Sticking to the same schedule when it comes to eating, sleeping, and just about everything is very beneficial for our health and yet many of us do not have the time, or don't think / feel we have the time to focus on our own well being. Every day life is exhausting and we often stretch ourselves too thin! Now that I'm home from school I'm on a healthy schedule!
1. Go To Sleep and Wake Up At The Same Time
I feel like we all know it and just don't / can't do it, but going to bed and waking up around the same time is very beneficial to our health and well-being. I've used quarantine to try to get my sleep schedule back on track! I try to go to bed around 11 and wake up around 9 give or take an hour or two on each end. I've been doing this for about two weeks now and I feel astronomically better all around! My sleep schedule with school, work and commuting to college was seriously terrible and I'm so happy that now that I’m home from school I'm on A healthy schedule!
2. Eat Your Meals Around The Same Time Every Day
Something that I am very bad at doing is eating my meals at around the same time every day. With the schedule I have at school, it's really hard for me to eat, if at all (which is no excuse). Going forward I know I need to be better about that, so luckily quarantine has been helping me maintain an eating schedule. I try to eat breakfast within an hour or two of getting up, then I eat lunch about 3 hours later, then I eat a snack 2 hours after that, and then eat dinner 3-4 hours after that. This is totally an open ended schedule, and I don't stick to it down to the minute, but I definitely try to stay to a similar time frame every day. This has really helped me maintain a balance, and I've noticed I've even started to lose weight!
3. Make a Workout Schedule
I am a huge fan of schedules in general, but especially when it comes to working out. I am currently waiting for knee surgery, so my workout options are limited. This means that planning out my workouts is even more important! I like to go for a half hour walk on the days where the weather is nice enough to go outside. Then after my walk I will do ab or arm work. This means that I have to plan ahead and be mindful of the weather! When the weather isn't so nice then I will do a Youtube workout video, or some sort of workout routine I can find online to work up a sweat!
4. Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!
One of my worst habits is forgetting to drink water until I get home anywhere from 5pm to 10pm, which is horrifying... I have been using quarantine to get my water intake back on track, and the benefit to doing this now is I don't have to worry about needing to use the bathroom 500 times a day later on! When real life resumes - my bladder will be adjusted!
5. To Do Lists
I am a firm believer in to do lists; daily tasks, school reminders, bucket lists - whatever it is. I have made myself a few different to do lists to accomplish throughout quarantine including: school, deep clean, spring cleaning, arts and crafts/ DIY, misc., and writing ideas! This has helped me organize the very jumbled and chaotic thoughts in my mind and stay on top of everything! I personally can't stand keeping all my important information in my head, and much prefer making lists! Not only that, but making lists allows you to check things off as you go, which is so rewarding!
6. Scheduling in Down Time!
Whether it be actually pencilling it into your calendar, or just setting aside the afternoon or day, it is so important to relax and refresh! On my busier days I make sure to allot at least a half hour to watch YouTube, or eat my lunch outside with my dog. Adjusting to working from home can be really hard, so remembering to take breaks is so important!
7. Do The Things You Always Push Aside
For my family, this meant cleaning out our attic with 30+ years of junk! I am very organized and clean out my belongings every few months (thank you Marie Kondo). For me personally, this meant tackling more reading, and a few different organizational projects in my room! For my mom this meant cleaning out paperwork in their respective offices, and for my brother this meant finally tackling selling his old lacrosse gear. There's no excuses to not do it now!
If you're able to, definitely use this time to try to take care of yourself better! You deserve it!