Maintaining Mental Health in 2021

Well, we finally made it to the end of a rather unorthodox year, to say the least. I would normally say we should be focusing on the year to come, a celebratory metaphor of a clean slate, but let’s be honest, this year isn’t going anywhere any time soon. More specifically, social distancing isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The financial, emotional, and mental toll Covid-19 has played on myself, and everyone else this year is no stranger. But, going into 2021, let’s focus on the routines and key points that keep myself (and maybe you too) sane during these incredibly difficult times.

Magical Morning Routines

I’m sure everyone reading this has heard of, or even started to maintain a morning routine for themselves. The key to success in establishing a magical morning ritual is learning that not every single lovely thing you want to do in the mornings is sustainable in the long run. Loading yourself down with waking up hours earlier than you normally would, knocking out a workout, a 5k, getting all of the housework done, and writing a complete and thorough journal entry of every single important thought you hope to capture, just isn’t really maintainable when you’re just starting out. Instead, I like to compile a list of all of my wishful wants, and narrow them down to a couple of tasks I know without fail I will complete in the morning hours.

Personally, my mornings always start with taking care of the animals. This is a MUST, and provides me a good foundation to build the rest of my morning on. After everyone is fed, misted, walked, and watered, the next thing I look forward to is a cup of coffee and an email detox sesh. So long as I have these cornerstones in my morning routine, I feel inspired to build from there. Simple moments like these in my day compel me to stay on a productive and meaningful track, withholding any anxious thoughts at bay. Whether you’re working from home, not working at all, or online schooling, these steps are crucial to keeping a semblance of The Ordinary in your life, which is extremely beneficial in keeping yourself from falling into a rut.

Personal Hygiene

Well duh, this is a no brainer… Or is it?

For a lot of you reading this, maybe you’re unfamiliar with the suffocating grip of depression. Maybe you’ve only experienced fleeting grief, or momentary sadness. These feelings rob you of the ability to eat, get out of bed, or find the motivation to do anything you would normally do. Once the sadness has been processed, however, life returns to normal. A shower doesn’t seem daunting, brushing your teeth is another boring two minute ritual you must complete twice a day, skincare settles back into the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.

For those of us who have struggled with depression before, and may still be fighting harder than ever now amidst this socially distant world, this is rarely the case. Those suffocating feelings of Never Getting Better are hard to brush off, and choke the life out of seemingly ordinary tasks.

The key here is doing one hundred percent of what you can during these extreme low moments. Maybe a shower seems impossible, but keeping deodorant and baby wipes on hand can help wipe away yesterday’s Netflix binge session. Makeup remover wipes are another easy thing to keep on hand for when the usual process of cleansing, toning, spot treating, and moisturizing is just all too much. Change your clothes, even if it’s just your underwear, I promise you’ll feel the difference. If you have friends that will help you with these tasks, give them a call, or facetime, and go through your motions together. Set timers for yourself for brushing teeth, taking medication, and wiping away any makeup you may have found time to apply during the day. These tasks may seem arbitrary, or even pointless in certain mindsets, but they are crucial to your overall mental and physical health, and you deserve to feel better.

Make Manageable To-Do’s

Keeping in line with the guidelines for a morning routine, your daily tasks shouldn’t demand the very essence of your being on an everyday basis. Maybe you’re fond of a life admin day, which can be the time of reset and replenish that so greatly benefits everyone on a semi regular basis, but what about every other day? We can’t expect ourselves to crack knuckle and bust down every single to-do we write out every single day of the week, it’s unrealistic at best, and detrimental at worst.

If you have a set of extremely important tasks to complete at hand, list them out and intend to complete those first. Now I’m talking about the Must Do Or It’ll Be Bad tasks. Anything with an upcoming deadline, the overflowing basket of laundry, returning important phone calls, and the like. Once these tasks have been crossed off, then we can start to focus on smaller tasks, or ones with further out deadlines. If personal hygiene is the biggest to-do of the day, make it your day. A shower, freshly brushed hair and teeth, and skin that feels clean is the most important task you could possibly complete if you’ve been struggling lately. Then we can focus on the rest.

Something Enjoyable

Life is going to get boring pretty quick if all we’re focusing on is a list of to-do’s and to-don’t’s. Take your downtime to immerse yourself in your hobbies. Personally, with my new found time down from work, I’ve picked up crocheting and (obviously) writing again. These could be passions from when you were a child, new interests, or finally picking up that book you started eight months ago. Call a friend and work on your hobbies together over a FaceTime call.

If you’re more of the academic sort, there are plenty of online learning platforms such as Skillshare and Linkedin Learning (unsponsored) that offer academic opportunities for a small cost. Classes range from learning how to improve talking to people to calculus, and there is always something for someone.

Bring back movement into your life. This has been the key to me not losing my absolute mind from cabin fever in the past year. Youtube has all sorts of workout videos, yoga teachers, and even Tai Chi sequences that most can follow. Take time for your dogs and go to a park with them. Learn some parkour, pick up a hula hoop. Whatever it is, make it something that makes you sweat, but makes you happy.

Walking into 2021 Confident

Regardless of how you spent your time in 2020, and how you plan to spend it now, we have all adapted to a change unprecedented for many of us. Whether you were simply furloughed, found yourself ill, or even suffered a loss, you have come a full rotation around the sun so much stronger. Be confident that no matter what challenges 2021 may pose, you have a plethora of tactics to put to use in maintaining productivity, as well as mental clarity. I hope these tips and tricks prove useful in the coming months, and that you continue to grow to be the best version of yourself in 2021.