Last spring, all of our lives were upended with the arrival of COVID-19. This deadly global pandemic changed our lives forever and many people started working from home full time. While many embraced working on the couch in PJs next to their loving pup, it soon became clear why our employers have brick-and-mortar offices.
The daily morning shower became a mid-afternoon rinse off, or something pushed until the next day. Break time could now mean watching an episode of your favorite TV show or even a nap. With many childcare options closed and schools having virtual learning, many of us had to now work from home and care for our little ones. All of these demands meant that our productivity may have suffered and our routines went out the window.
Don’t get me wrong- most of us are just trying to survive until things start to normalize (if that is ever possible again)- and that is the most important goal. This is a judgement-free zone! But as this becomes more of a chronic living condition, for our own mental health, it is important to fight for our own well-being.
As I recently became a mom for the first time, one of the first lessons that I learned was that babies love schedules. My little girl thrives having a consistent schedule every day- we wake up, nap, eat, and have a bath at the same time. On the few days we have to change it- say for her doctor’s visits, she is noticeably cranky and it can ruin her whole day and make it difficult for her to sleep at night.
It should come as no surprise then that this doesn’t change when we become adults. Think about when you have stayed up super late at night, even if you sleep in, you feel groggy and tired all day. If you have to push back lunchtime, your stomach starts growling and you can become cranky. Many in the scientific community have already started looking at the mental health effects that a global pandemic is having on everyone, with particular attention to vulnerable populations (such as children, elderly, those with mental health disorders).
Many in the mental health community have recognized that having regular daily routines for essential tasks (hygiene, sleep, eating) can help us foster resiliency in the face of overwhelming stress (i.e. a global pandemic). The World Health Organization (WHO) felt this was an incredibly important topic and they even published guidelines for mental health. The WHO has followed people around the world in devastating and stressful situations for years, which helped inform their guidelines. Within their guidelines, an essential theme emerges of maintaining a regular daily routine (including daily chores and interactions with family/friends).
Routines can give us a sense of purpose and accomplishment. While rigid schedules can serve as potential sources of stress, daily goals with a general schedule can help us build that resiliency in the face of such stress. Do remember to be kind to yourself though! If you have had an amorphous, play-it-by-ear schedule for 9 months, don’t try to jump into a minute-by-minute scheduled day. Start by identifying what is essential, what is important, and what would improve your happiness each day. Put some big picture items on the agenda at times each day (such as starting each day with a shower, lunch at noon, bed at 10pm) and start your day off right by waking up at the same time each day. While it is incredibly tempting to sleep in until your first meeting, your body will thank you for keeping a regular morning start. You may disagree, but I also think if you are working from home, It is important to change out of your PJs for those Zoom meetings (or phone calls). Mentally, getting into our work “uniform” prepares our minds and bodies to enter a productive mode (although there is no judgement if your work clothes are now soft and cozy).
If you are lucky, then you have a dedicated office space to work. If however, you also live in a big city in a tiny apartment with your family with no additional childcare, you may find yourself wresting your baby on zoom while she is pounding on your laptop or scaling your shoulder. Do the best you can to establish a “work zone” and try to work with your partner/spouse/roommate to identify key times when you need to be completely focused on work, free from distraction.
All in all, give yourself and your family some grace and know we are all doing our best in these trying times. As a working mom, it’s easy to feel like the curtain has suddenly been unveiled on your domestic life while your baby is screaming with your colleagues listening and there is a great divide between those with little ones and those without. Let us all try to withhold judgement and hope for happier days in the new year!
For further reading, see some of these articles below:
Hou, W. K., Lai, F. T., Ben-Ezra, M., & Goodwin, R. (2020). Regularizing daily routines for mental health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Global Health, 10(2).
https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/covid-19
