Habits was born during the height of the pandemic. Accustomed to working from home, as I'd been remote since 2016, not too much changed when the world was ordered to stay home.  Except leaving the house. 

In 2016, we moved from Virginia to Florida. Captain Awesome left each day for work while I stayed home on my laptop. When he came home, I would itch to go out, having been inside all day and crazed and stirred from the inside out, ready to escape the confines of the house. 

Just like with anything, you get used to certain things over time. Certain behaviors. Habits. They become commonplace, almost like a second skin. 

After awhile, working remotely became easier and I found out how much more productive I was when I didn't have the regular distractions of colleagues parading past my desk, which I admittedly welcomed with many a side conversations. Blame it on my extroverted personality. But easily, I was twice as productive at home than at work in my cubicle. 

Fast forward to 2020. I was deep in the thick of planning a global competition in South Africa for the Entrepreneurs' Organization's Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, which came to a screeching halt in March. Naturally, the entire organization pivoted to assist all our members who were in crisis mode trying to save their business, support their families and save their employees. 

My job was put on temporary hold. I helped out where I was needed, but time tipped in my favor during those first weeks. 

They say it takes 21 days to make a habit. I would argue that it only takes three days to break a habit. And when time stood still in that strange black hole of two plus years, well...it was very difficult to keep any sort of routine without a real concerted effort. 

I remember spending more hours working on my art. I remember staring out the window, feeling a bit like a goldfish. I remember my pajama bottoms becoming every day attire. And then some...

One day I chuckled when an article from the New York Times came out talking about how infrequently people were showering now that they weren't leaving the house. The reasons ranged from practicality to being environmentally conscious. 

I'd be lying if I said that didn't happen here too!

Thankfully the world has returned to some sense of normalcy...and so did re-establishing our routines. And yes, our time in the shower.