I thrive on structure and routine. Pre-COVID-19, a fair amount of the structure and routine in my life depended on external factors. School, spending time with friends, going to the gym. I still am doing those in some form, but the specifics of what they look like have changed radically. It’s been an adjustment, for sure.
Right now, more of my schedule is determined by me than ever before – I still have work at certain times, but everything else is when I feel like it.
Here’s the routine I’ve come up with for weekdays.
6:00 – wake up and get ready
6:30 – eat breakfast
7:00 – journal and water garden
7:30 – start working
12:00 – lunch
12:30 – back to work
4:00 – done working
4:30 – go on a walk (I often call my mom while I walk around my neighborhood)
5:30 – workout
6:30 – study math, eat dinner
8:00 – video calls with friends and family.
9:00 – get ready for bed
10:00 – lights out
On the weekends, I try and treat it a little bit more like a weekend – less structure, more time doing what I feel like. I’ll mow the lawn, clean my house, video call with friends, read, garden, watch TV and blog. I’ll still get up in the mornings and get dressed, but if I feel like sleeping in until 8 or 9, I will.
With all of this, I’m trying to hold myself to a routine and take steps towards my goals, while also giving myself some grace. There are some days when I intended to go running, but I’m just not feeling it, or days when I take a nap instead of studying math. I’m not being hard on myself about it – I know that this is a weird time for all of us, and the point of the routine is to help me find a new normal – not to make myself feel bad that I’m imperfect.
With working from home, I’ve found that taking short breaks for movement throughout the day helps me stay energized – I’ve started taking a short break here and there to do a little bit of exercise. To avoid sitting for so long, I’ve made a standing desk setup with a box on top of my desk, so my computer is at eye level when I’m standing up. I’m taking all my video calls and working on the computer while standing so I can still move around a fair amount.
I think that this will go on for quite some time, so I’m trying to build habits for myself that will make social distancing and working from home sustainable for me.