Alternating POV and unmatched timelines...

[Marcia]

For the last 8 chapters I've alternated between 2 MC's POV. It was easy, they were in the same place for a 24 hour time period. Now they're separated. She's living her life, he's dealing with his. HOWEVER... their activity isn't happening at the same time or even in the same month any more. There are a few instances where the activity for one MC is short and the fallout happens later but while we wait, the other MC has a problem. (why did I want 2 MC POV's?)

Logic tells me to follow the POV based on the timeline and use breaks in the chapter to switch between POVs. OCD tells me chapter 7 was all about him, Chapter 8 has to be all about her. Even if all she did was change diapers and make dinner for 3 weeks, OCD wants me to give you all the recipes up to 2500 words.

Which one is right?

Did I mention this is typically the part where I walk away confused and irritated then start the beginning of a whole new book? UGH!

[Beata]

Hi Marcia!
I love your questions! :)
There are actually 3 options that I see in genre fiction, in romance specifically:
1. Shorter chapters with single POV (you do not need to meet Coursera guidelines with every chapter)
2. The timelines do not need to match up until they meet again: it's okay if one protagonist has a packed 3 months, while the other has a single-scene chapter somewhere in the middle of the timeline. As long as their paths do not cross, there's no continuity error).
3. Forget one character, follow the one with a more interesting story arc, and when we catch up to the other protagonist, a quick summary (that could even include a brief flashback to the period we skipped) brings us back to the same place.

I hope this helps.

[Andres, Thaumaturge]

As a reader I want to read your POV's in a timeline. If one character is going to be forgotten for a while just end the chapter in a way that allows the reader to know nothing special is happening. For example, the character has a scene that ends with them getting in a car or airplane going to their next destination. Several chapters go by and we come back to the character in their destination.

Another example would be that a character was imprisoned. When we return to that character we open the scene with something like them asking their jailor, "How long have I been in this pit?" The jailor responds, "Pipe down. It's only been two weeks. Your pit hasn't even filled with urine yet." Right, a simple throwback for your reader to see, oh, this character has been doing not much for two weeks.

If it still bothers your OCD, write a 400 word chapter. Character 'A' went through the day to day routine still wondering about character 'B'. Colors seemed to dull once again as he continued to wonder tonight, just like every night, what character 'B' was doing and if she was happy.

Now your reader will have touched base with your 2nd POV. Okay, they are still there, they are not doing much and boom back into main story.

In the end there is no "Right" way to do this. Only the way that you wish to tell the story. If your readers love your story, the way you chose to write it was the "Right" way.