How To Stay Sane During A Pandemic
From the author of ‘How To Have A Good Day’
I think we can all agree that being in lock-down has really tested our limits, mentally, physically, and socially. Sure, there are people out there who love being at home and doing their own thing. But at some point, we all need some kind of social interaction or an environmental change. So imagine telling our species, animals who literally need to have some sort of physical communication with others, that we have to live at home, work at home, and just be home. We’re not going to like it. But when it comes to a pandemic, this is something we sort of have to force ourselves to do, so might as well try to make the most out of it and enjoy it the best we can.
Now I know this is easier said than done. Trust me, I understand how hard it is to go from seeing new people, making friends to sitting at home alone, just trying to focus on the good of this situation. But think of this as a way to strengthen your brain, you’re challenging yourself to do what hasn’t been done before which is already making you saner than you were before.
Maintaining A Regular Schedule
“Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” — Peter Drucker, best-selling author
Don’t worry, I don’t expect this to be a well-known quote, honestly, I only know of it because of the research I’ve done on the subject. Jokes aside, this was a quote that really spoke to me, because we never realize how quickly time passes by yet how we spend it is super important. Once you are able to master the art of managing time, I believe that you are better able to understand who you are, the way you operate, and even narrow down what you like.
Doing the same mundane activities, especially being stuck at home, can really affect your mental well-being. So organize yourself in a way where you are able to fulfill your responsibilities while also leaving some time for you to enjoy perusal hobbies and activities. You can find more tips and tricks on this in How To Have A Good Day, where we talk about how exactly you can organize your schedule to fill your day with various activities.
Get Dressed
Changing the state of your body changes the state of your sanity. This basically means that by going about your daily routine that you had pre- COVID, you will be able to manipulate your mind into thinking that you’re not just sitting at home, but still going on with your normal life. Wake up, change into what you’d wear to work, go sit at a specific corner of your house or apartment (dedicate this area as your work/school area), and try to keep your timings as normal as can be. Although it is easier to just be lazy and stay in sweatpants all day, this will just make it harder to go back to a working environment in the future. So the best thing you can do is to just act like nothing has changed, other than your workspace.
Try Something New, or Old
There are so many people I’ve talked to (pre-COVID) who would mention tons of activities that they never had the time to try due to their busy schedule. Well, guess what, time to try those things. Because we’re saving so much time by not having to commute to work or school, not having to worry about preparing our lunch and snacks for the day, we’ve got an hour or two that we can carve out of our day to learn a new skill. That being said, I know there are a lot of you who weren’t able to concentrate on hobbies because life got in the way, so maybe you want to restart an old habit of yours. This can be anything from finishing up that old boat you’ve got in the garage to restarting your writing career.
Something I had always been interested in but never had the time to learn was coding. At the start of the pandemic, I researched which coding language to start off with and the most useful way for me to learn then started taking online classes in the language Python. Although it isn’t something I used in my current career, I’m glad I spent my time learning a new skill rather than just rewatching How I Met Your Mother for the 6th time. Now that we’ve got the time, it’s important to put it to good use.
‘Me Time’ Is A Thing
While it’s important to maintain a schedule to stay sane, it’s also important to have time for yourself, ‘Me Time’. During this time you can be lazy and essentially do what you want without feeling guilty. This is super important because it ensures that you won’t burn out by overworking yourself, and so by taking breaks throughout the day where you can procrastinate and relax ensures that your brain is not going to go into overdrive.
‘Me Time’ can also be super useful if you’re stuck in a house with other people. Although we are social animals, sometimes we need a break from socializing, essentially we need time for ourselves to just think and relax. What tends to happen in situations where one is hampered by others is that after a certain amount of time, everyone involved in the situation becomes very irritable, eventually leading to fights after a buildup of tension. This has started happening to me, I’ve been living back with my parents and 3 younger brothers, and after about 9 days of living here, all of us were at each other's throats. To avoid this, just avoid them (for a bit every day to ensure your sanity), go for a walk, take the longer route when you’re coming back home, and just avoid those who irritate you. (You’re not being mean, you’re just avoiding a future war.)
Final Words of Wisdom
I completely understand that most of these tips are easier said than done. And they take time to get used to, especially if you’re not someone who likes to stay at home. But as mentioned earlier, this is great training for your brain. If you’re able to manipulate it in hard situations like these, then it’ll be super helpful in the future. Another thing to keep in mind is to surround yourself with positive energy. This is a strange time to be alive, so it’s important to do the best you can and try to keep yourself happy and motivated.
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David Adams is the pen name of female Canadian entrepreneur Sydney Wong.
As a weekly contributor to Medium blog, Sydney was spotted by TheHustleisFemale, an online place of power for girls with a hustle. This publication chooses these authors based on content, creativity, and contribution to female entrepreneurship. The most popular articles that were written explore the technology and marketing side of entrepreneurship such as “4 Reasons Why Startups Should Take Advantage of Business Intelligence” and “3 Effective Methods to Get Customer Referrals.” The articles have also been published through British Columbia’s Women’s Enterprise Center helping existing and aspiring BC women entrepreneurs.
Sydney likes to help others achieve what she has achieved, and she does this by writing about ways people can succeed by making changes to their lifestyle and overcome their bad habits in order to produce a healthy schedule which allows you to be the most efficient you can be.
Buy How To Have A Good Day on Amazon’s Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JHGRH89
Contact: sydney.wong01@gmail.com
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