Keep a routine
While spending all your time in pjs and ditching the alarm clock might sound appealing, chances are that after the first week of quarantine your new “routine”, or lack thereof, will start to take a toll on your mental health. Something many psychologists have been stressing for the past few weeks is that it is extremely important to keep a routine at least very similar to the one you had pre-quarantine. Choose a time to wake up in the morning and one to go to sleep at night and stick to it throughout the two or more weeks you’ll be confined at home. Make sure you separate day and night by changing your clothes and, if possible, spending the day in a different room than your bedroom.
Keep your house clean and bright
Keeping your house clean and bright is very important. While you have more time than usual do make the effort to wash your dishes and iron that pile of laundry that has been sitting on the ironing board for weeks now. Remember to also open your blinds every morning to get as much natural sunlight in the house as possible and open the windows every now and then to get some fresh air.
Do those things you never have time for
Now it’s the perfect time to do all those things you always wanted to do but never had time to. You can pick up your favourite cookbook and finally try out all its recipes or learn a new skill such as a language or a musical instrument.
Work out
Working out is good for your body and mind. It will keep you busy and is especially good since being stuck at home will decrease significantly the amount of physical activity you do. If you are someone who is used to working out there are countless of workout videos on YouTube that require little to no equipment and if you have always wanted to start but never had the time to? This is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Give yourself some goals everyday and work towards them
Whether it’s to clean a room in your house, read a certain amount of pages out of a book or do some DIY, giving yourself small goals every day and achieving them will boost your morale. You can also think of a project you would like to complete by the end of this quarantine and give yourself weekly tasks to complete it
Think about what you will do after the quarantine
Whether it is researching holiday ideas for the summer or organising a potential party to throw at the end of this quarantine, thinking about the future and your life post quarantine, will give you something to look forward to and possibly make the time more bearable.
Appreciate how lucky you are and find ways to help others
If you’re reading this or actually thinking about most of the things mentioned above, chances are that you have not been directly affected by this emergency. While being confined to your house or college room is probably not what you had planned for 2020, if you or the people you care about are happy and healthy you are definitely luckier than many people in the world right now. If you want and you can, there are many ways to help those affected by the emergency. These include local hospitals and food banks which will have even more mouths to feed as schools shut down and children loose free meals. You can also donate local businesses that will be struggling to pay their employees as they have to shut or simply someone who you know and is struggling.
