How to Survive 14 days of Quarantine With Your Sanity
Working out in your living room is the new norm.
As I moved back to Hawaii for school at the beginning of August, I had to prepare and hunker down for the coronavirus 14-day stay-at-home quarantine. Yeah, obviously this is a weird time. If you’re also going to be spending two weeks in your home, isolated from the world, you’re going to have a lot of time on your hands. These six tips on how to survive 14 days of quarantine should help make your lonely experience worthwhile and enjoyable.
Establish a daily routine
This is the most important step. Staying in pajamas all day and watching TV sounds nice, but that is not the most effective way to spend your time. Make rules for yourself. (I allowed myself to stay in pajamas until 11 a.m.) Order a fun planner from Amazon and get clear on your schedule. Be specific and write out the times you will do each daily activity. Include chores, exercise, meal times, and break times. Get your routine on.
Get some outdoor action
Go outside! I know the whole idea of being isolated for 14 days means to stay in your house, but if you’re lucky enough to have a front yard, back yard, or balcony, set up a picnic. Cook your favorite foods or pack your favorite snacks and drinks. Pick out a quilt or blanket and set up camp in your yard. Bring an activity to do like a board game or paint on a mini canvases. This allows you to get some fresh air, vitamin D, and a break from your bed and social media.
Expand Your Mind
This is a great opportunity to finally dive into that pile of unread books or binge-watch TED talks. Really, when was the last time you read a book? I’ve seen the book “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero all over social media. I read a chapter a day while eating lunch so I had something to look forward to every day. Reading has a significant number of benefits like mental stimulation, stress reduction, and vocabulary expansion. What’s not to love about improving yourself while you have all the time in the world. If books aren’t up your alley, maybe TED talks are. You can search talks by topic. Making this a daily habit can only be a good thing. You could also take it a step further and plan your own Ted talk or write your own book.
Get a Good Clean In
Now is the time to pull out the rubber gloves. Get to scrubbing, decluttering, and rearranging. Tackle a room a day and make your home a pristine sanctuary. Nothing feels better than laying in clean sheets at the end of the night and lighting a candle, knowing your whole house is spotless and smells of cleaning chemicals.
YouTube is Your New Workout Buddy
Exercise, exercise, exercise. You don’t have to become a fitness guru overnight; start with simple stretches to get you in the groove. No need for fancy gym equipment. Get creative and use household items like detergent or textbooks as weights. There are tons of workout videos on YouTube that range from 10-minute ab workouts to a 30-minute full-body dance workout to One Direction. This also gives you an excuse to order more cute workout clothes from your favorite fitness clothing stores. Exercising once a day can improve your mental health and mood.
Meditate and be Grateful
In tough times, learning how to meditate and practice gratitude is a great thing to do. It can become easy to focus on the negatives of life when stressed or faced with uncomfortable situations. This is the perfect time to meditate. Start gradually and dedicate a couple of minutes a day to focus on your breathing. Youtube has many guided meditations for beginners that very in length and topic. You can also check out the variety of mediation apps for download too. There is always a positive and something to be grateful for. Start a gratitude journal and keep it by your nightstand, so you can write in it first thing in the morning or before you go to sleep. Both of these practices mixed together increases positivity and improves self-esteem.