Staying Sane While Quarantining

More than the three-quarter population of the United States are quarantined in their homes for over a month. The worsening situation of the world dynamics owing to the spread of Covid-19 forecasts extension in the quarantine period. Not only the pandemic has caused economic and health crisis globally, but it has also added to the stress of people living at home.

The quarantine period can drain the positivity and energy if we only focus on the distressing situation around. On the other hand, this period can prove to be calming and productive by investing time in some constructive activities. Understandably, keeping sane in the current circumstances is not easy, yet essential. In case you have not thought of any activities to spend your time in productive and creative tasks, let's tell you a few.

Connect With Your Friends

Do you remember the last time you spoke to an old friend of yours? I bet not many of us remember! This is because of the scarcity of time as we are engaged in our office work and daily chores. Yet, this period has allowed us to connect to those who we have lost contact with, on the way. Dial the number, talk to your friends, and recall all the memories of good times. Remembering the fun times spent together can be a great stress reliever for you and your friends as they might also be looking for a way out of the distressing atmosphere. Talk it out, what's better than talking to your friends during free time. Check out on them and see how they are spending their quarantine phase.

Talk to Your Family

Family and friends are equally important. However, we forget our distant family in a fast-paced life. The quarantine period has given us plenty of time to take care of all the people we have not checked on in the past months. Some relatives of yours might be going through a financial or emotional crisis, and a few words of care and pity can go a long way. It is important to spend time with family at home by looking at mutual interests.

Here is a list of things that you can do with your family:

• Try cooking and baking with your mom or dad and recreate unique family dishes.
• Learn cooking or baking (whatever you are interested in!) and polish your cooking skills.
• Play video games with your brothers or see what he is interested in and spend doing that activity.
• Help your parents with home chores, as this will help them relax a bit and will give you an opportunity to spend more time with them.

Practice Yoga

Since all the gyms and yoga classes are closed due to social distancing measures taken by the government, it is imperative to stay healthy indoors. Practicing yoga and meditating for some time at home can help reduce your stress levels and keep you healthy. The great thing about yoga is you don't need any machine or equipment, just take your mat and get started. You will see the results in a few days as it will help you:

• Enlighten your mood.
• Relieve your stress.
• Feeling of joy and peace.

Skincare

It's time to take care of your skin like never before. Pamper yourself by following skincare steps for flawless skin. It is essential as staying at home means less exposure to UV rays, which are harmful to skin. So it's a golden chance to take care of it in a better manner. Use facemasks, scrubs, facewash, and treat yourself. There are a lot of tutorials on how to do that and take care of your skin, nails, and hair.

Gardening

You can derive great pleasure from gardening simple plants, flowers, vegetables within your home. Decorate your lawn and give it the attention it truly deserves. Grow herbs, fresh vegetables, and trim your grass. We cannot emphasize enough on how this hobby can be very fruitful (literally) and soothing.

Don't worry, even if you don't have a lawn, you can use plant pots and grow your plants in that. Growing plants at home give an overall sense of goodness and freshness. It's a great hobby that can be very helpful in spending time positively during the quarantine. If you are worried about how to grow plants, here is a list of some plants that can be grown from your kitchen scrap

• Grow cilantro at your home by using the stems. Grow stem in water until roots are 2 inches long, then transfer it to a pot. And within a few weeks, you will enjoy homegrown fresh cilantro leaves.
• Tomato seeds can be used to grow tomatoes at home. Sow the seeds extracted from the vegetable. Regularly water it and make sure it gets enough sunlight. Now, wait till your tomatoes grow.
• Green chilies are also very easy to grow and are widely used for cooking purpose. Take the seeds and sow them in high-quality soil. Water them regularly with proper exposure to sunlight. You will enjoy your homegrown green chilies within few weeks.
• Lemons can also be grown using its seeds.

Adopt a New Hobby

We all have different hobbies we are invested in. It is high time to take up a whole unique hobby and see if you enjoy doing that. While reading a book and collecting postcards may sound cliché but who knows you might actually like it. Try different things and open yourself to various opportunities. Following are some of the hobbies you can take:

• Learn cooking and baking.
• Learn to stitch.
• Painting
• Sketching
• Calligraphy
• Origami
• Photography, Photoshop, photo editing tools
• Make a blog and start posting whatever you are interested in.

Catch Up on Your Favorite Show

This quarantine has given us all a lot of time to catch up on our favorite TV shows and series. Right now, is the time to binge-watch them all. While there is a long list of suggestions, you can choose what you like depending on your taste. There is a lot of series trending on Netflix that you can watch to entertain yourself.

Bonus Tip: Google up about the show you're going to watch and read reviews before investing your time in there.

Organize Your Wardrobe

We all know how good it feels to have a clean and organized wardrobe, sigh! It's time to stop procrastinating and do it. Organize stuff, clean your drawers, and get rid of extra stuff that you no longer utilize.

Sleep Routine

Make sure you don't ruin your sleep during this phase. Try to sleep on your set time as it will help you have a good and sound sleep. Sleeping on time and getting proper 7-10 hourly sleep will definitely help you have a healthy, positive, and productive day. We know how sleep influences our mood, so yeah, sleep on time. It will also be helpful when the quarantine is over, and you will go back to your normal routine.

Make a Diary

Start writing a diary on a daily basis. Write down all your daily activities in a journal. This quarantine will be over soon, and it will be a good memory to look back at. It will also keep you occupied, not to miss how writing a diary will be beneficial to you every day.

To Do's After Quarantine

I know we all are impatient to get out of the home and go about your daily life. Start making a list of things that you would love to do once quarantine is over. It will really give you hope and also will give you time to plan your things. So, grab a pen and paper and start making your list. Plan your hangouts with your friends, movies, picnic and other outdoor activities. It will mainly help you stay positive and hopeful.

More things To Do

• A lot of museums are offering a visual tour, check that out and enjoy virtual tours of museums around the globe at the comfort of your home.
• Watch a show together with your friends and family at once on Netflix and enjoy the cinematic vibes. Do not forget to follow the social distancing rules.
• There are a lot of DIY projects that you can do and learn to Do It Yourself.
• Offer to help your neighbors who are elderly with their grocery and other stuff.
• Write letters to your friends and family that are far away.
• Take a break from social media, as it can get quite overwhelming at times.
• Relax your mind and body.

Hopefully, these above tips will help you relax a bit and go through this quarantine phase. It is not easy to do that, but we are hopeful that it will end soon, and we can go about normal daily life like taking a walk outside, going to the workplace and meeting family and friends. But for now, utilize your time in the best way possible.