The days pass and the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are getting tougher. You stay home and your expenses are reduced to a minimum. And even though this seemed beneficial to you in the early days of your compulsory stay at home, it’s already getting tired. Your life has changed drastically. You quarrel with the rest of the “incarcerated,” with the younger ones constantly complaining about anything and everything, while the older ones, even if they do not complain, are usually in a bad mood and constantly worried. And even though you’re supposed to have more time, the day passes, work never ends, and you feel tired, frustrated and pessimistic. What’s the problem?

You have every right to feel this way, and none of us like to change their habits abruptly and even under the threat of a widespread illness. You have let go of whatever you like to do, the children with their own problems are constantly at home, now you are taking on the role of educator, plus you have your own job or worse you cannot work during this time and you have stress and fear for the future. How easy is it to feel good?

It’s not easy at all. But there are some things that can help you adapt to this situation more effectively.

One of them is the daily routine.

Create a daily routine for the children

Routine enhances our sense of security and stability, and this is what we all need, especially the children.

1. Arrange to have a schedule for sleeping, eating, playing in front of a screen, reading. It will help them understand that their lives are going on, that they are not on vacation and that they continue to learn, as they would at school.
2. Ask them to do some extra chores at home. Let them know that you need everyone’s help at this time. Assigning and performing tasks makes children feel competent and useful and reduces the feeling of boredom.
3. Properly organize their daily nutrition and exercise. There is no reason to eat more because they are bored and there are many free kids’ fitness programs on the internet.
4. Make a daily schedule with the children, let them decide on some things, and write down what you have agreed. This way you will be able to refer to the agreement whenever they do not want to follow the program. Reward yourself in a way that you have already decided for positive behavior.

Set your own daily routine.

1. It will help you organize your home life better and achieve your goals more easily. You will be able to set priorities and save time for yourself.

Make a plan of what you need to do each day and set timetables. Schedule your work hours, being at home does not mean working 24 hours a day. Calculate time for what you need to do but also for what you want to do, your exercise, your relaxation, your communication.

2. Share your plan with other members of your family and ask them to respect it. While working, you cannot deal with the needs of others at the same time. If these “others” are at an age where they can’t help themselves, adjust your work time to non-working hours (sleep or play) and ask other family members to share the responsibility. It is a difficult time for everyone, and everyone has an obligation to help, to endure it.
3. Determine the hours you will eat and work out and honor them. Exercise will relax you and make you feel more comfortable while at the same time relieving you of the stress of unnecessary weight or health problems. Proper nutrition significantly affects the immune system.
4. Schedule the hours you will all work together at home as a family, to talk, to play, to watch a movie, but also to spend hours even communicating online with friends and relatives after you ask them about their own program.

The daily routine helps you maintain the feeling that everything is going well and reduce stress and fatigue. It ensures that you get the important things done and that you have time for yourself. And don’t forget that as long as we are healthy things are going well.