These days for most of us, life includes a lot of isolation, social distancing and safe practices. We cannot forget to take care of our self and exercise good coping skills.

Tired of being at home, whether you are working, out of work or still in your regular job status? There are things you can do to keep the rhythm going and practice being productive. For someone like me, who is a type B, go with the flow, see what happens personality, it can get pretty slippery out there. It’s easy to feel like you just can’t get anything done, even though you KNOW your doing somethings…

So here is what I did to help myself feel and be more productive, therefore feeling more useful and content with my home life.

MAKE LISTS. – I created lists for my routines. I have a list of my morning routine, that includes brushing my teeth and putting clothes on. And I have a night time routine, which keeps me from leaving food out on the counter and makes sure all the doors are locked.

You can find printables for these lists here.

I started with just those two lists to help me start organizing my day, then I had all the time in between to get my other tasks finished. For me that looks like ordering groceries, doing laundry, checking in on my home business and walking the dog. And any other daily items that needed to be attended to. Then I realized that I have tasks that should be getting done every week, that really weren’t. Enter next list.

MAKE A WEEKLY TASK CHART. Here’s mine.

Depending on how large your family is, it will look different for every one. Since its only me and my husband right now, mine is pretty straight forward. It includes paying bills, filing paper, doing the ironing, making phone calls to friends and family (self-care), business checks and mailing thank you cards. These are the things that should be at least touched on each week to keep them under control.

ADD A BI-WEEKLY or MONTHLY CHART

There are definitely some tasks that I want to complete on a regular basis but if I don’t schedule them, I’ll probably forget. So on this list is where I keep clean the fridge, vacuum the furniture (I have dust allergies, they’re the WORST!), pick up prescriptions and wash the mattress cover.

Once I got the basics of the household essentials down, I needed something that was going to make me not feel like I’m drowning in housework. I put the focus on HOME PROJECTS and SELF-CARE. These lists were a bit more fun to make, especially since we are expecting our first baby boy in August! It is imperative to have some positivity in your life! So don’t skip these lists of goals and care!

CREATE A LIST OF SELF CARE. 1-2 activities, 30 mins to 2 hours, daily.

My SELF-CARE example list.

It is so important to take care of YOU! Becuase if you don’t do it, no one else will. These should be activities that you enjoy doing, that make you feel good about yourself and are relaxing. Therapeutic activities that can be very relaxing are repetitive and have some back and forth action. This can be coloring, taking a walk, doing a craft, cooking dinner or any number of things! Some other things I enjoy are listening to audiobooks, painting a picture or my nails, doing a face mask, working out, playing a game, and calling a friend. For me when my day is just feeling like a bummer it’s super helpful for me to have a list I can go to and just pick something instead of making my brain work. Other times I want to feel productive like I have accomplished a task. That’s when I look to my HOME PROJECTS LIST.

CREATE A LIST OF HOME PROJECTS.

My list is separated into organize and to-do. This is a great place to get those thoughts out of my head when they pop in and try to distract me. My current to-dos include replacing light bulbs, create a hobby space, and clean out freezer. So I can be thinking about these things, but not focused on them when the timing isn’t right. Some of my organizing places are the work bench, baby’s closet, guest closet, kitchen cabinets, laundry room and bathroom cabinets. These are all little projects that I need, or would like to have finished before the baby comes. And its so nice to cross those things off! When I cleaned off the work bench and organized the whole garage! AWESOME! And sometimes projects take me more than one sitting. That is OK. I’ve been listening to this great podcast called The Organize 365 Podcast. This is especially helpful when I want to get myself in the organizing MODE.

This is just one thing that I have incorporated into my life since the quarantine that has really helped me to stay positive, keep focused and gain momentum. I would love to hear some of your home projects and incorporations that have made your life better since the quarantine! Leave them in the comments below.