Finally, a ray of hope could be seen amidst the chaos spread by COVID-19. As people are staying at home, some are jobless; some are trying their best to provide their children with learning opportunities; all are hoping to receive good news regarding COVID-19. Everyone wants to see things getting back to normal!
There is a little hope in the air which may lead us to think optimistically. In such times, setting up a routine is very important. It can help everyone regarding how to cope up with these uncertainties and how to accept whatever comes next in life.
Why Have a Regular Routine?
Humans tend to have a built-in need for dependability and steadiness. If a person follows a regular routine, then his body can work more efficiently.
It is definitely going to disturb you at first because not everybody has such a flexible time routine so that they could schedule their activities accordingly, especially a person with a job.
However, making such decisions can be distressing as well. Different kinds of questions pop up during such times, such as; should I go shopping or not? What time should I get up? Should I consider doing online jobs? Etc.
When you do not have any particular routine, hundreds of questions can arise in your mind in a day, and they will add up your anxiety level to the max. Making a routine pattern can help you to get over this stress, and following such a routine can make you more confident.
Other Benefits of Having a Regular Routine
Having a daily routine and following it regularly can increase the efficiency of your work as well. Let’s suppose if you are looking for a job online, but you are unable to give proper time to it. You will just sit on the computer for such a long time without doing much work, just wasting time here and there. But if you set up a routine, like spending 2 hours on any three days in a week can actually help a lot. It will save you time and will make you more productive. This can be applied to anything, such as college, work, cleaning, or even exercise routine.
Following a particular routine daily can also help you in getting better and peaceful sleep!
Who Needs a Regular Routine?
Everyone in your home should have their own routine, even children. COVID-19 has created a huge uproar in the lives of children by keeping them away from their schools, friends, and social interactions. Such chaos can definitely cause depression and anxiety among children.
The reality is that everyone is suffering on their own. All you can do is to make a flexible routine with the cooperation of your family, which can be performed by everyone.
How Do You Make a Regular Routine?
You can start by making a list of all the required things to get work done. You can list them on the basis of their urgency or priority. The crux is to make yourself busy but doesn’t forget to take care of your meals and other stuff.
If it is still hard for you to find something you can do, then you can break down one task into smaller steps.
Such as, if your job is to cook a meal for lunch, then you can add additional steps into your schedule as well, like going to the store to buy grocery, searching delicious recipes online, cutting the vegetables etc.
By doing this, you can actually prolong the timing of your schedule, which will keep you busy and productive.
You can incorporate the things which you used to do before in your schedule as well, just like having coffee at a certain time or taking some time out for personal care. You can do all those things which you used to do to feel normal and sane. It is completely alright!
You can even customize some areas in your house for special activities, which will instill a sense of stability within your schedule.
You can identify a special corner in your house and make it as pleasing as you can. You can perform a variety of activities there like working out. You can do the same for self-care, leisure, and other activities.
It is essential to have realistic goals which you can achieve easily. If you miss certain things, it will make you feel discouraged.
Best Apps for organizing better lifestyle
You can take help from some great apps which will help you in organizing your lifestyle. You can start right away by using such apps. Todist is quite a famous and free app used by over 20 million people. Habitica is another app for children, which is based on a game-like approach to make children more active and alert.
When Should a Regular Routine Go into Effect?
You can start by making a schedule for some days or for a week. There is nothing to be worried about if you went off your routine for a day or two. You can always start it over the very next day. The purpose is to make your life better and organized.
Establishing a Regular Routine during COVID-19
It is important to know the fact that things are going to be this way for a while now. So all you can do is formulating a new normal routine.” In such uncertain times, you need to make yourself well-adjusted under all the circumstances. To maintain productivity, health, emotional and social well-being, you need to design your schedule in a way that could be helpful in a long way.
Tips for making Regular routine
Here are some tips that you can use to keep your life settled and structured during these unprecedented times:
1. Keep Your Morning Routine
You should get up early in the morning and get dressed up, as usual, no matter if you are not going anywhere.
Maintain proper hygiene such as cleaning, brushing, shaving, and make-up etc. Nobody can see you, but you can see yourself. Under such stressful times, do your best to remain optimistic and normal. Once in a while, you can walk here and there in pajamas but don’t make it a daily habit!
2. Set Work Hours
Many people are working from home, and they are unable to figure out that how to manage their time and roles being at home.
Obviously, you have to look after your home as well. In that case, you can set work hours and home hours separately so that both works could be done on time. Such as, you can set a fixed time for cleaning home or cooking, which will be done within your home hours.
For checking emails and doing office work, you can set specific hours for such tasks. It will become easier for you to create a balance between these two works. Another way is to create a committed workspace within which you can perform all your work.
3. Helping Your Kids with School Work
Some people are working from home and side by side, helping their children with their school work as well. It has to be a tiring job. It is advisable for them to lower their expectations and don’t be hard on themselves.
Surely there is a lot to do, but staying realistic under such a situation will definitely going to help you!
You don’t need to recreate a school day for your children. All you can do is set school hours for them just like you did for yourself. You can help them with whatever they have during those times. You can seek the teacher’s advice in such a case as well. Don’t forget that everyone is trying their best.
4. Keep or Establish Healthy Habits
If you were a fitness and health freak before pandemic times, then keep going now as well! It is quite important to understand that keeping your body healthy is very crucial these days.
Make your immune system stronger than ever! If you were not keeping a healthy lifestyle even before pandemic times, then take some extra time out and make way for it!
Some of the healthy habits include:
- Having a balanced and nutritious diet
- Taking adequate amount of sleep
- Exercising regularly
- Outdoor activities
5. Be Informed, but Not Overloaded
It is necessary to be informed about all the changes taking place around us, especially related to virus and their reach ability.
But there is a difference between staying up to date and being overloaded with unnecessary information. Don’t binge-watch news that will make you nothing but anxious. You can set a time limit such as 15-20 minutes a day.
6. Stay Connected
Humans are called social animals, which mean they cannot live without any interaction. Even if we are unable to interact physically with others, but still we can try to stay connected socially with others.
In the times of the digital era, apps such as Zoom and Skype have made our lives much easier. If you don’t have an internet connection, you can still make a call with your phone with anyone and stay connected!
