4 Ways To Stay Sane During Quarantine
While we are all doing are part by staying home and social distancing during this scary and stressful time, I wanted to provide some tips on how to stay motivated and productive during our time in quarantine.
1) Maintain Your Morning Routine
If I had to choose one tip that I would like you to take away from this story of mine; it would be this one. While I am guilty of letting a few days pass by while I accomplish nothing more than making a few trips to the fridge and binge-watching an entire Netflix series, this is not the greatest long-term solution. Try and give yourself the same love and attention that you did before this all began.
Waking up, washing your face, putting on a nice (but comfortable) outfit can do wonders for your mood, motivation, and mental health. It can serve as a way to bring a small sense of normalcy back into your life that we have all been desperately craving.
2) Declutter Your Space
To provide some clarity; I am not saying that you must immediately begin a deep cleaning on your entire living space to accomplish step 2, because that is not the case. I am asking you to find one space to center your focus. Select a place where you spend a lot of your time. It could be the living room, a desk, a garage, or even the bathroom! Pick a location and do your best to make that space as organized as possible. This space can act as a safe-haven for times when you feel the stress begin to come into your life.
During your decluttering process, don’t forget to have a good time and let loose. Use that time to turn on your favorite songs, listen to your favorite podcast, or even just enjoy some silence.
3) Try Journaling
I know it sounds corny, write all of your feelings into a small notebook, and all of your problems just disappear. While that’s not necessarily how it works, journaling does serve as a good tool to communicate your feelings with the most important person in your life: yourself.
I am guilty of keeping all of my feelings pent up inside, never really sharing how I truly feel with others. I used to claim that as long as I am aware of how I feel about certain ideas and situations, that it’s okay to not share. Unfortunately, there came a time where I realized that I didn’t even know what I was feeling most of the time. Writing in a journal gives you the chance to tell yourself how your feeling with complete honesty. It is a space to release all of the jumbled and unrealized thoughts that are constantly flowing through your head. Having the ability to physically see and touch your thoughts, allows you to decipher how you move forward and how you learn from them.
While this exercise is more abstract than the previous two, if you stay dedicated to it you will begin to have some added clarity to your thoughts and feelings. Having this during a time of such uncertainty can lessen the stress you may be feeling.
4) Take Time To Log Off
I’m not proud to admit it, but the first thing I do every morning is to check all of my social media platforms. Since quarantine has begun, my phone screen-time has increased by around 40%. Social media bombards us with endless amounts of information, and during times like these, spending large amounts of time online can be very emotionally overwhelming. Every time I go online I am confronted with news of rising death tolls, protests, and new information about this disease. While it is important to stay informed and follow current events, I feel that constantly being exposed to negative news is exhausting and we could all use a break.
Try and make a conscious decision to log off of social media for a few hours and turn off the news. Use that time to fill your mind with something positive and fun. Spend time with your family, go for a walk, learn something new, or even watch your favorite movie. Take the time to do something that makes you happy and give yourself a break.
We all deserve it.
