Why Making Plans Helps Manage Pandemic Stress

In this piece by Kate Morgan from the BBC, the act of planning is examined as a coping mechanism for our mental health and wellbeing, especially during this current time of stress. By scheduling future events, our brains must acknowledge that there actually will be a future. Additionally, as Wake Forest professor E.J. Masicampo notes, making a plan helps to reduced our cognitive load: all of the competing needs and tasks that take up space in our brains and contribute to our anxiety. And if you’re struggling to plan several months or even several weeks in advance, try just planning something for tomorrow.