For a great number of people, our lives have changed dramatically with the Covid-19 lockdown. Some of us are still adjusting, waking up later than before, playing Roulette 77 online during working hours, or just having a different rhythm than we are used to. However, having a routine in place can make us feel less stressed and overwhelmed in situations like these.
The benefits of having a routine
We can feel quite strange when we lose the usual boundaries of our daily lives. We don’t have the ‘separators’ we normally would between work and our private life. As humans, we thrive on structure and routine.
How to create your new normal
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to establishing a routine. All of us have different priorities, needs, and wants. It is important to work with them instead of opposing then. The following tips may be handy in that situation.
- Achieve – Make sure that you have a list of things you need to achieve, whether it be housework, chores, or work.
- Connect – Make sure that you have a list of things that provide you with a sense of connection. This could be cooking with family members, playing online video games with one another, or video calling with friends and family.
- Enjoy – Make sure that you have time to enjoy yourself, whether it be watching movies, playing an instrument, or reading your favorite book.
Make sure to make sleepy a priority
It is important to get enough sleep, perhaps more important than it has ever been. Even though it is tempting to sleep as much as you want (especially now that you do not have a commute to and from work) this is not recommended. Even though sleep is beneficial, not getting enough or getting too much is harmful.
Staying active is crucial
We understand that it can be challenging to remain active if the gyms are closed or if you are unable to go into the park to exercise. However, you can really get a boost from the endorphins released during physical activity. This does not mean that you need to go for an intense workout, but it could just mean going for a walk, stretching, or doing yoga. Even some intense housework should be enough to get your endorphins going.
It is important to avoid being too sedentary. Do not sit in the same place for too long and make sure that you are active. Instead of calling in a single location, make sure that you move or walk around a little bit. This should make being active much easier.
Make sure that you eat and drink well
Especially now that many of us are not able to be as active as we would like or heading to the office, healthy eating is quite a challenge. However, being in lockdown does not mean that you should forget your healthy eating habits. Some people are simply grabbing some snacks out of boredom. If you are someone like that, it is best to start limiting yourself and only allowing limited qualities of certain treats on the weekend for example.
Make sure to think about others
If you have too much time on your hands and are unable to focus on work too long, it might be a good idea to spend some time helping your community. Offer to help people who are disadvantaged in some way or perhaps consider your elderly neighbours. Not only is this going to help others, but the feeling of empowering others is going to go a long way towards making you feel better as well.
Once you have your routine, it is important that you manage to take breaks from it occasionally. You should give yourself a few minutes to be mindful of everything going on around you, everything in your life that is changing so drastically. Even though a routine is crucial, this is going to go a long way towards remaining balanced.
