staying sane during self quarantine
Just when we thought the coast was clear, the cases started to rise once again…
I celebrated my 31st birthday on March 12th and was one of the few people that got to enjoy “normal” festivities. A few days later, my job sent an email stating that offices were closed until further notice. It’s just shy of 4 months since that email went out and no notice has come informing us to return. I feel so naive for thinking “this will be gone by the summer”. Now I’m thinking we’ll be dealing with this through a portion of 2021. I think most of us have found a way to deal with our new lifestyle but I still want to share what has helped keep me sane during this time of quarantine.
Get dressed!
It sounds simple but makes the biggest difference. In the very early stages of working from home, I loved staying in my pajamas all day long (and sometimes I still do). But that got old pretty quickly. It made me feel lazy and reminded me that I had no where to go since outside is closed. And because I had my pajamas on, running simple errands felt like a task because I had to get dressed to leave the house and I wasn’t motivated to do much of anything. It was becoming a downward spiral. Changing my outfit really changed my mood (and gave me a reason to shop!). I felt energized to get work done and felt more “put together”. It was also a lifesaver for those impromptu video calls that could’ve just been an email.
Get active!
I was the queen of being too busy to work out. I had an hour long commute each way and was not in the mood to go to anybody’s gym after a long day. Once the pandemic hit, I really had no excuse except pure laziness. I thought long and hard about an activity that I would enjoy doing and I came up with bike riding. I’ve always loved spin glasses at the gym so it was a no brainer. I went to the local bike shop, purchased some wheels and I’ve been on the go ever since. Even if you’ve always had a sedentary job, you’re moving a lot less when working from home so even if it’s just a walk around your neighborhood, get moving!
Get a hobby!
I’ve always liked to cook, mainly because I like to eat and I feel like I should be able to feed myself accordingly. I sometimes found cooking to be a hassle in between the busyness of life. Now that I’ve got nothing but time, I’ve found that I can enjoy the process of cooking without being in a rush. I’ve tried tons of new recipes and even baked a cake from scratch for the first time. It’s been such an enjoyable experience to prepare yummy dishes; I have really impressed myself. My fiance and I also started a garden! We’ve always wanted one and finally decided to give it a try. That too has been exciting to see. I can only imagine myself as a parent because I have been overjoyed seeing our vegetables grow. I take pictures all of the time and share them with family and friends. I say all of that to say: there must be something that brings you joy or that you’ve always wanted to try. Get back to reading those books, creating that art or learning that new skill.
This is what our garden box looked like before we got started.
We pulled up those weeds, put down some new soil and planted a tomato and bell pepper plant which we affectionately named Tom and Bella.
Our plants have made so much progress in just a month. Tom is growing like crazy!
Tom may be growing tall but Bella is already producing veggies for us to eat!
Get a social calendar!
Don’t underestimate a social gathering via video chat! They’re not as good as face to face interaction but they can get pretty close! The pandemic may keep up apart physically but don’t forget to keep in touch with loved ones. I’ve planned things from couples game nights to happy hours with girlfriends to family gatherings complete with appetizers and cocktails. You can get really creative with what you choose to do which makes it even more fun to participate. People have also had to get creative during these tough times to keep their businesses/services afloat and have been offering virtual experiences to offset a decline in sales. I’ve seen live cooking classes (shout out to Natasha, creator of Asiliglam), floral arrangement courses and even one on one sessions to teach you how to do your own gel manicure. There is no shortage of things for you to do!
So how have you been keeping sane during the pandemic? I’d love to hear in the comments!
