Enter the next chapter of social distancing, shelter in place, and for some us, unusual work-from-home hours. Some of us are fortunate to continue normal work without the restrictions of. Others are not so lucky. For the population who are not used to being at home, we co-exist with other family members and housemates in the same boat. It can be an unusual experience to see the inside of house more. For parents, interacting with kids to ensure they are getting their schoolwork done and entertaining them is a new set of tactics we may not be quite used to. Getting out of bed and commuting 20 meters to your couch to get straight to “work” can feel foreign as well. These new actions that we perform while we isolate ourselves from the outside environment can keep us stuck in a little fishbowl and slow our normal lives down.
Before shelter in place restrictions, separating home from our normal work labor seemed natural. Now, life has become unnatural. Traditions of being off of work combined with “work from home” daily habits can enter a detrimental crossover into becoming sedentary. Along with the society’s collective effort to stay indoors to support the master plan of decreasing the curve of Coronavirus cases, our motivation to be creative, remain physically active, and eat for improved health becomes significantly threatened. If we sit down and watch too many streaming episodes on Netflix, we can expect to visit the doctor sooner than we are thinking after shelter in places restrictions are lifted. We threaten increased blood pressure, introduce the likelihood of prediabetic conditions, and can become unnaturally overweight if we allow decreased physical activity to get out of hand
Fortunately, if we identify such issues before they become a problem, we can usually find a solution by preparing. Shedding light upon how important it is to plan your day before it begins offers our mind and soul stimulation to think about what can be done tomorrow. Additionally, if we have a written-out plan, perhaps we can have something to look forward to so that we don’t enter in the same groundhog day of working from home and looking at the inside of our house for hours. Here’s a brief example of how planning out health improving tactics set our days up for success:
6:00 AM: Wake up, drink a full glass of water, make some breakfast
6:30 AM: Take a shower, brush your teeth, style your hair like you’re getting ready for an important job interview.
7:00 AM: Take a 10-minute walk around the neighborhood. Wave to a few people and smile.
9:15 AM: Get a quick bodyweight exercise session in. Perhaps schedule a virtual personal training session with one of Napa’s local fitness professionals.
2:15 PM: Focus on an outdoor activity. Maybe some garden boxes need to be built, the front porch can use some TLC, or a new piece of furniture needs to be refinished.
3:30 PM: Take another walk. Wave and smile at more people.
5:00 PM: Start prepping dinner. With only take out options available and virtually not restaurants open, you have the perfect opportunity to put on your Iron Chef thinking hat and start making some healthy meals.
7:00 PM: TV free family night and another 5 minutes dedicated toward tomorrows list.
A written-out list only takes a few minutes to compile It doesn’t need to myopically focused and meticulously designed. However, by keying in on a few key things that we used to do during our pre-COVID-19 workdays, we can get back in touch with reality. Getting up and washing your face. Waving at people. Smiling. These are all things that are slowly deteriorating as we are stuck inside interacting with social media and streaming devices. We already have to stay in against our will. Society doesn’t need to add to the damage of a culture with decreased physical activity by contributing to habits that add more sedentary time to our required shelter in place. So, plan and aim to accomplish 80% of that plan. Remember, having something to do, something to love, and something to look forward to willing keep that motor running past this obstacle and many more after we conquer this one.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
