The Perfect Routine to Stay Sane, Productive and Healthy

Routines are a vital part of who I am because I believe in their many benefits.

Following a daily routine:

gives you structure,
benefits your mental health,
helps you get everything done,
frees your mind from having to think about what to do next.

Besides, please remember there’s always comfort in taking action.

That’s why I believe that building a routine that helps you stay productive and on track will help you ease your anxiety and avoid feeling painfully bored.

Also, remember that the Internet is still there for you and that you can use it to your advantage.

This routine includes:

stretching,
activities to improve and preserve your mental health,
body care,
nutrition,
checking in with your people,
productive activities/working on things you care about,
learning and reading,
home cleaning and disinfecting according to the recommendations of official organizations,
exercise to keep your body and mind healthy,
sleep and rest.

Yes, you can do all that in a day. I know it for sure because that’s what I do every day 🙂

The Perfect Daily Routine

1. Wake up early

No matter what “early” means to you.

Because the truth is, not all people can wake up at 5 a.m. every day and feel full of energy.

According to Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep and sleep scientist, some people are wired to wake up later than most.

This means that the whole population is divided into “morning larks” and “night owls”!

If you feel incapable of waking up before the sun and going to bed before midnight, you might be a night owl.

However, this doesn’t mean you won’t have a sleeping structure.

Set times to go to bed and to wake up that allow you to get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep and stick to it.

2. Wash your face

Washing your face will help you feel more awake and full of energy!

3. Stretch

Stretching:

increases your range of motion,
improves your flexibility, which can help prevent injuries,
increases the blood flow to your muscles,
helps calm your mind,
is fantastic to relieve stress!

Source: healthline.com

Stretching first thing in the morning will help you set the tone for the rest of your day.

Plus, taking into account all the amazing benefits it has, stretching becomes of utmost importance during times like these.

Look for “morning yoga” or “morning stretching” on YouTube, and you’ll find a lot of amazing videos for you to follow.

Here are a couple of ones I like:

4. Journal for 5-10 minutes

I’ve talked about the benefits of journaling many times throughout my posts because I love it!

Journaling:

gives you mental clarity,
helps you organize your thoughts and recognize thinking patterns,
helps you fight negative self-talk,
is an excellent self-reflection exercise,
is a very affordable kind of therapy,
enables you to vent and let all your worries out, which relieves stress and anxiety.

5. Eat a healthy breakfast

Forget about sugary pancakes and cereals.

I’m talking about a good and nutritional breakfast that includes:

a carb, like oats bread or tortillas,
high-quality proteins like scrambled eggs
and at least a piece of fruit.

Food is the fuel of your body.

Without high-quality food that gives you all the nutrients you need, you won’t be able to function correctly.

You’ll always need to give your body good food, but if you’re especially worried about your health during the pandemic, then you need to make nutrition a priority.

When you give your body everything it needs, it’ll be ready to fight diseases and infections.

6. Take a shower

Taking a shower will give you a sense of normalcy, and it’ll make you feel ready to seize the day.

Once you’ve taken it, put on lotion, comb your hair, and put on comfy but cute clothes.

If you want to feel better during this quarantine, you’ll need to stop wearing all day the same thing you wore to go to bed.

Wearing your pajamas all day will make you feel the urge to go to bed again.

7. Meditate for 5-10 minutes

Last month, I started meditating consistently every morning.

It wasn’t easy at first.

But since I’ve wanted to start this habit for so long and never could, I put in all the effort to make it through the whole month without missing a single day.

And I made it!

Now it feels natural to me, and I’ve already started to notice all the awesome benefits meditation has to offer.

If you’re new to it, follow a guided meditation on YouTube or download a meditation app like:

8. Check-in with your people

Message your family and closest friends to see if they’re doing all right.

During a pandemic, we all want to take care of our loved ones, right?

That’s great! But that doesn’t mean you need to spend all day long texting on WhatsApp.

Ask them how they’re doing, listen to what they have to say for 5-10 minutes, and then tell them you’re going to work on something and that you’ll talk later again.

9. Get to work

Depending on what you do for a living and on which stage of your personal development journey you are, you have three options of activities to focus on during quarantine:

Option A (Step 1): Fill out a page or two of the Self-Discovery Workbook, or do a life audit and find out what you like and what you don’t like about your life

This isn’t something you do every day.

It’s just a process that’ll help you understand what you like about your life and what needs improvement.

The Self-Discovery Workbook is the perfect tool for you to know who you are, what you want, what you like, what matters to you, and so much more.

On the other hand, a life audit lays a perfect foundation to discover new ideas for useful, helpful, productive, exciting new things you can do during COVID-19 quarantine.

If you’ve completed your life audit already, go to option B.

Option B (Step 2): Design your dream life and set the specific steps you need to follow to reach your biggest goals.

A goal without a plan is just a wish, right?

With this process, which is precisely what I do to keep my life in order, you’ll come up with a plan to reach your biggest dreams.

It can take you a day or two to complete this plan.

Once you’ve completed it, identify the things you can do from home and start there.

Option C (Step 3): Work on your side hustle or passion project.

Whether you’re still looking for an idea, touching up the last details, or promoting your online business, this is the time to work on something that makes you excited, gives you hope and, on top of that, makes money (or has the potential to do so).

To learn more about side hustles, check out the following resources:

Books:

The $100 Startup, by Chris Guillebeau
Side Hustle, by Chris Guillebeau

Websites:

10. Eat lunch

Same thing as before: your body needs nutrients!

11. Take a 1-hour break

Read a book, listen to a fun podcast, or take a nap.

Notice how I didn’t list “read the news” here?

That was on purpose because reading the news right now is not something you want to do on your break.

This is an hour for you to rest, relax, and recharge batteries to get back to work!

12. Get back to work

Work on whatever option you selected for one or two hours more.

During this time, you’ll also plan your next steps for tomorrow.

That way, you won’t spend time the next day wondering what you should be doing now.

13. Learn something new

Take an hour or two to learn something new and exciting, or to improve your skills.

You can make a list of topics you’d like to know more about and then browse Udemy (if you’re looking for entry-level information) or universities that offer online training.

The Internet offers a wide range of courses about almost any topic you can think of.

And you can find very affordable offers as well as high-end material.

When you’re watching your lessons, be present: take notes, focus on what you’re learning, and look for ways to implement your new knowledge.

14. Clean and disinfect your home

And leave it sparkly clean!

Wipe surfaces you frequently touch like light switches, keyboards, kitchen counters, etc.

For more information about how to clean and disinfect your home during the pandemic, check out Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Home | CDC.

Doing this daily will not only reduce the chances of you and your family getting sick.

It’ll also help ease your anxiety because you’ll know you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself.

15. Do yoga or pilates

Or you can also do an intense workout at home!

When we were living normal lives, I’d go to the gym before 7 a.m. and before 9 a.m. I was ready to sit down and work.

However, in these circumstances, I prefer to exercise once I’ve completed all my to-dos.

And since I’m exercising in the evenings, I prefer to go with something lighter like yoga or pilates.

There are many YouTube channels, websites, and apps that’ll teach you how to workout at home.

Check out these YouTube channels:

16. Eat a healthy, delicious dinner

Your. Body. Needs. Nutrients.

For me, cooking is relaxing and fun.

Especially when I’m trying out new recipes or when I’m cooking something I know I love!

So, check out healthy, simple and fun recipes on Pinterest and you’ll probably fall in love with cooking 🙂

Remember: your body needs high-quality nutrients to function and allow you to do everything you want to achieve.

17. Relax and read a good book

This is usually the time of the day I use to sit down and read a good book for at least 30 minutes.

It helps me unwind and get ready to sleep.

In case you’re looking for more good books that’ll help you grow and teach you valuable lessons, check out my favorite books here!

18. Go to bed

Leave electronics outside of the room or at least outside of your reach.

This will help you get high-quality sleep and let your brain and body rest.

Conclusion

Routines are a huge deal.

No matter if you’re conscious of it or no, we all have a routine.

If it’s waking up and watching TV while eating Doritos all day, that’s still a routine.

But one that won’t make you grow, have better ideas, be more successful.

Be mindful of what you do every day. What you do every day is what you’ll eventually become.

Follow this perfect quarantine routine and let me know if it worked for you!

If you change something about it, I’d love to know about that too.

Stay home, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay productive.

We’re in this together, and we’ll overcome this!