How are you doing? Have you gotten used to the Corona virus situation yet, or are you still coming to terms with what’s going on? I find myself going back and forth between feeling anxious, nervous and “off”, and somehow functioning and feeling quite alright.
How I’ll feel when I wake up each day is a complete surprise. Some days I feel very lucky that the important and major things in my life haven’t been affected much. I’m an introvert who works from home in a digital field so the semi-lockdown we’re in isn’t that different from my normal day to day life.
Some days I feel motivated and value all the extra time I’ve gained. I’ll run around the house cleaning, doing laundry, and making content. And then some days, I’m glad if by the end of the day I’ve managed to shower, put clothes on and feed myself and my pets.
Most days I’m somewhere in-between. I’m easily distracted, struggle to find motivation to work, and constantly feel like something’s off. Tasks that I’d normally complete in a couple of hours, now take me days to finish and my inbox is getting fuller by the day. My work days currently start around lunchtime and only last a few hours.
Lose The Pressure
Social media can make it seem like everybody’s living their best indoor life at the moment. Finally picking up old hobbies, finding time to finish projects around the house, learn a new language or sew a ballgown. For many people however, especially the more sensitive among us, that’s not the reality right now. We’re going through a highly unusual situation, nobody really knows what’s going to happen or how long this will last. Many of us have lost part of our freedom and, worst of all, there’s an actual danger to us and our loved ones that we can only do so much to fend off.
It’s ok if you don’t feel like being productive, or feel like you aren’t able to. For those of you working from home for the first time, there’s a lot of adjusting to do. Especially if you have children who are stuck at home and demand attention, too. This is not an extra holiday so please don’t feel any pressure to act as if it is. It’s ok if you’re still stressed and just trying to get by. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself the time you need to adapt to this new situation.
However, as in any challenging time in our lives, it’s good to gently push ourselves to a certain extent. If you’re struggling, try and make sure your basic needs are met. Eat regular nutritious meals, take care of your personal hygiene and try to get enough sleep. Exercise helps a lot, whether it’s outdoors if you’re allowed, or indoors if you’re not. And if you have any duties, whether they be work-related or domestic, try to work on them at least a little bit each day.
Making a short to-do list for yourself at the start of the day can be very helpful, but be sure to keep it short and realistic. I personally only set myself one “big” task per day now, the size of which varies. It can be anything from filming an extensive hair tutorial to simply prepping some food.
Just Keep Swimming
In short, don’t feel bad about slowing down if that’s what you need at the moment. Prioritize the most important things in your life and try to chip away at those, but cut yourself some slack if you’re not doing anything extra or even if you’re not doing everything as well as you usually do.
If you are looking for ways to spend your days/evenings/weekends and activities to distract yourself with (that don’t involve refreshing your news feed 5x in a row), I’ve compiled four lists of things you can do in isolation. A list of things to do for your mind, one for your body, one for your home, and one for your community. Because as much as I am in favour of being gentle to ourselves, the following is a great reminder:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
For Your Mind
- Make a dent in your to-read pile
- Use materials around your home to make arts & crafts
- Learn a new craft (I can recommend knitting, crochet and embroidery)
- Play an instrument or learn how to play one
- Start learning a new language (dead languages are fun, too!)
- Play board games with your family
- Binge-watch a show on Netflix or go for a movie marathon
- Learn new card games
- Do a guided meditation
- Make new playlists on Spotify with your favourite music
- Play video games (I’ve gotten hooked on Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery on mobile and MySims Kingdom on the Wii)
- Do a puzzle
- Take an online class
- Visit a museum digitally
- Watch a theater live-stream (the Dutch National Opera & Ballet are streaming some of their performances!)
- Take up journalling and write down everything that’s on your mind
- Start a memory box
For Your Body
- Go on a walk in your local park/forest (please heed your local government instructions and keep a safe distance from others)
- Follow a yoga class on YouTube
- Put on a face mask, hair mask, or both
- Cook and/or bake something new, or prepare an old favourite
- See if your gym offers digital at home workout programmes
- Revisit your cook books and bookmark any exciting recipes
- Go for a run or cycle (I’ve dusted off my inline skates again)
- Learn how to french braid your own hair
- Put on your favourite music and have a solo dance party
- Try out some beginner-friendly nail art
- Dye or cut your own hair (CAREFULLY, please :) )
- Play the matching game with your clothes and find new outfit combinations
For Your Home
- Do a 20 minute speed clean every day- a clean and tidy environment will help you feel better
- Switch out your winter clothes for your spring pieces
- De-pill your sweaters
- Rearrange or swap out some decor pieces
- Organise cluttered cabinets- put like items in bins and label them
- Make DIY macrame plant hangers
- Deep clean areas you normally don’t get to
- Do small repairs around the house
- Declutter your phone and computer
- Get your garden or balcony ready for spring & summer
- Decorate your outdoors and brighten up the neighbourhood
- Clean your makeup brushes and hair brushes
- Rearrange the furniture in a room
- Make & hang up some fresh art (or print it)
- Declutter any broken/unusable items you can find
- Perform some maintenance on your vehicles
- Rearrange your books
For Your Community
- Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly/vulnerable neighbour next time you go to the store
- Meet with a group of friends through Skype, Discord or Houseparty
- Send a postcard to a loved one
- Play online video games with friends (my choice: D&D through roll20.net)
- Donate extra food/supplies to the foodbank
- Shop from a small (online) business
- Call a family member
- Send a small gift to a loved one through a delivery service (try flowers)
- Order food delivery from a local restaurant
- Build a fort or play castle for your children or pets (or yourself!)
- Find out if there’s a way you can volunteer/help out charities or people with vital jobs
![TMI Tag [Tea Time]](http://loepsie.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/TMITag3.jpg)
Hi Lucy,
I’m not someone who engages much with youtubers on social media or anything, but I just wanted to take the time to say that I’ve been following your channel for several years now, and it is the only channel/content that I’ve consistently enjoyed over time as I’ve grown and changed as a person (well, you and Adrian von Ziegler!), especially as we are the same age and quite like-minded. I’m glad you’re still posting blog posts, sometimes it’s nice to just read something not on social media or YouTube. I also work from home and have done so for a couple of years now, so like you, there hasn’t been much change for me! If anything, that makes it feel weirder because while everyone else is constantly talking about the change, how to adapt, and all the free time they suddenly have (and all the “tips for working from home” that actually don’t mean much !), I feel “stuck” in the same old routine with long work hours (I do a lot of overtime) and the same amount of free time as before. That isn’t to say that I’m not grateful to be one of the fortunate ones to still have an income for now – I am very fortunate in that respect – it’s just a strange, different anxiety opposite to what it seems that most of the [privileged] world is experiencing. Anyway, so I don’t keep rambling, I just wanted to say thanks and that I hope you will be able to continue creating content as long as you want to!
Thank you Jihane! I’ve seen your name around quite a bit over the years so you must engage more than you think, haha ;) Thank you for your kind words and for sticking around <3
I feel the same every day – it’s a complete mystery if I’ll wake up feeling totally positive or like not getting up at all, if we’ll all get through it by May or if we’re all gonna die. I’m quite an ‘up and down’ person any way but this is day-on-day madness, emotions-wise haha. Lovely post :) I’m not feeling very productive right now but reading and a bit of colouring seem kind of doable, so I’m keeping myself busy with that.
I’m glad you posted about all this. I have wondered how you’ve been and especially have your grandparents in my prayers. My life has not changed all that much; I’m a homeschooling mom in my non-quarantine life (I almost said “in a past life”… meaning a month ago), so my normal is to be around home, but everything about life feels strange now. We’re going to try learning French, though! Our cousin has a little stepdaughter who speaks French, so we’re going to learn her language.
Hi Loepsie,
I’ve been following your YT channel and blog for a while and often read new blogpost, they are alwasy so relaxing and it really helps ease my mind, especially during these days so thank you for that and keep up the great work! :)
Thank you, Sophie! <3
Very challenging, I have a 3 year old son who is autistic, and very high energy. He is used to being constantly on the go, with therapies every day, and I know he misses going out and seeing other kids. He’s mostly non verbal, I know he’s frustrated. I also live with my parents, both in the 70’s and poor health. I know the “information overload”, so many differing opinions. I’ve poured myself over everything. Not only fearful of this virus of uncertain origins, but how far will this go? Economic collapse, civil unrest? Who can you trust, is there any position of power that is not corrupt? Very scary times indeed. At the grocery store today my dad said he spoke to a woman, she said this would be her last trip to the store, she’s been laid off work, no unemployment check or money and no way to feed her family. Said he could see the fear in her eyes. Stay safe, Loepsie.