Essential Guidelines to Stay Productive, Disciplined, and Healthy While You're Stuck at Home

Megan Beck is a certified athletic trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist, six-time Trifecta finisher, and SGX coach. She's offering a glimpse into her daily routine during confinement, as well as tips for maintaining (and even strengthening) your routine during the pandemic. For a complete guide on how to train, eat, and think like a Spartan — and become UNBREAKABLE — click here.

I am a creature of habit. Generally, my day starts at 5 a.m. I'm at my Spartan SGX class by 6 a.m., and I eat and shower quickly in order to make it to the office by 8 a.m. My last meeting generally ends at 5 p.m. My evening is spent eating dinner, relaxing with my loved ones, and then crawling into bed by 10 p.m. 

Rinse and repeat.

Suddenly, our lives have been upended and we are forced to live a life of uncertainty. Gyms are closed. Our coworkers are now only accessible via internet conference calls and emails. Our dogs want to play all day, and our loved ones at home are trying to find a balance between personal and professional responsibilities while coexisting in a small, confined space. We are no longer allowed to grab a drink with our friends or meet as a group for our weekly runs. All sense of consistency and order is lost for the indefinite future.

More Information: Your Guide to Staying Fit When You're Stuck at Home

For most, stay-at-home orders feel like a prison sentence. But being safe at home does not have to mean that your life gets put on hold. The key to maintaining order in life is scheduling. Your work hours should remain the same, as should your fitness hours. 

Follow these guidelines to maintain balance and order while you're home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pphP7L081TU

Scheduling Guidelines: How to Be Productive and Disciplined at Home

Set Goals

Have objectives specific to each day, each week, and potentially for each coming month.

Keep Your Daily Agenda As Similar to Normal As Possible

Wake up at the same time, work out at the same time, dress for the day’s normal agenda, and set boundaries for personal and professional obligations.

Prepare Your Meals in Advance

Set aside what you’re going to eat and plan out when you’re going to eat it. This will help prevent overeating, it will keep your nutritional quality high, and it will help to ration out your supply to prevent the necessity of going out. (Special Offer: Get $50 off your first two weeks of meals from Fresh Meal Plan. Click here to redeem the offer and use Spartan50 at checkout.)

Set Alarms and Reminders

This helps to set boundaries for everything you do. Alarms can tell you when to start work, when to stop work, when to drink water or when to eat a meal, when to go outside, and when to take a break.

Keep Lists to Stay on Track

Write out your goals, write down what needs to be done — and for when it needs to be done — track supplies, and set your schedules.

Plan Your Workouts 

Contact your SGX Coach for an at-home regimen, set your alarms for specific Spartan Unbreakable streaming workouts, and schedule virtual one-on-one (or small group training) sessions with your coach or trainer.

While scheduling is one of the most vital tasks you should do to help maintain your sanity and your sense of order during these current stay-at-home conditions, remember that it's OK to not be as productive as you normally are. We have all been suddenly thrust into a state of uncertainty. Nobody is expected to be able to maneuver life perfectly during a pandemic. Take this crisis one day at a time. Shift your mindset to maintenance: Maintain a healthy work-life balance, maintain a healthy mental practice, and maintain a healthy body. When you feel stable in your maintenance, then you can focus on making improvements.

Related Link: Tips to Stay Fit, Calm, and Mentally Clear During Containment

Life might be uncertain for the foreseeable future, but remember, life is not over. Through planning for consistency, you can plan for productivity. Set your schedule and stick with it as best you can, and communicate that schedule with your coworkers and loved ones to help keep you on track. While you are the only one who determines how you will navigate this stay-at-home period, we are all learning to adjust to this new normal. With proper scheduling and planning, we will all get through this together.

The Sample Schedule

Below is the sample schedule I've put together for myself. Of course every schedule will differ based on one's responsibilities and circumstances, but you can use this as a framework.