When living in difficult circumstances, create a healthy routine.

This is the consistent recommendation, whether from Scott Kelly, the astronaut that lived at the International Space station for a year or my husband who spent the same amount of time wintering over in the inhospitable terrain of Antarctica.

With this pandemic, the world has been upended for us all. Developing a routine is a grounding and supportive way to meet this challenge. Establishing a daily structure not only provides self-care, balance and boundaries during this uncertain time, but can also be an antidote to all the highly contagious free-floating anxiety, worry and burn-out.

However, just because routine might be good for us doesn’t mean we necessarily feel motivated in this direction. How do we overcome our own resistance?

One small step at a time.

The discipline of taking right action in our lives even or especially when we don’t feel like it is a practice. Like mediation or yoga, it only requires small, regular, achievable goals to begin with. This then generates its own forward momentum.

“Discipline is the vehicle of joy”, was an apt quote brought to our Zoom discussions this week.

Keep it simple.

My routine begins with making the bed.