How to Establish a New Routine Amidst Public Coronavirus (COVID-19) Changes

During uncertain times, one thing that we can do to help ourselves is create a routine. A lot of us are home from work, home from school, and typical routines are all kind of wobbly and up in the air.

Care For You Emotional Well-Being Through Routine

One of the things that I think it's very psychologically and emotionally satisfying is to take a look at our routine. As of now, it's changed! So, how do I create a new one? One way would be getting up at the same time that you would if you were going to work. This would include jumping in the shower, brushing your teeth, even getting dressed for the day. I don't think this is the time we want to just lay around in our pajamas. We need to feel like we're producing a result; that's actually a very psychologically and emotionally beneficial thing for us to do. The same is true for our kids. We want our kids to feel productive. A lot of them are doing e-Learning right now, and that's a whole new thing for a lot of schools. What parents can do is help their children stay on task to get things done. Creating that routine can help people feel safer; it's kind of an emotional safety net that says, “Hey, you know, I'm home today but I'm up and I'm producing a result!”

Routines for Self-Care

Parts of self-care routines can include the regular things and some extras such as:

• Brushing our teeth/getting ready for the day
• Making the bed
• Having breakfast and meals at normal times of the day
• Taking time out to watch a movie
• Read
• Pray
• Meditate
• Get some exercise

All of these things that perhaps we should be doing all the time, but it's probably more important now as we create not only a routine but a routine of self-care. I think we will do better emotionally in the long run if we manage that day-to-day uncertainty by establishing a new productive routine.

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For additional questions, reach out to a CHI Health Behavioral Health provider.