Tips for the Best Daily Routine

How do you get into a new routine?

What is (was!) your normal routine? Waking up at 6am, a workout between 6.30 & 7.30, dropping the kids off to school at 8.30 before going to work at 9?

Whatever it used to be, let’s look at adapting it so you can keep some level of normality now things are up in the air. We're creatures of habit, so building a new routine will help you feel better during these crazy, uncertain times - it's all about controlling the things you can.

Obviously, if you're working from home a lot of your daily routine will be the same, just from a different location, and possibly with the complication of kids thrown into the mix - even more reason to try to maintain some normality.

So, each night, sit down and look back at what’s taken place during the day. From there, create yourself a daily schedule for the following day and cut each section down into bite-size blocks. For example:

• 7 - 8am: Wake up, get dressed and enjoy breakfast
• 8 - 9am: Work out in the house or go for a walk - you can even take the kids with you!
• 9 - 12 noon: Work / help kids with their school work / relax with a book and a cuppa then prepare your lunch - now you have time to experiment with new & healthier meals!

Keep going through each section of the day - if your kids are at home, include them in your new schedule, whether that's helping them with school work, enjoying a reading hour with them, or getting them to join in with the cooking.

Try to keep parts of your morning and evening routine the same, like getting up at the same time, cooking at similar times, and going to bed at the same time, especially if you've gone from working to not working due to the new situation. Set reminders on your phone, or alarm clock if you need to. Just taking these simple steps can make you feel more productive and, as a result, may improve your mental health.

Some things that are of paramount importance and should always be written into your daily schedule should be:

• Waking up at a reasonable time
• Getting dressed - sitting in your pyjamas all day can make you feel worse
• Eating three meals a day
• Keeping active once a day, either in the garden or locally (keeping at a safe distance from others) - read our blog for support getting active indoors and out.
• Going to bed at a reasonable time

What about my gym workout routine?

We've got a great selection of home workouts on our Places Locker app, which you can use to maintain your current gym and workout routine. The app is free to use and available to download from Google Play and the App store.