Tag: routines

How I’m getting through the COVID-19 crisis…

COVID

Who could have anticipated that our lives would look like this two months ago? Even as a physician, the empty streets as I drive to the clinic, the closed stores and restaurants, and most of all, closed schools, seem incomprehensible. How could this virus bring the entire world to a halt? It is a baffling, stressful, and for some, life-threatening time. While some people have found new meaning in staying home, protecting people they love, others who have lost livelihoods and family members have had reasonably increased anxiety and depression.

I feel fortunate in this crisis, as I’ve been lucky enough to have a profession that I can still practice during this time, and help support our family. I’m still in the hospital, as some part of my job has to be practiced in person- doing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)- but a fair amount can be done via telemedicine. Who thought telemedicine would be practiced on such a vast scale in just a month or two? However, even having safe employment doesn’t make me immune to stress and worry about the health of my family. How do we safely get essentials? Should I wear a cloth mask in public, despite some studies to the contrary? What happens if someone gets sick- how do we safely quarantine them in our house while protecting everyone else? How will this affect the feelings of safety and security of the smallest members of our household, when they have lost their classrooms, beloved teachers, and can’t go outside to play with their friends?

Routine and familiarity are so important for us all. So we have really worked to keep a routine for our family, and I’ve have leaned into my own routine. Routines in general are great ways to build productivity and wellness into our lives.

When I use a paper planner, I have a laminated bookmark with my daily, weekly, and monthly routines and tasks that keeps me on track. When electronic planning, I’ve added recurring tasks to Todoist (and Things 3-I’m trying out both to see which I like better). I have one for the morning, with subtasks:

  1. Drink water (I’m terrible at this normally)
  2. Meditate. I’m using the Daily Calm from the Calm app right now.
  3. Five minute journal- I use the template from Day One everyday, in it’s own dedicated “productivity journal.”
  4. Exercise- Hmm…not as good at this one yet.
  5. Review tasks and appointments for the day (Todoist/Things3 and Fantastical/Google Calendar).

I have an evening routine, which consists of something similar:

  1. Straighten up.
  2. Five minute PM journal and regular journal, again through Day One.
  3. Stretch or meditate.
  4. Read for 30 minutes.

If something really significant has occurred that day, personally or in the world, which frankly, these days, is more often then not, I use this short-cut on my iPhone to attach that day’s New York Times front page to my journal entry in Day One. I have this thought that some day, I will want to read back in this momentous time. My spouse’s family member’s account of taking care of patients in the Spanish Flu epidemic is still read today, and maybe this will be valuable for my descendants, too.

For our family, we have set up a home schooling area, and the kids have a specific schedule, with lots of fun time built in, too (playing in the yard, run-walking with me when I have time, impromptu brownie baking). They do school lessons in short bursts in the morning when they are most energetic and focused. We cleared a lot of clutter so there is not much distraction for them and we have dedicated spaces for their supplies. Also, I am working hard for us to be forgiving and kind to each other. This is a really baffling time for adults, and even more so for children. Fighting and tantrums are more common, and for the kids, too. 🙂 It’s hard to manage stress during this time, and I think extra care is needed to give partners and family members the benefit of the doubt.

We also keep up with friends and family far away, regularly, on a variety of apps, including Houseparty and Marco Polo. A regular coffee date with a friend online can really help your sense of isolation, and recognize, we really are all in this together.

What are you doing to soothe and stay calm during this time? Let me know below!

Review of “Daily Rituals: How Artists Work” by Mason Currey

Review of “Daily Rituals: How Artists Work” by Mason Currey

Half instruction manual, half voyeuristic thrill: it’s not very often that I describe books this way, but I think this is a good description of my experience of Mason Currey’s “Daily Rituals.” I read about this book on the Tim Ferris blog, and decided I needed to read it, partly because the book seemed like it might deal with one of the big issues for me in life- how do you have time for creativity and hobbies when you’re earning a living. This seemed like less of an issue prior to having children, but now I really struggle trying to make time for everything I think would help add meaning for life. Little did I know that this book came from the author’s own exploration of the same issues in his own life! The author is a free lance writer, and this book came from his blog.

Studies show that everyone has 24 hours in a day. Ok, just kidding. No one needs a study to remind them that every great mind, from Leonardo Da Vinci to Stephen Hawking had exactly the same amount of time in a day as you and I do. But somehow, they managed to prioritize the things that mattered to them, and achieve great things. How did they do it? I often have my patients make routines- willpower is limited- to help them ensure they take care of important things and priorities in their lives. It turns out lots of famous writers and artists did the same thing.

The book is broken into small chapters, each dedicated to a specific artist. The first, about W. H. Auden, one of my favorite poets, follows the same pattern as all the chapters that follow it- when they woke, what they ate, when they worked, how they lived. I was a little sad to read about Auden’s amphetamine dependence, but a surprising number of artists from this book used amphetamines- I guess it was more common during a certain time.

I think the lessons of this book, namely that there are as many routines as there are artists, and that consistency is important- keep writing! Keep trying!- were ultimately pretty encouraging for me. The other part of the book I liked, which I alluded to already, was the ability to see how someone I admire from the past lived, how their relationships worked, and a recipe for how to create a life of art. I think this book would be great for any artist, or frustrated artist, for inspiration and reassurance.

If I have any squabbles, there are few- the author needed an editor. There were more grammar errors than I expected. At one point, I thought the book was self-published, and was surprised to see that it was not. However, this is a little squabble, and I’m sure most people won’t even notice. The small errors don’t detract from the book at all.

Overall, I really recommend this book!