Our lives are filled with habits. The way we wake up in the morning, which way we roll out of bed, how we prepare our coffee—our life is made up of routine after routine. The coronavirus threw the majority of those routines out the window when it forced us to stay inside and limit our social interactions. Although some of our routines look a bit different, that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to fulfill. In fact, there are some healthy habits you should maintain in self-isolation. From figuring out a different workout routine to following through with the limitations you put on drinking, keeping up with these habits will make your daily routine seem that much more normal.
Movement and Exercise Routine
Your body craves movement. Even if you didn’t have a workout routine before all of this started doesn’t mean movement wasn’t a part of your habits. Chances are, your day had way more walking involved than it does now—walking from your car to the office, walking to and from classes. We’ve lost out on a lot of our movement routines, and it’s important to get back into one. Soak up that Florida sunshine when you can, but stay socially distanced. Even just taking a short jaunt around the block will do.
Strive for Sustainable Nourishment
Again, this may not have been possible for you before or maybe you were all about clean eating, and now your favorite restaurants and clean-eating places have closed. Either way, our diets are probably taking quite a hit now too. Use this time at home to delve into sustainable and healthy eating habits. If you can cut out meat—cut it out. If you can make the switch from five processed meals a week to three—do it! Now is the time to make smart choices for our bodies.
Keep Up Cleaning Routines
Cleaning is a healthy habit all of us need to follow, especially when all of our time is spent at home. Don’t let your body and your mind sit in clutter—clean up the mess when it occurs; otherwise, you’ll stew in anxiety. A tidy home can affect whether or not you have a tidy mind, so sticking to your cleaning schedule is a definite healthy habit you should maintain in self-isolation.
Limit Unhealthy Habits
If you were limiting your alcohol intake before, continue to do so now. With the recent pandemic, alcohol sales have skyrocketed, and now more people are drinking at home. Don’t let this be you—just because you’re no longer getting behind the wheel after a night at the bar doesn’t mean alcohol doesn’t affect your body and your BAC. Instead, follow a regimen that stresses healthy habits and alcohol boundaries—making smart choices like these will help our bodies in the long run.
Connect and Deepen Relationships
Last, one of the most important habits and routines you should try to follow involves the relationships you have. If you’ve let the coronavirus be the reason that a toxic friendship has ended, so be it. But if you’ve let solid, healthy relationships with coworkers, friends, and family slip away, then it’s time to reconnect and deepen those relationships. Staying connected will help reduce stress, which is something all of us could use right now.
