Building a Routine

This past Friday, as part of our Chat with ME (Musical Empowerment) Series, we talked with our mentors about building a routine. It can be difficult to maintain a schedule when the days run together and motivation is low.

Try a couple of these ideas to get your routine on track!

1. How are you really spending your time? Make a pie chart and divide it according to how much time you are currently spending on different activities including school, social time, sleep, hobbies, etc.

See the example below for more ideas about what to include. Then, make another pie chart and divide the activities in the ideal way you want to be spending your time. Now compare the two charts. Where are you spending too much time that could be dedicated to something more productive or something that you really want to do? It helps to get a visual of your day and to envision the best-case scenario for how to spend your valuable time.

Try to include time for creative activities, social interaction (virtually!), and physical activity. Finally, be aware of how much time you’re looking at a screen and consuming news about COVID-19. In addition to social distancing, we need to be practicing “mental distancing” to maintain good mental health during this crisis.

2. Set goals – for real! It is one thing to make a mental list of what you’re going to do this week but you might forget it by Tuesday (or whatever day it is).

You’ll be much more effective in reaching your goal if you determine a few action steps and deadlines for how to really get it done. Start with goals for the week and then try goals for the month, quarantine time, or even the rest of the year. Just five minutes of sitting down and making a plan can go a long way.

3. Finally, it’s important to build your inspiration source. When you’re down or feel like giving up on a goal, what do you tell yourself to keep going? What do you need to do to recharge? Write that down as well. Be kind to yourself and remember that even with a detailed plan, we are living in strange times and life happens.

What matters most is that you do what you need to do to feel safe, healthy, happy and productive in a way that feels good to you. Share any other ideas for what has helped you build your routine in the comments!

Musical Empowerment Mentors, join us for the next Chat with ME on Friday, April 10th from 11:00-12:30 pm to discuss virtual teaching.