I don’t know about you, but my brain wants me to believe that this is just an extended vacation.
An insane extended vacation.
But a vacation nonetheless. Surrounded by our favorite (hopefully) people, and pets – 24/7.
Almost feels like the holidays, where we stereotypically gather around, play family games, laugh, drink, stay up late, eat too much.
But this isnt a vacation. And this most definitely is not a holiday.
It is quite the opposite.
While my brain wants me to just let loose, because hello!!!!! As an introvert – being required to stay home, is like a dream come true.
No more guilt ridden feelings about cancelling social plans.
Nope. Not at all!
But this isnt a dream come true. Far from it. It’s like every apocalypse movie coming true.
Wait….I called a family meeting last month, discussing how we were going to prepare our family for an emergency.
Month 1 – collect water. P.s. we have been collecting water over 2 months. So we did not run out to the store to hoard it all.
And by Month 12 – we would be completely stocked and ready………..
We just hit month 2. So to say we are not prepared, is almost an understatement.
Anyways, not the point if what I wanted to discuss.
My brain says relax. My gut knows that to relax is to stress.
And frankly, I dont have time to stress. I dont like how stress makes me feel.
What is one way to avoid the added stress of feeling lost, confused, scared, not sure what to do next?
Having a routine.
Your routine may not be what it was like before 2020’s Great Social Distancing Experiment.
In fact, your routine will be completely different.
You may be thinking, “well, if my routine cant be the same, I am not gonna do anything.”
Valid thought.
But take a deep breath, step back for a moment, and ask yourself, is it beneficial to not have a routine? Weigh the pros and cons.
If routines do not work for you- then perfect! You just found your routine!
But in my household, I have 2 kiddos with super powers. 1 HAS to be on a routine 24/7. She has to be well prepared in advance of ANY major changes. And constantly reminded of what we call, The Agenda.
Otherwise, I am 1000000% positive, chaos would ensue. And Self-Distancing on The Compound – would be a pit of stress, anger, volatility.
Needless to say, we do routines. And that is why I think Routines are key to getting us thru this. With our insanity intact.
So what would a routine look like now?
For my girls, they are still going to do homework and have recess out in our yard, reading and art and quiet time.
Just with chores mixed in. And kitties. And puppies!
But what about us adults?
If you are working from home now, you are still working, so wake up like usual, get dressed, get your lunch box ready, and head to you work station…..just dont get in the car.
After work/school, try to stay as close as possible to your after work/school routine.
Normally go to the gym? Walk the property around your house, find objects around your house to lift. Little kids make good dumbbells. Water jugs, folding laundry, dancing around the house while sweeping.
Find something. Anything. And get that heart beating, blood flowing, and endorphins unlocked.
Worried about running out of food? Ration ration ration. I actually have zero experience about this, and am honestly freaking out, and I dont even know how to broach this with the girls.
But the biggest thing I have done in the past month, is to listen to my body, to hear when it is needing food or if I want to eat because of a feeling. And then I eat enough to just till I am satisfied not full. Most days I have 2 or 2.5 meals.
Listen to this podcast issue if you want more information on that strategy
Normally go out with friends? While it is highly recommended to NOT go out or travel….I mean, that’s what Social Distancing means…you can still call people (yes call, to hear another humans voice), text with others, say hi to your neighbor over the fence.
There are ways to be social. Start an internet game of tag where you send memes to eachother that are somehow related.
You are all unique. You are all creative. You will somehow find an alternative routine that is similar to your pre COVID19/Coronavirus social self distancing life.
But, I will be making one caveat to sticking to a comparable routine.
And that has to do with our dogs. Dogs are smart. And they know things. And they are feeling things too.
So when you talk to your kids if you have kids, also realize the pets are being affected as well. So include them in what you do.
If they are normally in a kennel during the day while you are at work, see if you can let them out for a little bit to hang out with you while you work.
Your routine is not going to be identical. This is when flexibility and adaptability are going to play major roles in our stress levels.
For instance, today, my VPN kept disconnecting, and bc we have 3 people at home working, I could only do half my job, which frustrated me because I dont like putting extra work on my coworkers.
P.s. after driving around town this evening, we finally found one of the last 150ft ethernet cables and the last 100ft cable in the area. Phew!
I realized I was getting frustrated, so I took a step back and took a deep breath. Thankfully, it was my lunch break anyways.
Point is, hiccups and glitches are going to happen. We have to ride the wave. While we want to believe our infrastructure is the best, when everyone is being sent home to work, internet service providers are probably being worked overtime, technology systems are suddenly getting this giant shock, something they are not used to.
And that is probably why 3 different transformers, that I know of, in our city blew in one night this weekend.
But there is one thing I am missing. At work, I had a sit and stand desk. And I love standing while working.
I dont have that option anymore.
So, I will have to think of other things. Maybe for a small walk around the yard on breaks and lunch. I am not sure yet what would be the best alternative, but it was an important part of my daily routine at work, so it is going to be an important part of my life during my Self-Distancing life.
What did your routine look like? What parts of your routine do you need to find alternatives to?
Start thinking about it now.
Oh and one more thing, the sooner we realize that nothing is going to be as easy as it used to be……the sooner we can get to planning and away from feeling lost and stressed and without a purpose.
Here is a picture of B’s eyeball bc why not?
Finding Anchors in the Storm 
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