Back to life

Being human is so hard. The last year and a half we have been at home languishing, wishing for things to get back to normal. Meanwhile we have gotten into a routine of working from home while balancing online school and everything else in our lives. Now borders are about to reopen within a few weeks, which means that more than likely all businesses will follow, gradually but surely. Exciting right? In addition schools are expected to reopen in September (once all goes well), which is great, but it means that the camps you would have usually sent the children to are still unable to open. Is it just me or does the prospect of returning to the 8 to 4 traffic filled commute while figuring out where the children will go also fill you with an overwhelming sense of dread and fatigue? I hope I’m not alone because that feeling has inspired this post. I do not think I’m ready to go back to the five day work week. I know the lifting of restrictions means we have progressed but before Covid hit, traffic was one of my biggest nightmares. The thought of going back to that, plus trying to create meaningful activities for my daughter to do over the July/August vacation, plus figuring out where she will be during that time PLUS having to get up early again is upsetting (sorry for the long sentence).

So what do we do about this feeling? I tend to give myself a little while to wallow because having to get back into another routine once again will take even more effort. We should of course be grateful to be at this point in the game; we have come a long way. People are getting vaccinated and I’m hopeful that by the end of the year most of the country will be. At the end of the day though it is difficult to keep making adjustments to your daily routine. We crave structure and this is why it is so difficult. Here are some tips though to get you through this adjustment:

1. Try to make as minimal adjustments to your routine as possible. Key word here is try. Everyone will know what they have to do going forward and what is best for them. Hopefully you do not have many changes to make, if any at all. But just try not to overdo it. You want the new routine to become easy to adopt so that you do not have to think too much to push through the days ahead.

2. Plan to falter a little bit. As I said, being human is so hard. You can create the ideal routine for you and your family adjusting for your reentry into office life. But just note that you need to give yourself time to get used to it again. You are going to be more tired every day because of the commute to and from work, you may forget to pack something for yourself or your children; things can go wrong especially in the first week. Forgive yourself for those mistakes – they are not a big deal, they are side effects of the adjustment. Before you know it, you will be a pro at the routine once again.

3. Get lots of rest. I always make reference to self-care being crucial because it just is. Rest is a major part of that. Do not overpack the new routine even though you think you may have to to keep up. Always factor in time to rest and recuperate because you will only end up wearing yourself out and that’s no fun and of no use. Getting back into the groove will take more effort and therefore you need to be well rested to deliver.

Getting back to life as we know it is exciting, but can definitely be exhausting. Hoping the tips above help you through the adjustment. We all have to work it out together, so take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. We can do this!

#PeritusSundays #Perituscanhelp #backtolife #backtoreality #motivation