With so many people working from home or off work entirely due to the Coronavirus, you should, in theory, find yourself with more time on your hands than usual due to a lack of commute at the least (or, as in my case, a quicker commute because of the other people staying home). And I would urge you that, if you are working from home, you shouldn't work longer hours just because you're not commuting; avoid burnout and minimize stress by keeping a sane work/life balance. The reason we're all going through this is because of an illness, so it should be of utmost importance to keep our immune systems as healthy as possible, and stressing out does the opposite. So, while you're finding your new balance, or trying not to binge watch TV for all 24 hours in the day, this is a great time to form new, healthy habits.
There are several apps you can download to keep track of your habit forming activity (I'm a fan of having widgets on my phone so I use a simple tracker called Goal Tracker) and/or remind you to do the activity at a specific time. Of course, the app is only as good as your commitment to the habit and your discipline in doing it every day - don't expect any app to magically transform you. If you want to limit screen time and reliance on technology, or just want to have the goal staring you in the face, you could go with a simple whiteboard, calendar or even just a big sheet of paper. Make a grid for each day of the week and mark your day off when the habit has been completed for the day. If you miss a day for whatever reason, don't be discouraged. Just start up again the next day.
One other note, while it may be tempting to try to tackle several new habits because they all sound good, research shows that one habit at a time is much more successful. So start with the most important habit to you, and when you feel you have it down completely, you can always move on to another habit.
Here are some ideas of new habits to form during this time:
1. Stretch before you go to bed - This is something that is so good for us and relatively easy, and yet so few of us do it. Stretching regularly reduces soreness, fatigue, and even stress, and increases mobility and prevents injury.
2. Wash your face at night - Even if you don't have makeup to remove, washing your face is important because it helps prevent breakouts and relieves the pollution that attacks your skin all day.
3. Read for 15 minutes - Whether it's your favorite genre of fiction, or educational nonfiction, reading relieves stress and opens your mind to think about things you wouldn't otherwise consider. Plus, it'll give you interesting things to post about when you're tired of all the Coronavirus posts.
4. Limit your social media screen time - Social media is wired to keep you coming back, like a gambler who can't stop pulling the lever on a slot machine. It is taking up more of our time - and to our detriment. To take your life back, I recommend the following: (1) Remove the icons from your home screen - make it harder to get to so you have to be intentional about when you want to use it. (2) Disable notifications - you don't need to look every time someone hits "Like" or replies to a post you also commented on. (3) Use a screen-time limiting function on your phone to limit either the hours you're allowed to use it or the number of minutes you're allowed to use it. This is a technology issue so it needs a technology solution. Don't rely on your own self-discipline. These usually have some kind of override, so you can still access it if you want, but at least it serves as a good reminder that you're over your allotted time for the day and should wrap it up.
5. Get a full 8 hours of sleep - In the spirit of aiding our immune systems, a consistent good night's rest does wonders. This may mean setting a reminder for yourself to go to bed earlier, or if you don't need to get up at a certain time in the morning, cancel your alarm.
6. Cook healthy meals - This is a no-brainer but easier said than done. You may even want to just work on making healthy snacks - like carrot fries or sweet potato fries.
7. Write in a journal - Some say we should catalog our experiences of the pandemic for the historians of tomorrow. That's a nice idea, but I would also recommend writing for yourself to keep your sanity. I try to write at least these three things: one nice thing that happened today, one thing I could improve upon, and one thing I am grateful for. You'd be surprised how writing those things down changes your attitude about your day-to-day humdrum.
8. Exercise - strength training and cardio - If you're like me, or so many other humans, exercise habits ebb and flow. Any time is a great time to reinvigorate an exercise routine, and now is no exception. Instead of going to the gym, go for a walk or run outside, walk circles in your living room if you need to, do jumping jacks, or blow the dust off a workout DVD. For strength, basic hand weights are plenty sufficient to do some basic arm exercises, and you can do several an exercises on the floor with no equipment at all. For legs, you can do squats and lunges.
9. Practice an instrument - Are you ready to finally actually play that guitar you bought years ago? Or maybe you want to learn piano/keyboard but never found the time. Today is a great day to start! There are plenty of resources online to guide you through, and chances are if you ever intended to learn before, you probably have some kind of guide already. Music is not just good for the soul, it makes you that much more interesting, and helps with math and logic skills.
