Creating Sustainable Daily Routines During COVID-19

During the unprecedented times that the COVID-19 pandemic has created, many of us may feel forced to make the following decision: do I use the “extra” time to be more productive than ever, attacking new projects or side hustles, or embrace the time as an opportunity to exhale, slow down, and “veg out” with those enjoyable but not-so-rewarding American pastimes, like binging new Netflix series or becoming a Tik Tok sensation? While either option may seem enticing, I believe that a healthy balance can be achieved, with the help of a daily calendar & work-flow that best fits your schedule & style. The following are some ideas & suggestions that have worked for me to strike the balance between *mostly* consistent productivity & quality personal time.

Transparency Disclaimer

To be fair and fully transparent, as a 27-year old bachelor, I probably have more flexibility than most. While still currently employed “full-time” as a collegiate strength & conditioning coach, I am able to work from home at my own pace, and don’t have any kids or pets to take care of (though I’m looking into the latter, because when’s a better time to raise a furry friend?) To those that are still reporting to work on a daily basis, and for the moms & dads taking care of a family at-home, the specific balance & time suggestions to follow may not apply as realistically, but my hope is that everyone can take some of the ideas and adapt them for their own routines.

Focus-Area #1: Set a Consistent Sleep AND Wake Schedule

As important as getting your proverbial 8+ hours of sleep per night is setting a consistent bed-time, and more importantly wake-time, according to Dr. Michael Breus, via the Finding Mastery podcast (find here). The human body likes routine, thanks in-part to our natural Circadian Rhythm, and responds especially well to waking up at the same time as consistently as possible. For me, my current sleep schedule is typically 11pm to 7am, for the simple idea of aligning my wakeup with the natural light that filters in from the sunrise.

Note: Dr. Matthew Walker also provides valuable insights on all things sleep during an earlier Finding Mastery podcast, and offers some differing views from Dr. Breus; to hear his episode & findings, click here.

Focus-Area #2: Develop a Morning Routine

For me, this has become the most important part of my day, as well as the most enjoyable. For the past few years, I have begun to block out at least the first 60-minutes for myself, with minimal phone usage, and at least 20–30mins of personal reflection & reading. Currently, my morning routine, or “AMR” as my daily iCal reads, consists of the following -

• Quick phone check upon wake to clear notifications
• Hot shower (sometimes with brief, intentional breathing)
• Glass of ice water, paired with a strong, hot coffee
• Personal journal entry via the Clear Habit Journal (can find here)
• Reading from the “Daily Bread” app (bible passage/anecdote)
• Gratitude journal entry (find the one I use here)
• 10–20mins (or more) of a book, usually based on leadership or personal development, as I find them to help with feeling “centered” & more motivated to start the day

Please note that this routine, while regular for me now, has taken years to develop & evolve into a daily practice. Though consistent Monday-Friday, I don’t beat myself up about not completing on the weekends, depending on what I have going on.

Focus-Area #3: Prioritize and Tackle the “Big Project” Early

At the start of the quarantine, I put all the things I was more excited to do (personal reading, continuing education courses, etc) in the morning, and saved my true “work-related” items for the afternoons. However, I was finding that my productivity & eagerness to tackle the important things was not very consistent by the afternoon, so I now prioritize getting those things done early, usually right after my “AMR.” My goal is to dedicate approximately 60–120mins per day to those 1–2 major projects that I deem most important, or time-sensitive. There’s a gratification to be felt for chipping away at this earlier in the day, and also helps prevent any potential procrastination.

Focus-Area #4: Get Up and MOVE!

Even as a fitness professional, this has actually been one of the more challenging parts of the quarantine for myself. Once the luxury of a fully-equipped training facility was taken away from me, it took some time to adjust to training at home or around the neighborhood with minimal equipment. However, now more than ever, I think the “something > nothing” philosophy can & should apply. It has become well-documented that, aside from the inherent physical benefits, regular physical activity is also beneficial for our mental & emotional health, and has been shown in multiple studies to improve work-productivity throughout the day when completed in the morning. Currently I prefer to break up my day with a workout around noon, to avoid sitting & working for more than 3–4 hours at a time. Coach John Weston recently wrote about a detailed plan to staying consistent with your workouts, which can be found here.

Focus-Area #5: Take Time to UNPLUG!

The second-half of my day is currently composed of two things — personal development, mainly continuing education & professional (“networking”) phone calls, and personal time, consisting typically of a TV series, movie and/or video games. I aim to dedicate 2–3hrs per day to each of these areas, and take my evening “personal time” very seriously, trying to keep phone usage at a minimum. For others this may be reading, going for a walk or doing zoom calls with friends, but I prefer to hit the “off switch” & take full advantage of the endless stream of media that we have to choose from these days. I also make a concerted effort to still treat my weekends as such, keeping “work” to a minimum on Saturdays, and virtually nothing on Sundays, to stay fresh & motivated for Monday through Friday.

Summary

In closing, I think that we all can & should take advantage of the current COVID-19 shutdown to try to find a balance — which will be different for everybody — between pursuing exponential professional growth & embracing the wealth of time available for personal pursuits & pleasures. For the healthcare professionals on the frontline of this fight, and all other “essential” employees still reporting to work full-time, I certainly recognize that this time is likely not as advantageous or enjoyable, and thank you for your commitment, courage & contributions to our communities.

If you are interested in additional resources for habit development, I strongly recommend the work of James Clear. He produces free content via his website (here), and his 2018 book, Atomic Habits, was a very valuable read for me.

Author Info

Chris Hays is currently the Director of Basketball Performance for Coppin State University, located in Baltimore, MD. A Philly-suburb native, Chris enjoyed a basketball career as a student-athlete at Slippery Rock University, and made stops at George Washington, University of Louisville and the Los Angeles Dodgers before returning to the Northeast. When not working with his athletes or on the sideline of a game, Chris enjoys learning about leadership & personal growth, as well as traveling and craft beer.