Obviously this situation is very stressful and, if you have the privilege of social distancing in a safe home, the days can slide into one another in joyless monotony. Here are my tips for spicing up your days and finding out a way to protect your mental health during this quarantine.
Basic Day Structure
Experiment with how your days will work for you. Without the need to get up and go out into the world, there’s also no need to subscribe to conventional wisdom about time. It’s made up anyway! I tend to get in a groove with my work really late at night, so I stay up until around 3 am and sleep until my first zoom class at 9am or 11am and just take as many naps as possible. Point is: don’t force yourself to follow your normal sleep schedule if it’s just making you miserable. If you can still go to bed at 10 and be up by 8, good for you.
Keeping Busy
There’s a lot of free time now and if you’re the type of person that needs to stay busy to cope, here’s a list of things to do.
- Write letters to your friends and/or family
- Research a topic you’ve always been interested in (I’ve been using Academia.edu. but you can always use google or see if your local library has online resources to use)
- Try to get better at a task (mine is eyeshadow)
- Read
- Watch Netflix and write reviews for the films or shows
- Learn dances (whether they be TikTok or K-Pop, learning these dances could be great exercise)
- Learn a new language or better your skills in one (Duolingo, Memrise, watch movies in your target language)
- Make your notes pretty (I find making my studyblr content very therapeutic because it’s busy work that is actually helping me academically)
- Apply to scholarships (this is for current students: don’t let the pandemic make you forget about that real need for money. If you have the resources to still apply, make sure you try to get that money especially if social distancing is making you or your family miss paychecks)
- Pick a random YouTube tutorial to try
- Get a fun subscription box (my girlfriend and I do Hunt a Killer, which is this really fun subscription box that gives you monthly clues to solve a murder)
- Make a body journal (you can take this time to really get in tune with your body. really examine it and try to understand what it needs to feel good and what you should avoid to prevent feeling bad)
- Interview your family members (odds are, everyone is feeling lonely in their house and they’d be delighted to answer any and all questions. plus you can learn some family tea!
- Read manga or webcomics
- Marie Kondo your house
- Write! Poetry, personal essays, books, anything!
Self-Care
Maybe productivity and business makes you feel overwhelmed, here are some things you can do to check in.
- Just lay down. Don’t be afraid to just be prone for a while and not respond to anyone but your breathing. Resting is just as productive as working.
- Get a water tracking app (I have Drink Water). Being hydrated will make you feel better, so having a cute little app to remind you just gives you incentive to take care of yourself.
- Wash your face. You don’t have to get all glam for the living room, but being clean will make you feel better
- Journal. Process your feelings.
- If you feel sad, let yourself feel it. Usually, we say that we don’t have the luxury for sadness and brush it off for a later date that never comes. Let your feelings come and be present.
- Be active. I don’t care if you do one jumping jack or just walk from your bed to your fridge. Make sure you let your body move.
- Get dressed up. Sometimes it feels good to wear cute clothes and make up. Wear an outfit that makes you feel good and take pictures. Do a fashion show in your living room. Feel your quarantine fantasy, sis.
Above all, I want to say that my biggest tip is to do whatever will cause the least harm to yourself. This situation is very strange and upsetting, so find coping mechanisms that aren’t harmful to yourself or others and do that. Let me know if there was anything I missed! Stay safe and find peace.
