10 simple habits you should try in quarantine

Now that we’re stuck at home, habits and routines are key for maintaining our health, sanity and productivity. So, here are some really simple habits that have made me more productive, brought some clarity to my life and reduced my anxiety in quarantine. You can pick the best ones for you and create your own productive routine.

Wake up at the same time every day

If you feel groggy in the morning after sleeping 7-8 hours, there’s a good chance it’s because you don’t have a solid sleeping schedule.

By waking up at the same time every day your body adjusts your hormonal activities so that you feel tired at a certain hour in the evening and you wake up refreshed at a certain hour in the morning.

You don’t really need to wake up early, but you should wake up at a regular hour.

Write Morning Pages

I would say Morning Pages is one of the greatest habits for reducing anxiety and gaining clarity.

When you wake up, you simply write 3 pages long-hand. You write about anything and everything that comes into your mind, without stopping, without hesitating. Do this every morning for a week and you’ll be amazed.

Try meditation

Similar to Morning Pages, meditation has helped me ease my racing mind and reduce stress. Even if you have no experience in meditation, you can easily start with apps like Headspace, which offer guided meditation.

Do some yoga

I think it’s key to get your body moving early in the morning. I have found that yoga is one of the best ways to do it, as it combines physical exercise, breathing, and mindfulness. Moreover, if you’re like me and your mobility is close to zero, yoga is a great way to prevent any sports injuries.

I’ve been using the Skill Yoga app for my yoga sessions, and I can highly recommend it. You can redeem a free month of Skill Yoga by clicking this link (I will get a small commission if you do).

Take a cold shower

This is one of my favorite habits of all time. Yes, it will suck if you’ve never done cold showers before, but you’ll feel amazing afterward. Cold showers are probably the fastest and most efficient way to increase your alertness and mood – it only takes like 10 seconds.

No caffeine or other stimulants after 3pm

To ensure that I get quality sleep, I always aim to stop drinking coffee at 3pm.

Yes, I aim for it. But I rarely succeed.

Exercise

Regular exercise is a sure way to boost your mood and increase your energy.

I think the length of the exercise is not that important. I think the main point is to just do it every single day. It should become an automatic part of your day, something you execute without thinking twice.

“What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.”

― Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

Set an ”evening boundary”

Two hours before you go to bed stop all work-related tasks and only focus on easing your mind and preparing for bed. For me, this has been the most difficult habit to stick to. However, setting a boundary makes me more productive, because when I know I absolutely have to stop working at a certain time, I work harder to get all your work done before it.

Make chamomile tea

Chamomile tea is known to make you feel more relaxed, so it’s an awesome drink to have before bed. If you’re feeling wild, you can add a teaspoon of honey in your drink – that will help your body release melatonin.

Plan your tomorrow

And while you’re sipping your chamomile tea, what better is there to do than to plan your next day? A simple way to do it is to set 3 important tasks for tomorrow and then schedule your day around those tasks.

Read a (fiction) book

Finally, to ease yourself to sleep, you can try reading a book. I prefer fiction, as non-fiction books tend to fill my head with ideas, which will prevent me from falling asleep.

That’s it.

Also, I’m not saying that I’m able to stick to all of these habits every day, nor would I necessarily want to. But I sure do them often, because when I do stick to these habits, I feel more productive and happy in general.

Lastly, you should also track your habits. And I have a simple system for that too.