WHO declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic since March 11, 2020. Ever since then, I’ve been staying at home for most of my days. I still remember the night before March 11 was the last time I saw my boyfriend before we totally couldn’t see each other until now. It was kind of unbearable at first because I was used to seeing him regularly for work or other activities. And that feeling of not being able to do much is not good for one's mental health.
I don’t know when this whole pandemic will end. It terrifies me to not have any certainty whether things will return to normal or not. But what I know is that this quarantine is the new “normal”. One way or another, I need to adapt and eventually feel okay with the way things are. I tried to look at it from a different perspective and found that there are 5 things that we can do during quarantine, which we usually can’t in our normal days, probably.
Sleeping
I don’t sleep much in my normal days, because I usually can’t. One, because I have to commute to work and be there at work until night. Two, because somehow I would always wake up at 6 or 7 AM no matter how late I went to bed. Usually, I would always wake up feeling fresh but not quite, as if something is missing. And yes, it turned out, I’ve been lacking sleep. Ever since the quarantine, I managed to fix it with (more than) enough sleep. I still automatically wake up at 6 or 7 AM, but I have the choice to continue sleeping, which is nice to have that option. I could take a comfortable nap on my bed during lunchtime, or when I’ve cleared my work at any time I want because I didn’t have to worry about the commute to and from work.
I asked several of my friends, and they do admit that they sleep a lot more during this quarantine. Maybe you can try it too if you’re lacking sleep in your normal days. Sleep is important, as it can increase our immune system and mental health, so you’ll be able to be more productive.
Lack of sleep is not a sign of being productive. Remember that.
Family Time
One of the perks of staying at home is getting the chance to have family time. Family time doesn’t always mean you have to go out or have a fantastic holiday. You can just do it at home and make all kinds of activities to do together. If you have a child, you can google on activity ideas that you can do with what you have at home. Last night, my nephew and I made chocolate mug cake with Oreo, milk, and a microwave. It was easy and from there, we can sit and finally do another thing that we never got the chance to do during normal days:
Talking. With words and humility. Not codes or egos.
Communication, though is simple, is the core of a healthy relationship or any kind of relationship. Communication is also a way to understand other people’s thoughts and feelings, and what might cause them. Without communication, there’ll be so much conflict and misunderstandings. Communication has never been easy because it takes time and patience to do it. But, with this quarantine, maybe you can start to have quality conversations with your family. One of my friends who suggested Family Time to be included in this said, that she has been sorting out problems with her family during this quarantine.
“Dude, it was NOT easy!” She said, “We argued a bit, but we got to the point where we finally want to listen to each other.” Guess, it won’t hurt to try, huh? Since avoiding family won’t do much if you’re going to be stuck with them for the rest of this quarantine.
Spend Time with Your Pet(s)
I, myself, don’t have pets. But everyone around me does. Most of them have the incredible man’s best friend as their pets. Yes, you guessed it. It’s DOGS! But, some of them also have bugs as their pet, like… Centipede. Yes, you read it right. Centipede. Apparently, for some people, centipedes are cute. I can’t and will not understand that. I’m sorry if you’re one of those centipedes lovers.
Well, having a pet has its benefits, such as decreased blood pressure and cholesterol level, and it can help you to feel less lonely because having a pet feels like having a companion next to you. The decreased level of loneliness can increase your mental health and strengthens your immune system to protect you from the virus or bacteria.
Use the time you have during this quarantine to spend more time with your pets. They’ll be happier and you’ll feel less depressed during the quarantine. You can try to train your pets for new tricks or catch up with that unfinished training with your pets. My friend has been spending time with her cat so much to the point that her cat keeps watching her from the distance, wondering why my friend starts to live in its territory.
Explore Your Hobby
Hobby, an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. On normal days, we didn’t get that leisure time that often. Even if we get the chance to enjoy our hobby, it wouldn’t be for long before we had to go somewhere else. But with this quarantine, we get to explore our hobby more!
Let’s say if you have gaming as a hobby. You are definitely in luck since some gaming sites are making their games for free or at a great discount. You can try out new games that have been sitting on your library for a while now or trying out to rearrange your desk for a better-looking gaming setup.
My hobby is writing and reading. Ever since the quarantine, I finally able to take a writing course about fiction writing and I am slowly building the world of my fiction, currently. I also get to read the books that have been sitting on my shelf for I don’t know how long. It is always refreshing and helpful in easing your mind when you get the chance to finally do something that gives you pleasure.
Try Something New
Or maybe if you’re the type that is easily bored or starting to get bored with the usual activity you’ve done, you could try doing something you never thought you would do.
For instance, farming.
It is quite funny to start learning how to farm when you’re living in the middle of the city. But some seeds can be grown in your backyard, like mangoes, tomatoes, sunflowers, etc. Wouldn’t that be an achievement to consume something out of your garden? Well, my friend said that it surely made her proud of growing her plants. It felt like taking care of her baby.
Also, trying out new things has always been good to challenge ourselves more and to learn something new, like discovering a talent we’ve always had but never nurtured because we never tried it. It can also help you to overcome your fear of change. We’ve been accustomed and secure with our daily routine to the point that the thought it might change terrifies us. By trying out new things, we’re learning how to adapt to the new routine and find ourselves feel okay with a new normal.
Keep in mind that trying out new things can be hard. Nobody said it would be easy, but it is worth trying with all the time we have at home. For me, trying out new things has helped me in shifting my focus on this whole quarantine. I don’t focus on what it has taken from me, but I’m learning to focus on using my creativity to be productive and see this as a chance to create something more.
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