Keeping Sane During Covid
So as we look to be possibly entering a second wave with Covid here in Toronto, I started thinking about some of the things I have been doing in an attempt to stay productive, rather than going completely insane. I understand how drastically Covid has affected some of our lives: losing jobs, losing loved ones, and getting used to living in a strange apocalypse like world. Covid has taken a lot from me as well: my job, my safety, my comfort being around strangers in public. I am high risk for the disease, so I have had to be very careful in what activities I decide to do and where I can go, even if during the summer many of the restrictions have been lifted for most average people who are in their late 20’s. Many important and life saving services, such as planned panned parenthood, are either closed or have wait- times of 7 weeks or more.
This can be such a difficult time, and so here are some ideas I’ve found helpful for me to make things a bit less scary and gloomy:
Interior Design.
I personally, have found it a bit helpful to do the suggested cleaning and organizing of your home. Something that has really helped me is to bring some of the activities I’d normally be doing outside, inside and home to me. For example, over the summer I was able to set up a bit of patio furniture to make my home feel a bit more like going to a bar- bonus points if you can set up decorations that are wind proof, as I could not. Now that its October, I realized that I won’t get to go to a club or a Halloween party this year, as I do most years. So I bought a small pumpkin for my house and drew a face on it. I plan to dress up in a simplified, mostly homemade Elsa outfit (I already happen to have a dress that looks close enough to what Elsa wears in the first movie) while watching some sort of Halloween themed movie- it has yet to be determined if it will at all be scary.
Set a realistic goal.
It can be intimidating and anxiety producing to compare yourself to other peoples’ accomplishments that they have already produced and paraded around us normal humans. Taylor Swift successfully wrote, recorded, and released a whole 17 track album in the span of like 5 months for pete’s sake! (As a huge Taylor Swift fan I must tell you that I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but Folklore has started to really grow on me). I see Instagram posts and other things saying that we should all have accomplished all our goals by the end of quarantine, and that is just setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment. What I found helpful was to set a small goal, of something that was doable for me. I wanted to read more and actually finish a book for the first time in a while. So I decided that I would start reading a book, even if it was just for 20 minutes a day, and commit to finishing it within the next 6 weeks. Find a goal of something small you can do every day- consistency and commitment are key right now as everything can feel so helpless and out of our control.
Keep Moving.
When things shut down, it can be tempting to allow our bodies and minds to shut down too. I believe in living a life of moderation (to the best I can), so I do think it’s ok if you have a few days where you just can’t deal with all the stress and fear-which can be exasperated if you don’t have a job anymore due to Covid. Taking a few days to indulge in minorly unproductive vices isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it’s a good idea to balance all this inertia out with action. Since the start of the pandemic there have been plenty of tutorials on Youtube that can guide you through at home work-outs FOR FREE, including everything from turning your home in to a gym, to zumba and more. My personal favourite is to do Just Dance tutorials on Youtube (which are also free), because it gets me singing and dancing. As well, since it is still Fall don’t forget that you can always talk a walk in your neighbourhood or go to a park to keep active- just remember to bring your mask in case it gets crowded with other like-minded individuals!
Hobbies.
So as I mentioned above we are living in a golden age of instructional and DIY videos on Youtube, where people will happily teach you almost anything. So now is a great time to either return to a fun hobby you had or to start a new one. It doesn’t have to be something you’re necessarily great at, it just has to be something that brings you some happiness and keeps you engaged. I’ve heard that a lot of people are trying and giving up Ukulele, and as a Ukulele player myself I say: there are other instruments and hobbies! There’s no pressure for us to suddenly become a nation of proficient Ukulele players- its ok if music isn’t for you. Making different arts, trying new cooking and baking ideas, finishing a book you’ve been meaning to get around to are all great ideas- there are lots of cost effective and innovative ways to take up hobbies. So get creative, and don’t limit yourself in your interests- try all of the things you want to!
I hope I’ve given you some good starting points. What are some of your favourite things to do during the pandemic that help you stay sane? Don’t forget to give yourself some leeway during this difficult time-not every day is going to be as you envisioned and that’s ok. Just take it one step at a time.
Yours,
Rose