Quarantine
Staying home making you lose your marbles? Fret not, this week You! shares some suggestions to help make your time quarantined as interesting as well as productive…
As concerts are postponed, sporting events are cancelled, schools are closed and tourist hot spots are shut down, experts recommend that even those who show no sign of illness stay home during this time of global pandemic. That's right: It’s advised that you self-quarantine.
Although remaining inside is a good way to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus, and is an important measure to help ‘flatten the curve’ of daily cases, it could also lead to a lesser evil: boredom, stir craziness and laziness. While some of us wonder what to do indoors, there are others working from home, caught in an unhealthy routine. Here;s how we can get through this quarantine...
Meditate
First and foremost, it’s important that you stay calm and take care of your mental health. Watching the count on the television can start messing your mind pretty quick. So, take a step back, turn of all the noise and meditate. You can do this by trying lying down with your eyes closed, palms up and while focusing on your breath. Or spend 20 minutes sitting cross-legged and repeat a soothing word to yourself in your head. (The latter is more like transcendental meditation.)
Follow a routine
This is especially for the work-from-home squad with flexible timings. It’s really easy to give in to the immediate urge to sleep in and stay up late which will mess up your routine. You would also have the urge to stay in pajamas and in your room all day long. Experts suggest that you should stay put with your proper routine. Set your alarm for your usual time and stick with your morning routine. Shower, eat what you normally would, make the bed, etc. You can skip the work uniform and dress down, but do get dressed – don’t stay in pajamas. If you’re not working, create a schedule of mealtimes, reading time, phone time, exercise, chores, etc. Write it down. Even if you have very few obligations, it will help you stay balanced to have different activities you regularly do at relatively set times.
Watch your health
Confined to your homes, the temptation to stress-eat, eat out of boredom will be unyielding. Take this as an opportunity to focus on your health. When you’re on a weekly trip to get groceries, try to stay away from too many chips and biscuits. Focus more on wholesome snacks, fruits and veggies.
Try out at-home aerobics or yoga videos. Consider downloading a fitness app with curated workout playlists or just browse YouTube. Moreover, there are many fitness trainers doing free live work sessions on social media platforms. It will help you get into the groove much easily. Also, since some of these sessions are done on video, you can also get instant personalised feedback on your posture which most apps can’t do.
Skincare
For all the students and office peeps who never got a chance to take care of their skin, here is your chance. Since you don’t have to rush to work in the morning, you can do that 10-step skincare routine that you didn’t have time during a normal week. All those 20 to 30-minute face masks you dreaded but longed to do will be so much easy since you won’t really be counting minutes to get done. Take out your moisturising oils, face masks and all the good stuff and treat yourself.
Start ticking off your list
Everyone has a list of things they want to do. Watch all the really long movies you’ve avoided until now, download Duolingo, or a similar app, and teach yourself a foreign language. Learn an exquisite skill like calligraphy, makeup, special effects or even crafts. There are plenty tutorials on YouTube.
Spring cleaning
Utilise this time to let go of your baggage – literal and emotional. It’s amazing catharsis. Throw out all the things that you don’t use anymore, especially clothes, broken items and all your too-old makeup and expired products that you have been hoarding all this time. There’s plenty of time to do this. So, once you come out of this quarantine, you will feel a lot lighter and fresh.
Breathe in fresh air
Being in quarantine doesn’t mean you can’t take a peek outside. Look out the window, stand in the balcony, stroll in your garden (if you have one). Don’t starve off of nature. If you have some potted plants in your home, take a moment to look at them, touch and feel them. Being surrounded by greenery helps freshen a mind locked away in concrete walls. So, take a moment and breathe in fresh air.