Why Create a Daily Routine, Especially Right Now

Okay, so generally speaking, before the Pandemic, almost every person was operating on a routine one way or the other. Many working mothers or professionals, for example, would wake up early in the morning, fix breakfast for themselves or their family. Get ready, maybe walk the dog, feed the cat, get her morning coffee, and head to work. In a nutshell, we all had a specific routine we followed. 

But things are different now. We are all forced to work from home, homeschooling kids, attending school virtually, and on top of this, we are having to squeeze cooking, cleaning, organizing, work, and maybe some time to relax, which seems so impossible right?

Our new reality is impacting many people mentally and socially, and for most people,  they are still expected to work at least 40 hours a week from home. So imagine the stress and pressure that you would have to deal with if you have a four-year-old jumping around you while trying to work. But wait it doesn’t stop here because now we need to also worry about teaching the kiddos. Being forced to stay home, and still have to perform at work the same way with the additional stress that comes with social distancing and homeschooling, starts to take a massive toll on many of us. 

Some of us cope better than others and have been living this lifestyle, and some others have been completely devastated, and it’s been super hard for them to navigate through this hard time. 

And while I had to spend countless hours trying to adjust to our new reality, I did my tasks based on priority bases or implementing the “putting out fires” strategy. It has not been the best option, but it made me buy myself time to juggle between piled up issues.  It became very stressful, deprived me of sleep, made me angry with everything, and quite frankly, it started impacting my relationship with my partner.

I knew I needed to create a new routine that can help me address what I know is important to address every day: so I listed all the hats I wear on a typical day prior to the Pandemic: 

1- a mother

2- a wife

3- a business owner  

4- a Youtube creator

5- a student 

 All of the above are things I normally attend on a daily basis. And it used to work because, I can do most of these things either at the studio or home, while my son is at school, and my husband is working. 

Now I listed the new tasks that were added and we have to address since the stay at home order: 

• Homeschooling
• Babysitting
• Frequent cleaning
• Frequent cooking

As you may see. New things are added in our lives and we still have to attend to them while we do our jobs and school work. 

So I decided to focus on building a routine that can help me get through the day without feeling overwhelmed, and also give you some guidance if you are struggling like me.  These are some simple tweaks or habits to help you cope with your known reality and hopefully—making this new daily routine a tool for you to stay ahead. 

Why Do You Need A Daily Routine?

The answer, in short, to be more productive without getting stressed or overwhelmed. To make you “eat the elephant one bite at a time”.  Did you know that almost all successful entrepreneurs, business owners, and very famous people, have always described their daily routine? I’m talking about people like Tim Ferris, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk.  These people have habits to make them even more successful. There is one great book I once read, called The Atomic Habits, and it taught me how to build and stack good habits on top of existing habits I normally do every day. It’s a really great book.

Having a daily routine, especially in this trying time can be of great value. 

I can help you with: 

1. Time Management

Time management is what I struggle with most when my “normal” daily routines have been changed. Right now, nothing feels normal and it’s hard to manage my time in a way that helps me stay as productive as I would like to be. By creating a daily schedule to follow, I have found I have a much easier time staying on task and managing my time to be sure I get everything I need to finish for the day. By blocking out time for specific tasks, I overall feel so much better because I don’t have to stress about how I am going to find time to finish everything I need to do. Since I don’t have any outside appointments or meetings I have to leave the house for, having a schedule for the day keeps me feeling accomplished and like I have something to stay motivated for throughout the day.

2. Self-discipline

While most people think of discipline as restraining action or limiting the ability to freely doing whatever you want at any given time, I think of it as the most powerful tool to set you free. Being disciplined actually sets you free, because you can stick to whatever you have to finish at a certain time on a certain day and that is it you move on to the next thing. It simplifies life, and I just decided that it actually has been the most impactful and powerful tool I have ever used. 

3. Productivity

When you are in the moment of doing the specific task that you created for yourself, it is important to stay focused so you can be as productive as you can be. It is easy to find myself wanting to sit down and watch tv and put off my productivity for the day. If I schedule time in my day to get all the important things done that I need to do first thing, it makes it much easier to be productive. Starting my day off on the right note really starts things on a positive note and helps me to stay motivated to accomplish more throughout the rest of the day. Getting a workout first thing in the morning along with my morning coffee is my go-to morning routine. After I get done with my workout, I sit down and I write out a list of things to get started on to accomplish for the day. 

4. Work/ Life Balance

Work/life balance is a tricky one, especially during this pandemic. It’s important to make sure that you aren’t spending too much time working where you miss out on life, while also not spending too much time on life that you have no time to get your daily work done. Being home during this time makes the work/life balance extremely difficult. I have found that a great way to find balance is to schedule out time in the day for only “work” and to follow that schedule strictly. Also, when it is not scheduled “work” time, I make sure to turn off my computer and live in the moment with my family.