Lockdown Strategies: What Your Daily Routine Might Be Missing

Still on the topic of habits as we work our way through Lockdown. So important to have the right habits in place to support yourself through a time that has been — and still is — pretty challenging. Let’s have a look at your daily routine.

Everyone has a daily routine, whether they realize it or not. But if you have purposely created a new morning or nighttime routine, it may be missing a few key elements that could really make it work better for you.

More Free Time

When people set up their daily routines, they manage to fit a lot in short periods of time. This might include yoga in the morning, making your breakfast, running errands, making important phone calls, and writing in your journal. This is a great idea, but don’t forget your free time! You need a block of time every day that is dedicated to whatever you want.

Try to fit in what you can — 5 or 10 minutes is fine. Have a few minutes during every daily routine where nothing is required of you. You can choose what you want to do with that time, and it might change every day.

For example I tend to work in 90 min blocks and at the end of my 90 mins of focused work I walk round the garden, stretch play with the dogs or skype with a friend. And I have been known just to put my feet up and watch the birds on the bird feeder. So refreshing after a period of focus.

Creative or Learning Time

It is extremely common for people to forget about blocks of time where they are either learning something new, or doing something creative. But keeping to a block of time is important so that you can really give your creative or new task complete attention. You will benefit in the long run doing it this way. If you keep pushing on, even if you are enjoying it very much you will tend to suddenly run out of energy and then worry about the things you missed when you were so engrossed. It can be tough to pull yourself away at the allotted time — but definitely worth it for your learning and creativity in the long run.

And, by the way, learning new things and having creative blocks of time are really important for your happiness and mental health so to start with, see if you have time during one of your daily routines for learning something new. Maybe you want to learn to play a musical instrument, take an online class, or you want 20 minutes a day where you read a book that is teaching you something.

It is also good to have some creative time, whatever that might mean for you. It can be art, crafts, journalling, mixed media tinkering or whatever hobby you prefer.

Checking in with Yourself

Try to have some time in your daily routine where you are able to stop moving, be mindful, and check in with yourself. This can be during your free time, but can also be an additional few minutes you have scheduled in your day where you just get into a quiet space and reflect. This might be your daily meditation or mindfulness, yoga, or something else that allows you to just take some deep breaths and be in the moment.

There are a lot of online resources and apps for this. Try doing some research and finding some that fit for you. I use a simple timer for meditation and I drop into a Network of meditators who gather online twice a week for an hour of healing meditation lead by a very experienced teacher. It is blissful.

Enough Flexibility

If you are too rigid with your daily routines, they will never become habits you don’t have to think about. You need flexibility and an open mind, allowing yourself to change things as needed. No daily routine is perfect and going to have 100% of what you need to do every single day. Be open to changing, adjusting, and fitting in other things or skipping certain activities when you need to.

Join me anytime on Facebook at the group MakeBigImpactNow. This is a community of Changemakers and Grassroots Givers who are doing what they can to make a difference and change the world. They are sincerely engaged in Doing Good Better, starting with themselves!

I’m producing a ton of free content about making an impact, leaving a legacy, making a difference and opening up the most profound levels of self-care for turbulent times. https://www.facebook.com/groups/468677503774245/

I am also blogging and posting on my old website which I will be dusting off and breathing new life into over the next few weeks. Watch this space. www.elizabethmorrisonline.com