How are you doing? No really….how are you actually doing? I think it’s important for all of us to admit that these are pretty hard times right now, and if at most, you’re just continuing to survive each day, that’s a pretty amazing thing. I’ve been social distancing in my house for the last few weeks and I’m getting a little stir crazy. I’m lucky to be in a house with a yard and a dog and 3 other people, but I am missing my friends, going out, going to the gym and even just going to work. We’re all adjusting to ‘the new normal’ of life and doing everything we can to carry on. So here are a few things that are keeping me sane:
Limiting My News Intake: This is big for me because before all of this happened, I was a huge news watcher. Like I would watch it every morning before work, every evening after work, and constantly during the day through apps on my phone. But I’ve recently learned that maintaining this much news intake during a pandemic does nothing but give me major anxiety. So I’ve cut back a lot by only watching 30 minutes after work.
Calling a Friend Everyday: I’m an extrovert and not being able to hug people and talk to new people and get energy from crowds is draining me. The other day, the weight of this whole pandemic really hit me and I finally cried a little. Which I think was healthy, but for the rest of the day I was feeling so sad. But then I talked on the phone with a friend for a couple hours and I felt so much better. Now Zoom happy hours, group Facetime calls and even Facebook Messenger are my saving grace in communicating with my friends.
Creating and Crafting: I’ve been taking this additional downtime I have on my hands to create things and get crafty. Whether that’s with tie dye, watercolor painting, magazine collages, and taking some artsy photos, I like having these creative releases to express myself and feel accomplished.
Sanity Walks: I used to do these with my coworkers right before we all started working from home. I miss them, but at least the walks can continue. Either during lunchtime or immediately after work, I will go on a 30 minute walk around my neighborhood. Sometimes I’ll call a friend. Sometimes I’ll take the dog. And sometimes they even turn into runs, but no matter what, I need to get outside (within social distancing guidelines) to stay sane.
Family Take-Out Dinners: My parents and I look forward to ordering take-out from our favorite local restaurants every weekend, not just to mix things up in our house, but also to support local businesses. I get tired of cooking and miss a lot of restaurants’ food. (And I have been following this video on how to clean food during this time).
Solo Dance Parties in my Room: Probably a little embarrassing to admit, but whenever I need to step away from my desk, I plug my headphones into my phone and I dance around my bedroom, pretending I’m at a Taylor Swift concert or something like that. This is how I tune out from the stress of the world for 5 minutes, and then head back into my home office to resume teleworking. 10/10 would recommend.
Champagne Every Friday: This is a lovely little tradition I just started, mainly because I need to celebrate the little things (like making it another week) and I like to celebrate with champagne. I encourage you to do the same.
How are you staying sane during this time? Comment your methods below!
Thanks for reading! xx