Two weeks ago I took my wife to the emergency room. She’s better now, but that led to two and a half days in the hospital and five days (three working from home) to take care of her. I went to the office for a single day of work, and haven’t been back since. (She's fine now.)

This, combined with the background of potential war with Iran (remember that?) and impeachment (wait, wasn’t that the 90’s?) has left me with the feeling of being eased into the COVID-19 crisis. It feels more like the arrival of an unwanted relative than a life-altering and history-making event.

But it's both.

I do best with a routine. Not because I can’t handle change, but because I thrive on variety in all the wrong ways for all the wrong reasons. I’d love to eat in a different place every day, and given the chance I would. And I'd weigh 400 pounds. Or, I could work out in a different gym every morning, donate every paycheck to the exercise industry, and reinsure my knees and shoulder.

You get the picture.

So, I use routines to stay healthy and sane. Getting up each morning knowing what I should do keeps me (mostly) on track. Wake up. Check vitals. Meditate. Work out. Go to work. Work. Come home. Work on personal projects. Go to sleep. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Losing “go to work” has knocked me for a bit of a loop. It’s not that I love commuting, but the routine of driving to the ferry, unpacking my bike, riding to and from the boat and to the office, set the tone for the biggest part of my day.

I’ve amped up the routines this year and used them to lose a lot of weight. Now I need to find a new routine for the next four(?) six(?) eight(?) weeks. Get up. Check vitals. Meditate. Workout. Walk upstairs and get right to work. I’ve been eased into it over the past three weeks now, and it’s only now starting to take.

This could be the ultimate first world whine. A virus is killing thousands of people and Eric is whining about how it’s messed up his commute. It's privilege on parade. I get that. But writing this out is somehow cathartic. Obsessing over my daily routine helps me avoid thinking about the fatal pneumonia in the corner.

So, how're you doing? Any ideas? Problems? How's your family? Let me know in the comments.

---

Did you enjoy this post? Did you find it useful? Sign up for my newsletter. There's more content like this coming!

• daily
• pandemic