Establishing a routine during Covid 19

Tip one: Get a routine and stick to it

If your day-to-day way of life has suddenly shifted, you may have found yourself a little adrift. I know I did at the beginning of lockdown. I self-admittedly lost any sense of routine for a while.

I started getting up later and later. Some days I felt like not getting up at all. At other times I would simply watch TV and drink throughout the day. I had one friend who told me even her personal hygiene began to suffer, as "I'm on my own anyway, so why bother!" This is how I felt too.

But a sense of routine yokes us to sanity or, if that's too strong a word, at least to some kind of emotional balance.

Yes, we can grow bored of routine, just as a young street car racer may get bored of the brakes in their turbo-charged jalopy. But we desperately need them both.

Research has found that maintaining a regular sleep and waking routine can help our mental health.

Good sleep is vital for immune health, too. But on the flip side, a disruption to routine can cause emotional harm.

Get up at the same time each day. Have a list of stuff you need to do: water the plants, exercise, focus on your business (even if it's to plan ahead for the day the virus is spent), call relatives, keep a journal.

Now is not a time to be rudderless.

Having a routine maintains that all-important sense of control, one of your vital emotional needs. Plus, getting your need for a sense of control met appropriately negates the emotional impulse to buy up your nation's annual supply of toilet paper in one fell swoop.

And talking of your primal emotional needs...

Tip two: Keep connected and involved

No, I don't mean by checking on random social media missives from people you don't know about how we're all doomed!

Rather, you can stay connected by using remote face-to-face contact. Connect safely with elderly or vulnerable people in your community or family, give them attention remotely, and focus on helping them any way you can.

We all have a need to connect with the community and feel a part of something. Conversely, loneliness and feelings of isolation are not at all good for mental health.

Ironically, one ripple effect of this pandemic may be that people become more connected in real ways, actually talking to and seeing one another, albeit from a distance.

And when we're not focused on others, we need to help our bodies to help our minds.

Tip three: Keep active and connected to nature (if you can)

Inactivity raises blood sugar levels, to the extent that a mere two weeks of inactivity can hasten the onset of diabetes in seniors.[And on an emotional level, constant physical inactivity makes us feel sluggish, lethargic, and depressed.

Work some exercise into your routine . Sure, you may not be able to hang out at the gym for a while, but do what you can at home. Stay fit with a YouTube fitness class, or dig out that old yoga DVD.

Get outside in the light as much as you can, while of course managing all the precautions you need to right now. We need nature as well as activity to help us feel, calm, clear, and hopeful. So, if you can, get out to a local park and simply enjoy gazing up at the trees. Move your body as much as you can, and you will feel better mentally.

And remember that hidden, sometimes deeply, within every challenge is an opportunity.

Tip four: Use the extra time as a bonus

We can all waste time fiddling with our phones and faffing on Facebook (and I count myself among the masses who do this) but maybe, just maybe, if you are cooped up from corona, this is the time to start writing that book, practising that instrument, doing that online course, or reading the complete works of Charles Dickens (depending on how long all this will last!).

We might emerge from this more rounded and intelligent than we went into it. Worrying is easy when all we do is worry. But now might be a time to really engage in some deep learning and perfecting of skills.

Mind you, not worrying is easier said than done, and that may take some practice too.

Tip five: Keep (or get) mindful and calm

We only have the present moment. In a sense, everything else - the past, the future - exists only in our minds, because it is not actually happening now. For all intents and purposes, the future is simply imagery (and we can all scare ourselves with fantasy), and the past is also processed through our imaginative faculties. The only true reality is right here, right now. So immerse yourself in it.

Practise being mindful three times a day. Focus on your breath, right here and now. Breathe in deeply, then extend the outbreath and simply watch your breath calm your body. Notice the colours and shapes around you. List in your mind three objects you can see, three things you can hear, and three things you can feel (such as the sensation of the air on your skin or the movement of your diaphragm as you breathe deeply). Watch any thoughts float in and out of your consciousness, like clouds across a blue sky.

If you need any help or support in finding out how to be mindful, how to meditate, message me.

Carole x

Mindfulness and Meditation teacher, life and self care coach.