Today every one of us, no matter which country we belong to, is in the exact same state of mind. Of course, depending on the severity of the impact of the Coronavirus spread, there might be minor variations, but overall everyone’s sailing in the same boat — staying home, working from home, self quarantined, watching the news all day, talking about the Covid situation for crazy long hours and the list goes on.
Stressing out is a very common feeling prevalent. A lot of people I talk to, do not know how these 21 days of lockdown are going to pass. But trust me if you know what to do, they will vanish in a snap of your finger. If you are a strong believer of “organizing, planning and strategizing” every small detail of your life, even your grocery shopping, you might be feeling off your game lately, but I would say there is nothing to worry about. Let’s appreciate this great gift of time we have all been presented with, be thankful and grateful for what we have and pray for people who are stuck in situations, we can not even imagine or for the people who are working really hard for us.
Here’s what I would suggest you should consider while spending your time during Covid
1. Stay Calm and Positive
It is very natural to feel confused, frustrated, scared, anxious, irritated, nervous or uncertain in these unprecedented times. Being social, being busy is part of our wiring, and going against it is bound to have a negative impact on our overall mental health. Here are a few things to stay positive and motivated
- Meditate
- Stop reading or watching a lot of news. Basic daily updates is all you need.
- Stop entertaining local group to send you gossips or fake news, but rather rely on WHO or OSHA guidelines
- Stop being paranoid about self-protection, know the facts and simply try to follow them without worrying. Think about the whole thing scientifically rather than emotionally. If you are following the guideline and precautions, there are very less chancing of you catching the virus.
- Talk to your people, don’t leave them alone during this time. You will find peace in letting out your feelings.
2. Explore your creative side
It can be anything — Art, music, cooking, painting, photography, gardening, sketching. If you don’t have a hobby, maybe this is a good time to invest in one.
Think of what you like doing, what do you enjoy and never got time to do it — maybe this is the very same time to pursue it. Of course, this will help you take your mind off the worry or boredom, but moreover, you never know, you might end up finding your “ikigai”!
3. Write
Writing calms you down. It is a blessing in disguise, trust me on this. It is so soothing to pen down your soul’s emotions, thoughts, anger, appreciation, love, heartache, dreams, goals, and even business ideas. The thoughts in your mind will feel so much power, the moment they transform into words and touch the paper. It can be anything - poems, blogs, diary, a book and don’t worry about publishing it. Start by writing for yourself, straight from your heart.
4. Upskill
- Read books — improve your reading, vocabulary, knowledge, a skill, anything.
- Take up that online course, you never had time for. Learn photography, music any art you feel like. Edx, Udemy, Coursera — there are millions of options out there waiting for you to explore and choose as per your liking and time you want to invest in. No skill developed ever gets wasted.
5. Declutter your home to declutter your life.
- More than cleaning, organize things.
- Take stock of your belonging and separate unnecessary stuff. Keep them aside to donate it later. I have a simple rule — if I have not used that thing (cloth, utensil, anything) from the past 1 year, I am never going to use it. It might as well be used by someone, while it is in good condition.
- Even a bit of Minimalism will definitely bring a lot of peace and bliss.
6. Socialize with Social Distancing
- There is no better time than this, where you have the freedom to interact with whoever you wish (because everyone is home and available) and also with only those you wish with.
- Talk to your family and close friends. Talking to people you love will give you strength and satisfaction. In such times, don’t stop socializing with your people, they are the ones who will help you sail through this difficult time. Today technology has enabled us to be with people even when they are 1000 miles away, then why not use it.
- Reconnect with your long lost friends, ask them what are they up to. It is a great time to catch up.
7. Focus on yourself
- Have regular and healthy meals. When we are busy in our work life, we hardly have time to always choose a healthy meal or sometimes even healthy meal timing. Now that there is time on hand, make a food plans, cook your meals and have them at regular intervals. Remember not to diet, you need to have good immunity in such times
- Sleep well without feeling guilty. Catch up on all the sleep you have been sacrificing all these years.
- Pamper yourself with self mani-pedis, face packs.
- Exercise — There are thousands of apps out there providing home workouts. Pick, choose and follow anything you like.
8. Spend quality time with your family.
- Have those long conversations you never found time for.
- Play board games.
- Have date nights or movie (Netflix) dates at home.
9. Plan
I know you might be feeling you are home the whole day and there is no need to plan your day. But you will very soon realize that you have lost all these days doing nothing. Yes, you need to go easy on yourself, this is a break from your regular life — to sit back, relax and recharge. But at the same time, you need to also think of what you want from these quarantine times — it can be just watching NetFlix the whole time. So think of this time as a time to introspect your life and what lies ahead.
10. Practice Gratitude
This is the most important one.
Know that there are thousands out there working hard to make sure people like you and me are safe and get what we want at our doorsteps. So let’s not feel bored or irritated just by staying home, but rather feel grateful that we are among the lucky ones, who get to stay with our family well protected in the confinity of our sweet homes. Let’s do our part by staying home and not burdening the already overworked essential services providers.
Stay Safe, Stay Home!
