Now that the impending fear of Hurricane Irma has dissipated for central-Floridians, it's time to get back into the flow of normal life. But, let's face it--we are all a little stressed out. Why? Because while we all thought that we would have plenty of time to catch up on work, we ended up sleeping (and eating) the days away. Many businesses and restaurants have already opened their doors, and a few schools are beginning to reopen this week. So, what do we do about being so behind?
1. Fix your sleeping schedule.
After almost two weeks off, your sleeping schedule has probably reverted to "summer time". To help our bodies get ready for our working/school schedules, we need to treat these last few "hurricane days" as if they were the few days before the beginning of the school year. Each day, go to bed a little bit earlier, and wake up a little earlier so that your body isn't in shock on your first day back!
2. Catch up on everything you were supposed to.
Many Central Floridians needed to evacuate to avoid flooding from Hurricane Irma. While this was time-consuming and stressful, there certainly was free time. Whether or not you choose to spend that free time catching up on work, it's wise to spend whatever extra time you have left on finishing up the work that was supposed to be completed.
3. Clean up your area as much as possible.
A majority of the state endured harsh winds and some flooding, damaging yards and houses across Florida. Approximately 6.1 million Floridians were without power for some amount of time. With this kind of damage, it takes a couple of days and some hard work to get back to normal. Join together as a community to help clean up debris and show your support to the first responders and lineman. The harder everyone works to clean and repair, the easier it will be to return to our normal lives.
4. Get organized.
With everything going on, you're bound to forget something on your never-ending to-do list. To help keep track of things, make a physical list! It can be a piece of paper, a journal or a planner--whatever helps!
Write down what needs to be done and by when, and check your list whenever you feel that you are forgetting something. Another tip for organization is to color-code! School work is written in purple, sporting events are written in blue, house-related things are written in red, and whatever else you need to do to help you remember!
Even though much of Florida was very fortunate in the fact that we were only hit with a Category 3, it still takes an extreme amount of hard work to be able to return to our normal lives. With these tips and some dedication, getting back into the flow of things shouldn't be too much of a hassle!
