#quarantine tips

[your-isolation-buddy]

Friendly reminder that during lockdown you do not have to:

Learn a new language

Or instrument

Or master any new skill for that matter

Reorganise your life

Start a new fitness regime

Video chat three times a day with people you haven't spoken to in years/ feel pressured to take part in virtual dinner parties every night just because everyone is doing it

Massively change your diet

Deep clean your house

Master yoga

Become an artist

Or basically anything else that you feel pressured to do but don't need to or have the resources (physically, mentally or whatever else) to deal with right now.

Of course you can do these things if you want to. If making big changes helps you, go for it. Just don't pressure others. This is a hugely unsettling and pretty scary time and so for most people, not an appropriate time to make big life changes. You don't have to 'improve' yourself during lockdown or quarantine. You just have to do your best. You just have to get through it, find joy where you can and take care of yourself and those around you to the best of your ability.

The emergency services and other sources of support are struggling to cope. They don't need us driving ourselves into the ground under pressure of what we 'should' be doing, trying to meet impossible targets. Our job is to stay safe and take care of ourselves.

(Note- this doesn't mean that there is no capacity for you and your non-covid related flare up or other health concern. If you are in need of help please ask for it, don't avoid going to A&E or calling for help just because you think there isn't space. I just mean that everyone is stressed and things are hard right now, so taking care of yourself will help others as well as yourself)

Your job is to take care of yourself.

That's it. Number one goal. That doesn't mean be selfish, hoard-the-toilet-paper, look out for number one type taking care of yourself. It means that now more than ever, you need to protect and grow and cherish your mental health. Not just for yourself, but for everyone. For the people you love and the people they love. For your dog. For the friend who sees everyone else panicking, but finds in comfort in your reassurance of "it's ok, we got this." The quiet strength and stoicism of small daily actions that seem irrelevant, but which quietly encourage others to take heart and carry on too.

Tearing ourselves down and beating ourselves up is not how we fight this. You need to love yourself, as much as you can. We need to love each other, not make each other feel bad. So ignore all that preasure to 'make something of yourself' or 'make the most' of this situation. And listen to what you need. I can't say this enough.

Take care of yourself and your mental health

Stay safe💜 Take care of yourself💜 Love yourself💜Love each other💜 Save lives

[daisystudies]

productivity while working from home

hi all! i hope everyone’s been well and healthy. if you’re like me, switching to online classes & working from home is not always easy -- here are some tips to still be productive while working from home!

1. do your best to stick to your normal routine. this includes eating normally, sleeping normally, etc. - do your best to do what you have been doing before isolating. there are already enough changes in your life with school or work... you don’t need to stress your mind & body out more by changing your sleeping and eating habits!

2. don’t work in your bed. i know it’s tempting... but don’t do it. even if you go to your living room or desk, you are more likely to feel like you are in your normal routine. working in bed was never a good idea before, and it still isn’t. don’t. do. it.

3. attend all lectures - even if they are optional. on zoom (or on most other video chat sites that your professor/teacher may use) you can literally turn off your video -- this way, even if you have bedhead and are looking a bit rough you can still go to class. but seriously - going to class is 10x easier now. get the most out of your classes and education and attend your lectures.

4. PRIORITIZE. YOUR. HEALTH. the whole reason we are not in school/at work right now is to stay healthy!! pay extra attention to your hygeine and don’t leave your house. if you feel sick, email your professors and ask for extensions. just be extra conscious of your health needs during the pandemic. 

5. get dressed! even if you are changing from pajamas into leggings and a tshirt, try to get dressed in the morning. studies have shown that putting on regular pants before working from home increases productivity. at the very least, change into different pajamas (for hygeine purposes).

6. take advantage of your new routine! a lot of professors are doing pre-recorded lectures, meaning you can watch them any time you want. do this and your work whenever you are most productive... do you work best in the morning? grind out your lectures then. can you focus more in the afternoon? perfect.. do your work then! either way, see this as an opportunity to work when you want & at your own pace.

7. take walks & spend time outside. please remember to social distance, but spending time in your backyard or on a walk (especially if you live in a more isolated area) is crucial. your body is probably used to getting a certain amount of steps & sunlight every day, so do your best to give it the nutrients and exercise it needs. 

8. keep daily lists. with such an unstructured environment, it can be hard to remember done everything you need to do. every day, make a list of things you hope to accomplish (don’t make it too long) and make sure everything is checked off by the end of the day.

9. don’t be upset with yourself if you struggle. this is a difficult time for all of us, for many different reasons. we will all experience some sort of disruption in our work. just pick yourself back up and keep going.

10. don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors. they are just an email away, and more often than not, are happy to help you in whatever you need. if you’re having trouble with the new structure of the class, or are confused about the class in general, they are more often than not happy to help.

if any of you need anything at this time, don’t hesitate to reach out to me x

[oneleggedflamingo]

Stuff to keep you sane during revising vacation and distance learning

I decided to make this post based on my experiences during last spring. These are also some things, which I will be using to my advantage during revising vacation. I never thought that I would say this, but I’m kinda glad that horrible distance learning thing happened, because otherwise I would probably not be able to handle the next couple of weeks. 

Keep a running list of your assignments and their deadlines, even if you have no motivation or the time to work on them. Having a list of all the things that you should to, makes it a lot easier to get back on them, when you have the time and energy. 

Try to do you best but don’t expect yourself to be able to keep up with your pre-distance learning track record. Distance learning is not a cost-efficient experience, stuff takes more time and energy than it would normally. So be merciful to yourself. 

Set up your priorities. You really don’t have to be good at everything and depending on your schooling system, you could comfortably take F on an exam now, and then ACTUALLY focus on it later. 

- While revising, figure out your goal grades and the lowest grade, which you would be comfortable with. 

- Asses how much work and effort achieving your separate goals would take and plan accordingly. 

- If you feel like there isn’t enough time and EVERYHING is so hard, disassemble the syllabus, and figure out which would take the most work, and just drop it. Focus on the remaining things and remember that exams are supposed to evaluate your understanding on all of the things. You have high chances of passing and doing well even when you don’t fully understand 1/5 of the content. 

Embrace your style of getting stuff done, even if it is not the one your educators embrace/endorse. Distance learning is not the time to try to fit into someone else's box. I did two month’s worth of Finnish assignments during three six hour desk marathons during the last week of the semester. 

Get out of the house, but in a responsible way. Think about low attendance places where you could go, for ex. bird towers, lakes/ponds/small harbours, forests, funky small town cultural memorial sites... 

- Driving ALONE to the grocery store is so great, I can’t endorse it enough. 

- Stopping your car in a scenic and a safe place, listening a podcast and drinking coffee feels so nice. 

- Go look for cool places in nature. 

- There are a lot of fire towers and lesser known sight seeing towers in remote areas. They aren’t often attracting people because the towers look rusty, wobbly or like they are rotting, even when they are safe to climb. 

- Go canoeing/boating but stay safe. I still remember the first time I went canoeing alone for the first time. 

You can start your running/biking/other outdoor exercise season a lot sooner, because you aren’t forced to waste daylight on commutes. Getting back on scheduled workouts, which you are hyped about, gives more structure to the way you use your time. It can inadvertently help you plan your revising/school work alongside of your workouts. 

- Exercising isn’t supposed to be a bummer or a thing that practically puts you in bed rest. Find something that gives you joy and is on your own fitness level. On the other hand, going through personal physical feats can boost your confidence and make you feel like you have a handle on life. 

Find a show you like that has a new episodes coming up every week. It can give you something to look forward to and makes you feel like time is passing. 

Make some meal plans for couple of days in a row. Make sure you have things to eat, which makes you feel like you can take on the world and keep you satisfied while doing so. 

Remember that you can have meaningful experiences on your own while staying at home. 

- Try fixing a thing you have never fixed before.

- Read up on a car problem. 

- Plant some seeds, if you have never tried growing anything.

- Buy some fabric and make a pair of shorts, if you have never made clothes. There are super easy instructions for making shorts.  

- Bake something you have never baked before. 

- Watch a movie from a genre you are not a big consumer of. 

- Try to paint something. 

- If you aren’t artsy, look at your house/room objectively and figure out a way you could make better.

[sk-lumen]

Quarantine Tips #1

Stick to a daily routine that makes you feel at ease, maintains a healthy amount of order, peace, joy, etc. It’s important to maintain a sense of structure and not let your sleep/general schedule get thrown off. Stay mindful, stay in control.

Remember to be gentle with yourself, now we are going through exceptional times. There’s literally no valid reason to beat yourself up over. If you want to take it easy, do that. If you want to straighten up and stay focused on your goals even from the confines of your home, do that. If you wanna plan some boss moves once the quarantine is over, do that. If all you wanna do is cherish the time spent with loved ones...do that. Whatever keeps your heart at ease at the moment.

Good diet - not in the magazine diet kinda healthy, but in the hearty soups, lots of veggies and fruits kinda way. Plenty of protein and carbs and vitamins, and a good dose of sunshine if you can get it. Don’t forget to stay hydrated, and remember, a healthy body = a strong body & mind.

Maintain physical activity - do some yoga, light stretching, a fun workout every day or once a week at least by finding some fun exercises you like on the internet. Exercise releases serotonin and relieves tension and stress = happier mind & body.

Spend your time doing what you love, if you have time to spare - read your favorite books, watch some great comedies or tv shows, write in your diary or gratitude journal listing things you’re grateful for having in your life. Doodle in your journal, enjoy the splash of watercolors; create something beautiful. Write a list of things you’d like to do once the quarantine is over (my personal favorite) and take your time daydreaming and meditating over all the activities you’re gonna do while back outside with the world as your playground!

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

You know, being in quarantine and having nowhere to go makes it so easy to lose track of personal hygiene.

Normally, I’d wake up via alarm every day and I’d immediately brush my teeth. And having places to go to made it much easier to remember to shower every couple days.

But since I have nowhere to go, I haven’t been setting an alarm (which is great) but also...instead of getting up immediately, I lay in bed for a while which throws me off my normal routine. Yesterday, I realized around lunch time that I’d forgotten to brush my teeth in the morning. And today I also realized I haven’t showered in almost a week.

So I started setting alarms on my phone—I usually go to bed around 11 and wake up around 9 so I set alarms for 10am and 10pm to remind me to brush my teeth. And I also set another alarm for every Monday/Wednesday/Friday to remind me to take a shower.

I’m realizing that, staying at home all day with nothing to do may seem fun and relaxing at first...but after a while it actually just gets tiresome and stressful. So maintaining some Kind of routine (even if it’s not exactly your normal routine) is really important. (But don’t just rely on your own memory to help you keep your routine) write down a schedule or set reminders on your phone...something to keep you accountable so you don’t forget or talk yourself out of it.

This is hard for all of us, but remember we’re all in this together. If anyone else has any other tips for how to survive the quarantine, please feel free to share!

[zahkilimasac]

the quarantine that we thought would only last weeks took much longer than we expected.

During the quarantine, we've gone through many struggles. like, adjusting to the new normal, being forbidden to go outside, hang out with your friends, and go shopping. This was one of our ways to relieve stress and enjoy ourselves. But with the pandemic, we can't do any of that. We're stuck at home, left with nothing to do. This causes our mental health to get worse. As a teenager, I also experienced that and it is indeed a hard experience.

So here are 5 things that help me cope up with the situation and enjoy myself during the quarantine that might help you too!

1. Engaging in Arts

The first week of quarantine I was already bored. So, I browse through “shopee” an online shopping app, and the first thing that caught my attention is the cute and affordable drawing materials and stationery. I thought that this would help me to kill some time during the quarantine so I pressed the add to cart button and “check order”! after weeks (some took a month because of the pandemic) items I ordered finally arrived and I don't regret anything. the drawing materials I ordered indeed help me a lot to kill some time and enjoy myself.

Drawing, painting, designing my room with the cute and cool designs I bought, helps me distract myself to think negative things that relieve my anxiety, it disconnects as from stress, express inner thoughts, and even meditate. Aside from that, When drawing, we actively use both sides of our brain, the right for creativity, and the left for logical thinking. This strengthens both and helps develop the ability to focus and think strategically.

Here are some of my works!

2. Journal Making

now that we are quarantined, we can't hang out with our friends, classmates, and enjoy ourselves with them, we can't tell them our stories, no one's gonna listen to our problem. We have our families to speak to that will also listen to us too, but I'm just not open to them, it's hard to open up to my family. I'm not the type of person who shares their problems with their friends. I just tend to keep it myself until I recover from it. But this situation still made an impact on me. I used to love it when I'm alone, but now it's different, It feels lonely. I want to go outside and talk to my friends. I can't handle being alone anymore. My mental health got worst and fragile because of that.

Mid- January I had a panic attack. I was anxious for an unknown reason, to the point, my head hurts from thinking too much, then I start shivering like crazy, I couldn't control my breathing, tears keep falling from my eyes. It lasts almost an hour. I was so afraid. What I did during that time, is wrote in my journal random things, the thing that makes me happy, encouraging words, and my problems to calm myself and distract myself from negative thoughts. Journaling is a tool that allows you to explore the experiences that make you anxious. It helps you clear your mind of intrusive thoughts that “won't leave you alone”. Journaling helps you calm your mind. It releases negative feelings and thoughts.

Here are a few of the pages from my journal!

3. Taking Pictures

Quarantine and left nothing to do. Just scrolling through my social media, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Admiring their pictures, their visuals. It made me a little bit insecure about myself, of how I look like and lose my confidence. So I thought to myself if I can do it too. So I tried it thinking I can get my confidence back.

Aside from pictures connects us to our past, remind us of people, place, feelings, and stories. It becomes my coping mechanism to dress up and look decent and take a picture. Especially now that we are in quarantine, stuck at home. There are no rules that my hair should only be 3 inches long and such. I can express myself and my creativity more. Now that I've been posting my pictures on my social media I gain my confidence back. The amount of love, compliments, and validation they're giving to my pictures are just astronomical.

Here are some of my pictures of me feeling myself!

4. Making Friends Online

I've been feeling lonely since the quarantine started. I'm not a friendly person. so, I only have few friends in real life, and I couldn't message them every time because they have their own lives too, and I don't want to bother them.

So I started by making a new Facebook account to have a new set of friends I can talk to then I posted the pictures I took. Through that, people added me from different places Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and even from other countries like China, Japan, and Lithuania. Some of them I meet through online games. They become a big part of my life as they're the ones who help and cheer me up when I'm down, encourage me, and boost my self-esteem. Though it is kind of sad that you can't meet them for now because they are from far away, and it's hard to communicate with them. Especially when they speak a different language. But with the help of the new technology, we can now watch movies together, translate messages, video calls, and more!

These are some of the screenshots of me and my online friends' face time!

5. Watching Netflix

And Of course, watching Netflix!

Anime, K-Drama, J-Drama, Movies, Cartoons, you name it, you can watch it all on Netflix.

Since I was younger, I always watch anime to kill some time and enjoy myself at the moment. It also becomes my stress reliever. Also, watching movies encourage emotional release. Even those who often have trouble expressing their emotions might find themselves laughing or crying during a film. This release of emotions can have a cathartic effect and also make it easier for a person to become more comfortable in expressing their emotions.

here are some of my favorite scenes!

That's all! thanks for reading! stay safe!

[azzziiiii]

Quarantine Glow Up

You've heard of summer, spring, and fall break glow ups. Now get ready for the newest one!

Technically pt 3 or something

Step 1 -

Established a good sleep routine. For example; go to bed a 9 30 and wake up at 5. The early you wake up the more productive you'll feel, trust me. Try to pick a time before the rest of your family is up, it helps you get even more done

Step 2 -

Drink lots of water!! Seriously, water clears the skin and helps with all sorts of crazy stuff! Try to avoid lots of sugar and salt, it sucks for your skin and your overall health

Step 3 -

Workout in the mornings every week day. If you don't have any sort of workout equipment at home, I suggest downloading an app. 7M Women is awesome and has workouts for all levels, and, despite the name, is not only geared towards women.

Step 4 -

Just cause school's out doesn't mean you shouldn't do stuff. Study for an hour or two every day and make sure to read books. Paper books. Don't use your phone all day, it's bad for your sight and sometimes your mental health.

Step 5 -

DON'T WEAR MAKE-UP!! I'm sorry, but this is really important. You're not leaving the house, so don't wear it. It is horrible for your skin. I keep saying that, and I will continue to say that.

You don't have to follow these in order, but these two things will really help you to glow over quarantine!

[fratresdei]

being in nature is super important to my spiritual practice but i can't really go outside now for obvious reasons, how do you connect to nature from inside?

Great question! I want to start with a reminder that you ARE nature; you aren't an alien who isn't part of our ecosystem! We’ve absorbed this unhealthy dichotomy that our human bodies and the enclosures in which we live aren’t part of nature, but you wouldn’t say that ants in an anthill aren’t a part of nature because they built themselves a city system, would you? 

However, there are certainly ways to make “in here” feel more connected to “out there”, especially while we’re all doing our part to keep ourselves and our communities healthy by staying indoors. Nurturing a few windowsill plants, whether edible or decorative, can be a nourishing meditative practice. There’s something profound about running a hot shower or bath (drawing water up from the ground and into your home) and letting it engulf you. And don’t be afraid to crack the windows and let in a little sunlight, breeze, and maybe the spray of a rainfall! Try to remember that, even though you may feel disconnected from the natural world, it’s already all around you. The items in your home —the wood of your coffee table the metal in your computer, the stone of your countertops — are all parts of nature. 

All this to say, your own body is an amazing place to start if you want to reconnect with nature. Bring your focus on yourself and your own infinite natural processes. If you can gaze at a river to find a sense of rhythm and calm, you can gaze at your own pulse. If you’d like a little guidance getting started listening to and re-connecting to your body as a spiritual practice, I do offer remote body discernment sessions! The scheduling link is here (I’ll also drop it in the comments) and the first session is free to all.

Best of luck!