Image by Jessie Chu from Pixabay

There’s a great English idiom, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It conveys a feeling that life goes on even as we all have to adjust to the inevitable surprises that come our way. But this time is very different, isn’t it? We all find ourselves facing a very new routine. And some of us are having a very difficult time making that adjustment because life is not the same.

Routine is defined as commonplace, typical, and without variation. I get up at 6:30 AM, shower, shave, and dress. I watch 30 minutes of morning news on the same television station which I have been watching since I was a teenager. I also have a cup of tea and a glass of orange juice and read the Boston Globe on a tablet. This is a big change from 10 years ago when I was reading the Boston Globe as a printed newspaper at the same time, doing the same things.

I leave for work before 8 AM, listening to the same radio station that I was listening to when I came home at 6 PM the night before. Arriving at work shortly after 8:35, I sit at my desk and turn on my laptop after turning on two lights, in a specific order. I open a drawer and pull out a granola bar and open my email after I have placed my cell phone on a charger in front of me. Within a few minutes, I will greet the nice woman who sits nearest me.

I will have another granola bar at 11 AM, drive off at 12:15 for any errands, drink another cup of tea when I return, take a walk at 2 PM, leave just before 5, and get home for dinner by 6 PM after first checking to see what’s in the mailbox. I pour myself a glass of wine, cook dinner, chat about the day with my wife, sit down to watch television no later than 7:30, and prepare for bed shortly after 10 PM. Twenty-five minutes later, after reading a book and adjusting bedcovers for two cats, I’m ready to sleep.

The next day, I will do it again.

Or, at least, that’s how it used to be.

Now, I get up later and my commute to work is an easy 12 steps to that half of my dinner table which has been taken over by my laptop workspace. I can’t run any errands at 12:15. My walk is in the woods behind my home, and my cats are tired of me taking over space which was theirs every day of their lives. And, now that gas is well under $2.00 a gallon, I have nowhere to drive to. I can now go several weeks between trips to the gas station. It’s like I’m a teenager again – gas is cheap, but I’m grounded!

I miss my old life, and my efforts to establish a new routine seem meager because I can’t go very far. There’s only just so much anyone can do in a 1600 square foot space.

I find excuses to go upstairs, or wander out to the birdfeeder. There are many days when there’s no mail. I’m actually beginning to miss junk mail, those annoying advertisements for window replacement services, or credit card solicitations. They served as a reminder of the ordinary.

Make no mistake – I’m very fortunate. I have a job, which means that I can still have some routine in my day. I still log into my laptop at 8:45 and check my email before anything else. I still have granola bars and tea, and I log out every day just before 5 PM.

For those who are unemployed but, like me, confined at home, the search for a meaningful routine must be very difficult. Having a daily routine forces you to have better time management skills. It gives a sense of balance to your life, a focus on priorities, and self-discipline. A daily routine reduces procrastination and builds self-confidence¹http://www.skilledatlife.com/18-reasons-why-a-daily-routine-is-so-important/.

What do you miss about your daily routine, and what are you doing to maintain one now?

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