Healthy routines and habits are important at any time in our lives, but during a pandemic, they are even more important.

Developing healthy routines doesn’t have to be dull. In fact, I have found them to be the opposite in most situations!

As part of our COVID-19 mental health resources, I am planning to interview individuals from different parts of the country who are managing their routines in fun and creative ways during this pandemic.

[Interview] How One Person Is Coping with COVID-19

For this practice, I chose to talk with Peter Kuzila, who is a federal government employee living in Washington, DC, with his girlfriend. Peter is a Midwesterner by heart and a former USD graduate.

When I called Peter, he had just wrapped up a work project for the day at his in-home office. Peter’s apartment is 640 square feet, and his office is a small corner of their bedroom. Currently, Peter is the only one working from home, which has made the adjustment a little easier.

“What has been the biggest change for you?”

Peter shared that his mood has actually improved lately because now he can work from home more. He enjoys being able to stay at home for a few reasons, including:

Not needing to worry about the morning commute
Being more productive at times
Being able to stay at home and not worry about all of the extra precautions related to COVID-19

Peter continued that he does miss socializing and going to his gym, but these changes are just challenging him to be more creative (as you will see below). He has adjusted by maintaining his schedule, home workouts, diet, and sleep schedule. He also said that having more time to relax and spend on hobbies has been helpful.

“What does a typical day look like to you?”

Peter is trying to make his routine as normal as possible, so he still does his standard schedule: wake up, check emails, make coffee, and slowly start getting ready for the day. Peter made sure to point out that he did splurge on a comfy sweatshirt, which has been a welcomed addition to his new work attire.

“How have you been maintaining or improving your diet?”

Peter has been practicing intermittent fasting (a trending diet plan that basically restricts your calorie intake to a specific window of time). This is working for Peter, but as a therapist, I do not endorse any specific diet plan and believe it is important to do what is best for your unique body.

Peter expressed that he has continued to follow through with his normal routine of cooking dinner at 6:00 for his girlfriend and mixing up a “quarantini” as they talk about the day. Today, Peter is drinking a vodka drink that he has infused with peppers from his home garden. The idea behind a quarantini is to make do with what one has and just be creative!

Peter made sure to point out he does not have a drink every day and that when he does, he makes sure to drink responsibly. This is a key part of balancing a healthy routine: it is important to have a little fun, but we need to be careful that we don’t overdo it.

“How are you adjusting your exercise routine?”

Peter is working on building muscle strength by doing sets of 15 sit-ups, 15 push-ups, and five pull-ups. He is doing these workouts during short breaks while working at home but also tries to set aside more time in the evenings or weekends.

Peter added that taking these short breaks to focus on his physical wellbeing and increase his heart rate has also increased his clarity and calm when returning to work.

He has also included a link that features an interesting story of how a young Arnold Schwarzenegger managed his workouts from a hotel room.

Peter added that he enjoys working out with his girlfriend when they get a chance. One way they do this is hiking on the weekends. For this, they pack a lunch and drive an hour or so out of town. He expressed that this has been one of his favorite adjustments recently; it has been an adventure to find trails that are off the beaten path, and it has also brought him closer to his girlfriend.

“What else are you doing to stay busy?”

Peter was happy to share that he is taking time to get involved with old hobbies, such as reading, gardening, and building Legos.

For books, Peter is reading one of my favorite science fiction collections, the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Peter chose to listen to this series, which has been both entertaining and helpful. He said that not only is the production of the audio series well done, but he is also able to move around the apartment and isn’t stuck on the couch or in his office chair. Peter said he chose this series as it helps him take a break from everything, even if it’s just a few minutes at lunch or after work; I would say getting lost in the politics of Arrakis is a welcomed change to current events!

Peter is also leaning into in-home gardening. Right now, this is more of a hobby and isn’t producing much for produce, but it allows him to experiment as well as slow down and notice the small changes in his plants day to day. Peter continued, “I learned everything I know about gardening from my mother and grandmother, and I feel connected to them when I am working with my plants.”

Another area that has been surprisingly fun and helpful for Peter is building architecture projects with Legos. Similar to coloring or doing puzzles, building with Legos helps to focus the mind and be creative.

After talking with Peter about these interests, it seems to be less about staying busy and more about being creative and pushing yourself in different ways.

“What adjustments are you making in your relationship?”

Peter has worked to maintain structure with meals as well as setting aside time to talk with his girlfriend each night. Additionally, ordering in once a week for a date night has been helpful to break up the week and focus on each other.

As a counselor of couples therapy, I can’t agree more that quality time is important right now — even if it is just laughing at a show or cooking a meal together.

“In what other ways are you adjusting to COVID-19?”

Peter has been reaching out to friends and family to see if they need support. For himself, there is some scarcity at grocery stores, and the crowds can be intimidating. To get around this, he will go to the store during non-peak hours to stock up for the week and is trying to maintain a two-week food reserve in case access to the store is restricted.

I asked Peter about his routine for getting groceries during the pandemic. He shared that he has been working to make his home a “clean space.” This means cleaning and disinfecting the home but also cleaning new items coming into his “clean space.”

Peter shared that when he comes back from the store, he will start by taking his shoes off and washing his hands. He then changes into his indoor clean clothes and will disinfect any items coming in. He will also wash produce with vegetable wash and a little dish soap before putting them into the fridge.

I want to thank Peter Kuzila for agreeing to participate in this interview. I appreciate hearing different perspectives of how we can adjust to difficult circumstances.

The biggest takeaway from our conversation was the lack of fear or anxiety in Peter’s voice. He is working to do what he can and is accepting what is out of his control.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see a consistent thread through Peter’s answers, which was creativity. His best and most fulfilling ideas came from allowing himself to be creative and carefree throughout the day. It can be difficult to find balance, but the best we can do is to make small steps each day.

That is my challenge to you this week: to find a way to be creative each day in small, manageable ways!

View More Pandemic Mental Health Resources