Step 1: Organize Yourself
Organizing yourself can be organizing your room, computer or even doing your laundry. Making sure that you have a solid routine in place for a week can help you have something to look forward to while stuck at home. And planning your quarantine week by week can also alleviate some pain. (Keyword: some.)
Staying organized when you’re at home can seem counterintuitive, but I promise it will help. Keeping a schedule can help you stay busy, as well as help finish all of your school assignments on time. Even if you want to stay in bed all day one day, no one will know, but there are so many things you can do while stuck at home, so make the most of it! Here is a very entertaining, yet helpful, video by YouTuber Bestdressed to help you visualize what you can do during the quarantine: https://youtu.be/K9sspffLAXg
Step 2: Find a new hobby or touch on a past hobby
What a great time to find a new hobby to add to your daily adventures at home. A quick Google search and you can find endless hobbies to fill up your hours at home. A few examples are cooking, reading, hiking, biking, doing art, camping (in your backyard) or learning a new language. Remembering your passions can reduce stress and help your mental wellness while at home. Picking up a hobby from where you left off can also be nostalgic, and this is a great time to reminisce and reconnect with ourselves. Hobbies can also be learning a new skill every week. Try learning things that may help you after the quarantine — like changing a tire or learning how to invest. Making a simple bucket list can help you refocus your energy and restabilize your productivity.
Step 3: Staying Connected
Social distancing while keeping your friends close can seem impossible. Keeping a close friendship with someone can be hard when isolated like this. So, a great solution can be video chat! From Facetime to Zoom, or even Webex for some of your classes, there are plenty of ways to see a familiar friendly face. You could set a weekly meeting where you and your friends have a common goal. For example, reading the same book, like a virtual book club. That way, you have set time and day where you all can discuss the book or whatever the common goal might be. Even if you are too busy to FaceTime everyday, there are ongoing ways to keep in touch. You can try having a collaborative playlist through Spotify that you can share to all of your friends and add songs to play throughout the day. Even walking around your neighborhood and saying “hello: to your neighbors if they’re out can bring a sort of camaraderie-feel to their day and your’s. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Showing empathy in times like these can be invaluable to family, friends and neighbors.
Step 4: Stay Positive
There are so many news sources scattering articles about how many cases of COVID-19 there are in the U.S. or around the world. Settling your mind may seem harder because of the media, but there have been studies shown that when you stay positive, your body responds better to an array of negative emotions. While at home, enjoy the little things, like waking up, making coffee, hot showers and even a “good morning” from your family. To those of you who are living by yourself during the quarantine, enjoy the silence. There is a great quote by Tom Ford: “time and silence are the most luxurious things today.” For eliminating the constant notifications of news, try to not look at your phone when you first wake up. Enjoy the mornings. Or if you prefer, stay off your phone an hour before you go to bed. These are ways you can purposely settle your mind and unplug the daily distraction.
This unprecedented event may be stressful or cause anxiety, but you shouldn’t feel alone. We are all in this together, working towards our common goal to restore any sense of normalcy. This all will be over soon. Stay safe and wash your hands.