperation. Bukowski knew that truism better than most. He turned that desperation into beautiful works of art and became world famous, a type of cult figure. When was the last time a poet became as famous as “Hank”? Plus, he was amazingly prolific in the last forty years of his life–believe it or not, he didn’t publish his first poem until he was 35. During that last period, he put out thousands of poems and published something like 50 or more big volumes of work.

  15. Even should nothing change immediately, this is not always good or bad. It just is. Some changes take time, a lot of time. Some changes require dedication to one or a few very specific habits every day.

    Since the end of Unus Annus, I have been re-evaluating my own habits. 2020 has been the most consistently difficult years of my life, but it has forced me to really look at my life.

    I made a commitment to myself on the final night of Unus Annus to write every day for one year. It might lead to something greater, or it may only lead to me having included one more thing I love into my life every single day. I don’t know. But I am excited to find out! 🤩✨

    Reply
  16. Pingback: How To Cope With the Monotony of Life – set it good
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  23. All your photos have great tones and vibes, makes me think about old days and nolstagic moments, keep up the good work, also visit my blog and like and comment on my posts, thank you so much.

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  24. Pingback: How To Cope With the Monotony of Life | THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON...
  28. Pingback: How To Cope With the Monotony of Life

  29. Will it sound bad if I say ..I am embracing monotomy…I am grateful for the downtime from the rush of a million things to do when there really are just a few important things that have to be done. I am cherishing this time, and though there has been a shitstorm many times over, I am finding joy.🤔😊..thank you for this beautiful blog. Have a few grapes from me 🍇🍇

    Reply

  30. Each new day brings with it change. And with that change comes opportunities. But, sometimes not the ones we were hoping for.

    I appreciate your poetry, and am thankful for the outlet it gives you for emotion. I am just as thankful that you choose to share these moments of inspiration and lucidity with us.

    Peace to you, and go well into your coming week. ♥

    Reply

    1. That’s very true, each day does have change in it, but sometimes it’s not the change we want. Thank you for reading and I hope you’re doing well in NZ <3 E

      Reply

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