Last summer I started taking my friend Carol’s Zumba class. I got hooked and became a regular. I’m very awkward at it but I love the cardio, fun music, routine, and camaraderie that the class provides — or now, I should say, provided. I haven’t been able to attend the class for several weeks in order to do my part in preventing the spread of COVID-19. I have missed it!

I was thrilled this week when Carol sent out emails with videos of her routines that I could follow from home. They aren’t done in a professional video studio with perfect sound and lighting, and the participants aren’t in matching outfits with lovely smiles. Instead they are my friends, in their workout clothes, doing the routines that are familiar to me and that make me smile.  

As humans, we seek the familiar and the routine. Habitual behaviors in both humans and animals can induce relaxation to help us manage stress during these uncertain times. These patterns heighten our belief that we are in control of our situation even when we aren’t. At this time of constant change, help provide both structure and routine to your employees and colleagues by encouraging these behaviors:

• Get up and get dressed, just as you did before.

• If you typically had an in-person staff meeting on Mondays at 9am, continue with that day and time. Keep the agenda as similar as possible.

• If you had lunch with Alex most Tuesdays, continue this plan. Just do it virtually.

• If you previously listened to background music in the office, use the same soundtrack at home. You may never have liked it, but now is not the time to switch it up.

• Create as many routines as possible. Work the same hours, stop for lunch at the same time, and end your work day as you always have.

Please let me know what routines you have established. What’s working?