On the surface being stuck at home sounds relaxing, but if you’re like me you begin to feel as though you aren’t being productive enough. That inner voice telling you that you should be accomplishing so much more stomps all over the tranquillity of being home. Since being home for nearly 8 weeks at the point, I’ve been engaging a few different practices to (mostly) successfully keep an inner calm so below I’ll share what’s been working for me.
- Sticking to a schedule. I write myself a To Do list style schedule everyday, including all of the daily tasks I need to complete each day regardless of how obvious it seems. Crossing these items off the list each day give me a sense of accomplishment. I’ve been keeping my daily lists in a journal to serve as a written history of what I’ve been doing with myself over the course of this major event in history and if I feel the need to journal my thoughts I add that in as well. I think this will be very interesting to look back on in a few years.
- Staying active. I’ve been walking on the treadmill every morning since the Coronacation began just to get in some daily movement. Since then I’ve slowly been adding onto my workout routine little by little. Jumping right in may work for some people, but I know from past experiences if I don’t slowly ease into a workout routine I get crazy sore and give up entirely. I started by doing a workout video once a week and since have added on by doing one yoga video a week as well. I know it’s such a cliche but moving your body does make you feel good.
- Meditation practice. I usually do a meditation on the Calm app that lasts between 10 to 15 minutes. My daily meditation is the only true quiet time I get most days so I savor it as a chance to clear my brain and reset my mindset.
- Having a solid financial plan. I’m sure this one seems out of place, but there are so many people experiencing financial hardship right now that finances are surely a source of inner turmoil for many. I’ve worked really hard over the past few years on creating and implementing a financial plan for our family. We have an emergency fund if we end up loosing an income during this crisis, which luckily hasn’t happened yet, but anything is possible. We paid off all of the ongoing debts we had and our credit cards are not carrying any balances. I keep a penny by penny account of where every cent we spend is going so in a worst case scenario I know what items can be cut from our budget and in what order. This might sound like overkill, that is until you actually have to do it; then you’ll be glad to be in the practice.
- Playing with my kitty. Fran has loved every single second of us being home 24/7. She’s a real people kitty. Playing with her everyday gives me fantastic perspective on the importance of being in the moment and appreciating every single second. She doesn’t care about what she was doing 5 minutes ago, nor has she planned out what she will be doing 5 minutes from now. She is completely in the moment whether that be chasing a ball, meowing for her wet food, or napping on the couch. We could all strive to be present.
- Shopping. This is admittedly not the healthiest emotional outlet and I am well aware of that. On the flip side I now have 5 super cute new workout sets and I’m not mad about it.
- Reading. Reading is something I always want to do more of and never seem to make time for. I’ve been feeling super accomplished lately for fitting reading into my day and that brings me great joy.
