Tips for Adjusting to Temporary Life at Home

Well it seems like just about all of use are staying in for the next few weeks while Corona makes it's world-tour. I for one have spent the last five days at home and although I'm a little frightened and a little antsy, I see no reason why we all can't adjust a little for the benefit of our communities.

First, I want to say that everything will be okay. Read that again, say it out loud if you have to. Everything will be okay and eventually, life will return back to normal. In order for normalcy to return to us though, we all must do out part to socially distance ourselves and refuse to go out in public. I know, you're sick of hearing that, but if one reader reads my message and decides to forgo social life for 14 days, then I've used my platform as intended.

Between people working from home to students having to learn from the comfort of their kitchen tables, we all need to sacrifice a little to help the greater cause. So now what that you've been given orders to stay in? The best thing to do is create a schedule for yourself. Combine normal daily tasks with new tasks to help maintain a little bit of normalcy. Here's my schedule for the next few weeks...

Just because you can't meet with your friends in person, it doesn't mean that your relationships should suffer. Pick up the telephone, shoot someone an email or make pen pals with a few long distance friends. Take the time to tell someone that you're thinking of them and that you love them. With all the craze, hearing a kind word or two will brighten someone's day for sure.

Don't spend all day on social media. As much as social media is wonderful, let's face it, nobody's doing anything worthwhile right now. Right now, all sites are a saturated bubble of negativley-skewed news and anxiety-inducing pictures. It's okay to unplug.

Spend this time to get to that mile-long to-do list. We live in a world where life moves so fast that people aren't washing their hands anymore (😡), but that same fast-paced life is one where chores pile up and we never seem to get to them. Purge your closet, fix your creaky cabinet door, organize your pantry, clear files form your computer or clean your fridge. For the first time in most of our lives we have the time to stay at home and not feel like we have 50 places to be. Spend that time wisely because I can promise you once we get back to school, work and life, we will be moving faster than ever trying to catch up.

One of the ways I'm spending the self-quarantine time is to learn a new skill or invest in a hobby. Make a dent in your personal reading list, learn to watercolor, bake a new recipe, start the blog you've always wanted to or strengthen a foreign language. I for one am making a dent in my reading list (two books down!) and will be investing in my websites a little more.

Make sure to get some exercise. Although gyms are closed and we've been told to stay at home, it doesn't mean you can't go on a walk around the neighborhood, do a quick ab routine on the back deck or go for a jog. Even walking to and from the mailbox a few times will do your body, mind and immune system well. Being cooped up with stale air in the house is unhealthy and overall will weaken your health. Get some sun and some fresh air.

Lastly, practice some self-care. Take a bubble bath, sit on your porch and enjoy the sunshine, meditate or pray. Anxiety and uncertainty make fast friends and nobody needs any more than what already rests on our shoulders. Look for the joy in small things, just because it seems like right now it's gone, it doesn't mean it isn't there.

These are just a few ways to adjust to a temporary life at home. Again, life will return to normal and everything will be okay. China is now on a decline of cases and Wuhan temporary hospitals have been closed and patients discharged. They also didn't isolate until the virus was so far along that it had already infected thousands of people. They took no precautionary measures. We, now, are taking precautionary measures to ensure safety and protection of our communities. We are ahead of the game, but can only stay that way if people follow heavily-suggested isolation measures. It's going to be okay.