NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – From a young age, we are told we need a routine. But like many high school students, when quarantine started for Corona Del Mar senior Luca Bacci, the idea of having more time on his hands actually made him do less.

“Pretty much just didn’t have a schedule. I’d sleep in until like 12 and just play video games all the time. And then after about two weeks I realized that wasn’t very sustainable,” Luca said.

The void left in quarantine was overload. Without having the structure of going to school every day, not knowing where to start with an empty schedule was just as daunting as the five AP classes he was taking.

“I’m sort of an anxious person. And when I look at a big task, it’s intimidating obviously. I think that’s how - everyone looks at big tasks that way,” said Luca.

But he enlisted the help of his former vice principal, Daniel Patterson, who became a relationship coach and author. According to Patterson, the anxiety Luca was feeling has been a common theme in isolation for both kids and parents.

“When this first thing happened, everyone took to Instagram or Pinterest or Facebook, and we put these very idealistic schedules of what we wanted for our lives. And it’s a great post but it really doesn’t function well in real time at home. I’ve never so busy doing nothing or so exhausted going nowhere in my life,” Patterson said.

Most kids, Patterson said, are actually over-programmed and the anxiety of creating a new routine stems from the fear of being left behind.

“The primary root common denominator or root cause is fear. Fear of loss, like normalcy of their schedule, of their activities, of all of the markets we use to track kids like GPA, test scores, club sports, varsity sports,” said Patterson.

As what is known as the summer slide begins, which is the time between June and start of the next school year. It is important to remember that quarantine essentially extended that period by several months.

According to Patterson, learning is more than what is considered traditional. As school responsibilities phase out, activities that allow students to eat, play, sleep, learn, and contribute should be encouraged.

Luca said that simplifying his routine and not over complicating it has actually allowed him to accomplish more. As his parents get ready to send their son off to a Top 15 university, Luca and his mom Kristi are thankful that quarantine gave them one thing you can never get back, time.

“It’s really just been more time we’ve enjoyed being together as a family, to be honest. But now we’re kind of ready too,” said Kristi.

“We’ve gotten a lot closer as a family for sure,” Luca said.