My 2020 has, like most others’, been objectively horrific: all of the big life events that I’d been making my happiness contingent on (the last day of high school, prom, freshers) have effectively been cancelled. Instead, I have spent the best part of the year sitting in my bedroom, staring at the same four walls, feeling like I’m slowly going insane. It is during this stretch of time that I think a lot of people, including myself, have started to truly appreciate the importance of routine in the face of total chaos. 

At the beginning of Glasgow’s two-month quarantine, just as I left school, I revelled in the idea of not having a set routine for the first time in years. I could stay up late and sleep in with no consequences; I had nothing to revise for, no tasks to complete, even the thought of having no social obligations for a while was appealing. For once, it was normal to just stay inside all day and do nothing. However, once this turned from a fortnight into a month, then two, I felt as though I was drowning in this newfound sense of “freedom”. 

Through a lot (and I mean a lot) of trial-and-error, I’ve eventually come to the conclusion that, especially with studies today being so solitary and virtual, it’s necessary to have some semblance of a daily routine to put your mind at ease. In this vein, I’ve discovered a few steps to keep a little bit of sanity within the chaos that is university in the year 2020. 

Step one: Have a set morning routine

Nobody should be expected to get up at 6am and go for a run before their morning classes with everything else on their plate this year. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that there’s something inherently grounding about having a set morning routine. Personally, there’s nothing worse than rolling out of bed 5 minutes before a class and feeling indolent and disconnected all day. So, whether it’s getting up at the same time everyday to give you enough time to watch your current favourite show (I’m four seasons into a Gilmore Girls binge right now), or eating your cereal with your flatmates before your 11am, I’ve come to treasure my designated string of tasks I do between waking up and sitting down for my first seminar.

Step two: Have a to-do list

While not everyone may be as “Type A” as myself, to-do lists can still be a good way to keep on top of your goals and provide a sense of structure that can help differentiate the days as they blend together in a sea of lockdowns and online learning. Over the last few months, I’ve really begun to value the presence of my to-do list at the beginning of each day, reminding me to stay on top of my work without getting too overwhelmed with it all.

Step three: Prioritising social time

Perhaps more than anything else, the thing I really felt the loss of in lockdown was socialising. Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to fit some sort of socialising into my daily routine: I’ve done Netflix parties, drunk Zoom quizzes, coffee dates, weekly calls with my grandparents. Being a commuting student is hard enough in a pandemic-free year; while it may take a bit more creativity and effort to see all of your friends this year while staying within government guidelines, I think it’s completely necessary in order to keep your head in amongst all the chaos. 

 

Too much routine in a year like this may just make your life more miserable than it has to be; however, I personally believe that there are some real benefits to establishing some sort of a routine. And if all you can manage is savouring your cuppa each morning while you scroll through your socials between Zoom lectures, I think that’s good enough.