Humans thrive on predictable routines and each day of ours has certain patterns made up of the things that we do, like clockwork: grabbing that first cup of coffee, going outside to get the newspaper (am I the only person who still gets a newspaper?), walking the dog, putting the kids on the school bus, saying good morning to co-workers…These patterns create rhythms that help us mark the time of day so that we’re ready for “the next thing” and can marshal our energy, as needed. Right now, most if not all, of our patterns have been disturbed by the current COVID-19 event so we each need to find ways to establish new patterns and routines in our day to give us a framework for living.  And this is not a “nice to have” it’s a “gotta have”. 

One of the most critical events in our rhythm is finding a moment for ourselves during the day. Right now, we’re juggling so many things and we’re acclimating to new ways of working, and it’s creating stress in our bodies, even if it’s not overt. It’s important to find a way to release this stress, and the easiest way to do that is to be active in some way. It’s as simple as walking around the block or walking up and down the stairs in your house or apartment complex. If you just can’t do that, then at least take a moment to sit outside with a cup of coffee or close your eyes and – just be. Self-care is really important right now in this time of dislocation from our normal patterns. 

So, I urge us all to put a daily entry in our calendar to take that walk around the block or sit outside every day – without our phone – and just be. It’s enough and we all need it.