10 Tips for mindfulness during corona
And how travelers can use this crisis for the better.
It’s quarantine time. It doesn’t matter if you are rigorously self-isolating yourself, practicing social-distancing as much as you can, or if you are doomed to follow a strict government lockdown.
It’s time to be at home — for all of us.
As simple as this might sound, for a lot of people it is becoming a mission that seems as impossible as those movies with Tom Cruise. Seeing your apartment over and over, leaning against that corner in your room only to catch a few sunrays in the late afternoon, going from bed to couch to chair to bed again, looking through the window and finding yourself daydreaming about when all of this is over…
We are all in the same boat.
But although these unprecedented times are claustrophobic and overwhelming for the vast majority of us, it is time to flip the coin to the brighter side! Let’s not forget that this lockdown can and should be seen as an opportunity for growth. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of projects, ideas, and tasks floating around in which you can immerse yourself in during your ‘free’ time — even as a passionate adventurer and world traveler!
Today, we are sharing with you our top 10 tips of what to do during the corona lockdown, not only to avoid boredom but to actually feel connected with yourself and others.
Because remember: it is not all about taking on these new projects as productively as you can, but rather about being present while you do so. If there is one thing that this crisis has already taught us so far, is to breathe, slow down and pay attention to the things that truly matter in life. Things like precious memories, health, your favorite people, freedom, being humble and empathetic, love. With this in mind, let’s start with our tips!
10 TIPS FOR TRAVELERS DURING THE CORONA LOCKDOWN
TIP 1: Relive your past travels.
At Mapify we believe that living new experiences is probably as important as reliving your old trips and moments of glory. In fact, it is scientifically proven that connecting to meaningful emotions of the past, can positively change your mood. That is why we recommend you to take as much time as you want to go through your old travel photos and videos. Make an effort to mindfully reconnect with the sensations of that precise moment and to recall the situation you were in. In what city or country were you? With who? Were you excited? Has something funny just happened? If you want and have a printer available, we would even recommend you to do a selection of your favorite photos, print them out and do a little collage or vision board with it!
TIP 2: Be generous and share your tips.
We know how frustrating it is to not be able to travel at the moment. Nevertheless, this lockdown gives you enough time to update your Mapify profile and share your best travel recommendations with the community! See it as an opportunity to do good for others and help them put together their perfect trip in the future. Enter your Mapify account and start editing your previous posts, adding valuable information, uploading more photos, or creating new spots and journals you hadn’t had time to post before.
TIP 3: Become a better traveler.
Have you always wanted to go to a certain country, travel alone or start a travel blog? Well, this lockdown gives you enough time to educate yourself in a ton of travel-related topics and even gain some new skills! We suggest you to connect with travel communities like Mapify, read a ton of travel magazines and articles or even sign up for an online course to improve your skills on how to become a travel blogger yourself!
TIP 4: Daydream.
If there is one thing we absolutely can do during this crisis, is daydreaming about the times after corona. Even though right now you might not be able to travel, we suggest you start putting together that trip you always dreamt about! Research everything you need to know, gather feedback from friends that might have been there, log on to Mapify to discover all the secret spots from the country and start gathering all the details you need to know to make it perfect!
TIP 5: Remember, together.
What would our travels be without the people we share them with? Not much. It doesn’t matter if you usually travel alone and make friends along the way, or if you travel with your couple, your friends or family, we recommend you to use this quarantine as an excuse to think about the good old memories, together. Try video calling or skyping the people you shared your most amazing holidays with and let the talk about past trips begin!
TIP 6: Work on your travel-manifestation skills.
At Mapify, we think that dreams become reality when we really, really believe in them. One of our tips for these difficult times is to enhance your manifestation skills. This can happen in so many different ways! For instance, you could sit down for 15 minutes and meditate. While you slow down your breathing, try to envision your next big trip. Focus on all the little details: how do you feel? where are you at? with who? This visualization technique can also be done by writing down your thoughts or painting your ideas on a piece of paper, or even out loud by talking to yourself in front of the mirror. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but do it!
TIP 7: Improve your editing skills
This is a tip that has been sent to us by many of our Mapifiers photographer. It’s pretty straightforward: while on quarantine, invest your time in improving your editing skills! You can take a whole day for it or divide your goal into little, daily achievable subgoals, but make sure to do it. Only practice makes the master, so we suggest you open that editing program very soon and start working on your personal objectives.
TIP 8: Be grateful
There are so many people we deeply connect with during our travels but unfortunately lose contact with over time. We suggest using this corona crisis to reach out to them, even, and especially if, you haven’t talked for ages. Open your phone, go through your contacts and start messaging old travel friendships without second thoughts! While you do so, remember to show how grateful you are for having met them and how much you appreciate them, and thank them for being in your life, even though they are far away.
TIP 9: Be creative
You might not be able to travel right now, but you can still bring that holiday vibe to your own house. In times like these, we suggest being creative and doing something you usually wouldn’t do. For instance: a romantic french picnic in your own living room! Set up a nice blanket on the floor, decorate it with flowers and candles, and prepare a delicious cheese platter with wine on the side. It will definitely spark a smile on your face!
TIP 10: Keep that storytelling going.
At Mapify, we love travel stories. What is there better than having experienced a crazy or utterly funny moment during your travels, going back home and sharing it with your friends and family? At Mapify we think that, only because we are social distancing now, we shouldn’t necessarily stop storytelling. Our suggestion: write down on paper your favorite travel adventure. Add all the details and exclamation signs, exactly as if you were telling it to someone face to face. Then, send it to the person or group of people you experienced it with. We bet it will put you all in an amazing, positive mindset.
For now, this is it! We hope you liked our recommendations on what to do during lockdown, not only to be less bored, but to actually become more mindful and grateful towards your life and the people you have in it.
And remember: we are all in this together!
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