Tips For Living Well and Staying Sane During Quarantine

So I’ve been at home for 2 weeks now, and it seems I’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future. I’m naturally an introvert and a homebody, but even for me there have been some challenges! In this post I’ll be sharing what’s working for me during this time, and hopefully something will resonate with you too!

Using Your Time

As much as I love just blobbin it up on couch in front of the TV, too much of that makes me feel directionless and can trigger my depression. We made a bucket list of all the things we’d like to do with all this time, including stuff around the house, projects, hobbies, as well as just fun things. Since it’s easy for these days to become monotonous, I find it helps to plan something (a movie night, game night etc) just to have something to look forward to.

We’re also being mindful of how much time we’re now spending looking at screens, and incorporating analog activities into our days. Here are some ideas:

• Do puzzles
• Play a board game/card game/Scrabble
• Make something
• See if you can bake something with what’s in your pantry

Relationships

Many of us have been stuck inside with our partners, and while it’s lovely to have so much time together, dealing with so much unstructured time can be a challenge. For us, I found that just communicating clearly and frequently about it has really helped, as communication usually does. So often, conflict can arise when expectations go unsaid and we hold our partners to standards that they might not be aware of. Personally, I know I’m prone to this, and even when I think I’ve made something obvious, it might not be obvious to Arno. So talk about it! Discuss how you want to structure your days, what you want to do with your time, how to split up the chores, and what kind of support you need from each other. Check in with each other to see how things are working out for both of you. Just talking together and making some plans gave me some sense of stability in this uncertain time.

It’s also important to have some boundaries and space. Keep doing the things you like that your partner may not be interested in too! Arno’s not a podcast fanatic like I am, so while we listen to some together, often times I just put on my headphones while I tidy.

Structure

We all need different levels of structure in our days, and since so many of us have too busy, over-structured lives, this might be a chance to discover what really works for you. Personally, I’m not one for a super structured day. I like to have a few things I’d like to get done in mind, as well as a general plan for the order to do them in, but I don’t do well with a rigid schedule. Some people thrive on a super structured day, and more power to them! Listen to yourself and see what helps you feel your best.

I think that while our world is so unsettled, it can be really helpful to inject some normalcy where possible. I have anxiety, so this level of uncertainty can easily send me into spiraling worries. I find keeping little day-to-day things normal is very grounding; it’s a way to self-comfort. I still get up at around the same time each day, have breakfast and coffee, and go over what I want to get done that day. I also try to get things done during the day, and do the relaxing in the evenings, as we normally would. For me, this gives some sense of routine in days that would otherwise just blur together!

A Few Practical Tips:

• Take inventory of the food you have and plan meals! I love meal planning and do it every week, but it’s been especially helpful during quarantine. Make note of expiration dates too, so you can use what you have in the most efficient way.
• Get some sun! Even if it’s just sitting in front of a window, the vitamin D and just feeling a little closer to nature can do wonders for your mood!
• Your home affects your mood! It’s easy to overlook the impact your space can have, but if you’re feeling frazzled or down, try decluttering or giving your space a little refresh. You can even “shop your home” for a new look with the same stuff.
• Move your body! We didn’t evolve to sit on a couch all day (as glorious as that can be), so try to incorporate exercise into your days. Here’s my workout playlist on Spotify, if you need some music to get you going!
• Limit your news intake. It’s of course important to stay informed, but compulsively refreshing the news 100 times (totally guilty of that!) doesn’t help anyone’s stress levels.
• Keep in touch with your people! Maybe even talk on the phone! We all need others.

Also, I feel like I need to say this: give yourself grace. I’m all for making use of this unexpected time we have, but sometimes all of those messages can feel a bit like pressure. Yes, do the things you’ve been putting off, accomplish things you want to accomplish, use this time to grow, but also just give yourself a break. You don’t need to be productive/motivated/doing quarantine “right” all the time. None of us have been through this before. We’re all new at this pandemic thing and there are a lot of feelings swirling around. Give yourself grace if you’ve been unproductive, or eat 7 chocolate chip cookies (like me a couple days ago), or distract yourself with all the TV, or wear the same thing you slept in. Your worth doesn’t depend on any of that.

So that’s what’s been keeping me sane and in relatively good spirits during this strange time we find ourselves in. I hope you’ve been able to take away something helpful from this post! Take care and stay safe ❤