As a coffee shop barista for 8 years, 8 hours on foot per day. This quarantine and isolation period has completely turned my world upside down. In the past couple of weeks, I have been going through states of mind. From acknowledging the fact of not having a job, worrying about the coming couple months of financing my family, seeking help from different resources. Till now, I start to enter the state of peace in mind and knowing what I can do every single day.
It is tempting to watch the data about Cover-19. The more you search for the news, the more you feel anxious. In the first three weeks, I have been actively exploring the data every single day, and it only grows the anxiety within me.
Till one day, I understand that I have been doing what it needs to do to protect my family and the community. Spending time worrying and watching the news will not help to make the situation better.
I started a new routine to get the most out of it.
A New Routine to Make Better Use of Your Time from This Quarantine Period
- Think about what matters most to you
Every day I start to take the time to think about what you really, genuinely care the most about, then invest your time in what you care. A lot of people wing their way through each day, not thinking about whether how they’re spending their time will produce meaningful results.
Start with meditating gratitude to get the most out of it. Ask yourself what matters the most to you. Question the elements of your life and work backward to your actions to figure out how you should act. - Do less. By listing the 1-3 main things, you must do per day.
What I have been found useful is that I drop down three things I must do the night before I sleep, I am surprised by how my subconscious mind is working on this in sleeping. On the next day, I focus to complete these 3 tasks.
When you do fewer things, you spread your time over less, and so you have much more of yourself to give to everything you do. I think one of the best ways to boost your focus, become a better person, and use your time better is to do less. - Multitask.
I have heard a lot about multitasking lower your productivity. That is because people choose the wrong tasks to do! Yes, you cannot multitask something that requires deep focus. But you can multitask some chores. Only that these chores should not be the subjects, you value the most. And one of the tasks does not require your focus on it. Simple tasks like making the coffee in the mid-morning while doing some quick clean in the kitchen. Listening to a podcast or watch an inspiring YouTube video while preparing meals.
Time Batching: Kill two birds with one stone. Combine different purposes at one single activity. One thing I found incredibly helpful is, do exercise with the family together. You motivate each other, strengthen your relationship, plus build up your body muscle at the same time. - Focus on high-leverage activities
You may have heard of the 80/20 rule, which says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. The higher leverage activity is, the more you’ll get out of from a small amount of energy.
Some people invest their time in watching the phone, watching the news all day long, which I did. That’s time you’ll never get back, and time you could have invested into a much higher leverage activity, like reading a book, exercising, writing, or meditating.
You invest your time in high-leverage activities so that you produce the most significant returns on your time. - Know how little time you have, and live accordingly
You really do not have that much time. Especially if you are a parent, you have one more thing to add up while fighting with distractions. You start the day 24 hours, but once you subtract all of the commitments from that, you do not have much left.
Instead of whining about not being able to complete your task, you always remind yourself how little time you have. You light a fire under yourself to make the most out of your time. You start to say “no” to commitments that don’t mean much to you. You bring more energy and drive to your work. You become more defensive of your free time and make the most of it. - Make time to relax.
Your fuel can’t last long if you keep stressing every day without rest. Don’t feel guilty about relaxing yourself. It is okay to play games or watch TV as long as you set a time for it. Set yourself some relaxation time from half an hour to two hours per day. Relax me a lot from daily stress built up.
How do you change your routine on this quarantine period? Share with us and comment below.
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