How To Regain Personal Structure During Quarantine

You don’t even need Wi-Fi…

Just like any extended period of isolation, a quarantine can warp our perception of time.

As days bleed into nights into mornings only to return to day, our structures of sanity slowly start to crumble.

During this time, I’ve started using the most basic of apps to keep myself positive, productive, and most importantly, sane.

It’s native to all smartphones, simple to use, and incredibly helpful when the concept of time starts to lose all meaning.

I’ll lift the veil of suspense and get right to it… it’s the Clock app!

How the Clock app repairs sanity

Structure is important in life.

It holds us accountable and gives us purpose. We, as humans, are wired to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. We feel happy when moving toward something and tend to go insane with nothing to look forward to.

Setting timeframes for your day-to-day tasks creates parameters, allowing you to succeed. The more structured your days can be, the more accomplished you’ll feel, kickstarting positive momentum.

Achieving goals creates cognitive consonance, in which we feel like we’re on our own side, working in line with what we value.

First step: move the Clock app to your Control Center

There are five clock subsets within the Clock app: World Clock, Alarm, Bedtime, Stopwatch, and Timer.

I only ever use two: Alarm and Timer.

The first step is to move your Clock subsets to your Control Center.

On iPhones, you can do this by heading to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls.

Tap the ‘+’ icon to add the desired app to your Control Center. This way, you can access your apps without having to unlock your smartphone. Simply swipe up or down from the very bottom or top of the screen (depending on your smartphone model) to access them.

Second: set your intentions

Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion”. You will naturally take as long at a particular task as you allot time for.

So if you put laundry on the to-do list, but don’t specify when you’re going to put your first load in, your dirty laundry will likely sit in its hamper atop the washing machine all day.

Set goals and timeframes that are reasonable. The point here is to keep your mind occupied without stressing yourself out.

Personally, my three mantras during quarantine have been:

• Sitting is the new smoking — I will not sit for more than twenty minutes at a time without standing up to stretch.
• Stay present — Only think about what is happening in each present moment. The future and the past are none of my business.
• Living is your new job — Treat each day like you would any other. Wake up at the same time as if you had something to do.

Third: use the Clock app to regain structure

Whatever your intentions/goals for the day, hold yourself accountable. Write down your goals and use your Clock app to set time perimeters.

For me, it goes something like this…

Anti-sitting (Timer):

As soon as my butt hits the surface of any seat, couch, or stool, I swipe up on my phone and set a timer for 20 minutes. After that, I clear my mind and focus on the task at hand, be it reading, writing, or watching Netflix.

Once I hear the soothing sound of my timer, I stand up immediately and raise my arms overhead.

Staying present (Timer):

I stay present on whatever I’m focusing on at that moment. This has helped me become much more organized and efficient with my time as well.

If I decide to read or stretch, for example, I set a timer for a certain amount of time and then lose myself in the activity. This allows me to fully immerse myself in what I’m doing, producing much higher quality results.

Setting a schedule (Alarm):

Irregular sleep is one of the fastest ways to throw your life out of balance. It’s easy to slide into a depressive slump when your life lacks purpose. Indoor lights and digital screens affect our brains unnaturally, causing us to stay up later than we would normally and subsequently wake up later. It doesn’t have to be the exact same time every day, but everyone has a sleep range that suits them best.

**My rule of thumb is to never sleep-in past 11 AM. If I do, I feel like I’ve wasted the day away and it makes me anxious.

Set an alarm for a time in the morning that is reasonable for you to wake up and stick to it, even if you have nothing to get up for. Waking up at a structured hour, in turn, takes care of your bedtime as well.

Fourth: rinse and repeat

Right now, being a contributing member of society means staying home and isolating. The honeymoon phase is over and any novelty once associated with an extended staycation has surely worn off.

Staying mentally healthy is of the utmost importance, and a close second behind the physical well-being of yourself and those you come into contact with.

Use your Clock app to set alarms and timers to structure your days and you’ll find that you will go to sleep at night feeling accomplished, happy, and settled.

I hope you’ve found this helpful, and if you have already moved your Clock app to the Control Center, I have done my job!