My Quarantine Routine

Remember how I talked about being a cool, relaxed mom a few weeks into quarantine HERE?  Well that ended quickly after some less than stellar grades came in for the boys…  You live and you learn.  What I also noticed was my anxiety started increasing over the most simple things and I couldn’t wrap my head around why.  Well for me, I need a routine.  I need a schedule.  It helps me to feel focused, centered and just good.  Its a little different than My Usual Morning Routine, but I find it important to share bc I’ve had so many conversations recently where friends are struggling to hold it together and I truly believe this routine has made SUCH a difference for me!

Wake Up Early…but not too early!

I’m usually one to wake up around 5-5:30 in normal life, but with quarantine, I’ve been setting my alarm for 7AM and 8AM.  Getting up between those hours helps me to get some quiet time before the day starts.  I start my day by opening the curtains, letting some light in and scraping my tongue.  Sounds gross, but you really need to get into it.  I’ll go out to the kitchen, make my coffee and enjoy the silence.  I have my coffee with some lemon water on the side while reading a chapter of a book (I shared a good list of recent reads HERE) followed by listing out 5 things I’m grateful for in Evernote.  Nobody is awake yet in my house at this point so the quiet alone time is such a great start to my day.  Once I’m done, I’ll unload the dishwasher from the night before, straighten up the house, feed Delaney and throw in a load of laundry.  I’ll also take a peek at my to-do list for the day and do any quick tasks (5min or less) that I can cross off my list before my day starts.  I can usually do all of this in an hour which is great bc at 9AM, everyone else starts rising.

The Day Begins…

The boys start waking up at 9AM and the have their own routine of showering, eating breakfast, making their beds and getting ready to start their school day so I will jump in the shower at this time as well.  I have seen a HUGE difference in myself when I shower, put on makeup and get dressed each day.  HUGE.  Now, I’m not throwing on some fancy outfit, but I’m also not staying in my PJs.  You can check out some of my cozy outfits HERE  While I get ready, I also listen to a podcast – I’m really loving NPR’s Up First for a quick 15min world update without any political jargon or trash talk.  Once I’m done getting ready, I make our bed, switch over any laundry I’ve put in and head on out to check on the boys.

One thing that’s helped them with their daily schoolwork is writing a to-do list.  They work off of Google Classroom and while its great, we’ve found that writing out what they need to do for each class on one sheet of paper helps them to not miss anything, they check each assignment off as they go and they can prioritize their day at the same time.  As they get started on their day, I wipe down everyone’s phones, make myself some breakfast (I’ve been eating a LOT of fruit) and take my vitamins.  Before I jump into my work for the day, I’ll take Delaney on a good 30min walk – weather permitting.  Getting outside is another HUGE thing in my routine.  At the beginning of quarantine, I was hitting 200 steps which is plain ol’ embarrassing, so I aim for 10,000 each day with a few walks.  The fresh air, sunshine and just moving my body has made a big impact in my mental health for sure!

Wrapping Up The Work Day

When I’m able to have a singular focus on my work, its amazing what you can do in an hour.  Now, not every hour is uninterrupted.  The boys have math questions that I am usually unable to help them with… even though I took AP Calculus in high school.  I must have lost all my math skills since then!  Anyways, I usually wrap my day up around 4:30 (not always) and then I’ll take a peek at that night’s dinner recipe to see if I need to start prepping anything.  We were eating dinner at like 8-9PM at the beginning of quarantine, but we’ve moved it up to 6-7PM to get back to our usual evenings.  While dinner is cooking, I’ll do a quick at-home workout (I’ve been loving Lauren Boggi’s IGTV workouts) or FaceTime with a family member.  I’ve been cooking a LOT throughout this time (you def should check out my meal plans if you need dinner help!) and I’ve really enjoyed us being able to eat as a family every night the boys are home.

Into the Night

After we’ve finished cleaning up for dinner, we’ll go on another walk with Delaney – again, weather permitting.  Before we settle down to watch a movie or whatever Netflix show we’re currently binging, I do my nighttime skincare routine – you can read about that HERE.  My skin has been doing AMAZING things during this time bc I’ve been so focused on taking care of it!  I’ve been working on my tan with my Vacay Drops which force me to moisturize my body everyday – something I don’t always do bc it takes time.  I’ve also been using this overnight exfoliating foot mask since I can’t get my usual pedicures and my feet look like a hot mess.  We’ve been going to bed by 11PM every night, except for one night last week that we just HAD to finish Outer Banks and were up til 1AM – I felt like I got hit by a bus the next day!  Before bed, I spray our bed with this nighttime linen spray that I got in a Sole Active Self-Care Box that a friend sent me and I put on my sleep mask too.  I’ve honestly been sleeping SO much better with this routine.

SO that’s it!  That’s how I’ve been doing life these days.  Its not perfect everyday, not even close, but I try again the next day.  I have been using Care/Of’s newest Routines app to help me make sure I’m hitting all of my tasks for the day.  It also does reflections to see where your mood and mindset are each day.  What I love about that is, it tracks what you complete and what you skip and your reflection answers and then makes connections on how skipped parts of your routines affect your mood.  This is NOT sponsored, I make nothing off of sharing this, I just really like the app and thought you might too.  I’ve shared Care/Of before because I take their vitamins and I do have a promo code for them HERE, but again, I make ZERO dollars, just a few rewards points if you do purchase them.

I hope you’ve found this post helpful and if you have found that having a Quarantine Routine helps your mental health, I’d love to hear yours!  Tag me on your insta @jillianrosado or tell me about it in the comments below!

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