5-Step Routine for Quarantine
Most people I speak with these days are having a very difficult time adjusting to the current restrictions and staying indoors. Having a great routine to follow has really helped me keep my sanity and be able to perform. Ideally, you want to mix it up a bit but at the same time try to keep doing as many things as you used to do in a pre-quarantine era. What can you do in a typical day? Lot’s of things.
Step 1: Wake Up, Smell the Roses and Enjoy that View
Ok, so I love coffee. I have recently started reading a book about coffee while drinking coffee at my balcony. You might love tea or juice. Doesn’t matter. Wake up, make your favorite drink and go in your back yard or at the balcony. Doesn’t matter what the weather is. Take 5' and sit there, take a few deep breaths and a few sips of that coffee (em, I meant juice, tea, whatever..).
Step 2: Exercise Time
You guessed it.. Morning exercise will help you prepare for a full day ahead. You don’t need to work out for 2 hours. Even 15–30 minutes is a great start. Indoor training is quite effective and even if you don’t have any equipment available, you can do plenty of exercises using your body’s weight. If you need help getting started, a mobile app like Freeletics can get you started easily.
Step 3: Off to Work
And by off to work, this probably means off to your living room or any other room of your house which has now been allocated for this function. Having a large area to work from (like a large desk) can work wonders. Of course, if you’re a bit of tech freak, having multiple monitors (usually at least 1–2) can make a huge difference in working comfortably throughout the day. Having a standing desk can also help a lot and doesn’t need to be that expensive as you can find some with manually adjustable mechanisms at really good prices. Getting of your pyjamas can also help go into work-mode, especially if you have video conference calls scheduled. Even if that’s not the case, slipping into something else can make you be work-ready. In general, if you just keep your pyjamas and work from your bed or the couch, it can impact your productivity as you’re kind of in a relaxation mood instead of wanting to work. In general, using a desk and using an external keyboard and mouse in addition to monitors, is the best way to have a productive day.
Note: Take regular breaks, including lunch breaks, and try not to extend your working hours. Sometimes, when working from home, we tend to work more. Try to control that because if you keep having 12 hour days for prolonged periods of time you can easily end up burning out (which would be especially bad during a lockdown as your options for recovering from it are quite limited).
Step 4: Relaxation/Family Time
Time to do whatever makes you forget about work. Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I work in IT. For people working on a computer all day long, swapping your computer monitor for the TV is not relaxation. Try doing something totally irrelevant. Don’t use a monitor. Spending time with your family is a great option. If you don’t have one, you can cook, read a book, a magazine, grab a coffee (I warned you, I am a coffee junkie), play with your dog or whatever else. Anything you do should definitely be different than what you were doing when working.
Step 5: Cooking
I personally love cooking which is why I consider it an essential part of my routine. Having said that, my wife is actually cooking while I am writing this article but I have an inspirational moment and I want to take advantage of it and share my thoughts. Cooking soothes me. It makes me want to forget everything else and focus only on following a recipe, often one that I have never tried before. You can cook your dinner and even cook lunch and dinner for the next day, especially if you are expecting a full day ahead. It depends on how much you like cooking. Even if you don’t, try it out. You might be surprised. When I tried boiling eggs for the first time, I actually forgot to add water.. Yeah, that’s how i started. Now I do all kinds of crazy combinations.. I put cheese on everything. Feta cheese to be exact. Try crazy things.. We live in a crazy time. Eating fish with cheese can set you free.
Conclusion
Create your own routine, one that makes you happy. If you don’t like exercising in the morning, do it in the evening. It will help you perform better, even if you don’t realize it. Incorporate breaks in your routine. Take a moment to enjoy any view you can, or put a relaxing radio programme on and listen to that music. Remember, it’s the simple things that make a difference…
