Quarantine Vibes; How to stay productive during this unconventional zombie apocalypse (also know as quarantine by corona)
Some honest advice from some true procrastinators ;)
It's safe to say that it's been hard staying busy and keeping ourselves motivated during this quarantine. Lying around all day, snacking, binge watching shows on Netflix; these are the things that most of us have probably been spending out time doing. Though they keep us entertained temporarily, this enjoyment only lasts so long before boredom and craziness kick in. At the same time, after cleaning your entire house, reorganizing your entire closet and eating everything out of your fridge, what's there left to do? Plenty of videos have been posted on YouTube about this topic but not many blog posts have been written about this topic exactly. How can you remain productive whilst just relaxing and having a good time this quarantine season? Here are a few things that you can do.
#1: ESTABLISH A ROUTINE.
Having a routine during 'normal life' has so many negative connotations associated with it because it often involves having to wake up early in the morning to go to school or to work, it entails many hours of meeting, homework, assignments and papers, it often doesn't allow time for fitness, friends and family and it often just mean 3-5 hours of sleep each and every single day. Does that sounds familiar (if not all then certain aspects of it)? The thing is that having a routine can be the exact opposite. It can mean a good night’s sleep which will significantly lower your stress levels and reintroduce so much energy back into your system, it can mean getting yourself together in the morning by making your bed, doing your makeup and putting on a nice outfit for the day, it can mean making sure that you exercise every day for a certain amount of time, it can allow you to get important things done while also giving you time to do the things that you actually enjoy doing, it can mean having me time before you go to bed to relax and unwind. Most important, it can mean being happy because of the countless benefits that it can have on you day to day life.
In the ‘real world’, establishing and following this sort of routine is nearly impossible; there are so many things that fall in the way of it that we don’t even really try to get one going. Let me remind you though what’s happening right now. We’re all staying home, we can’t see our friends, work and school are basically cancelled until further notice…even though everything may seem bad, the quarantine is actually the perfect opportunity to at least give routines a try. On top of this, you call all the shots. If you want to try waking up at 6 am, you can do it. If you want to get 8+ hours of sleep, you can do it. If you want to eat healthier, you have all the time in the world to prepare yourself healthy meals. Plus, if you establish a good routine, you'll be able to balance the things that you enjoy in life and be productive at the same time because time is allocated to both. We promise that establishing a routine will transform your perspective in so many ways. How can we be so sure of this? The answer is straight forward; we've done it. We’ve put our best food forward and have established something that works in our lives. The concept is simple but the results are revolutionary. It’s truly something that will make you come out of the quarantine better than ever.
#2: MAKE YOUR BED
The second you get out of bed, make sure to make it…also don’t go into it unless it’s time for your mind to unwind and for your body to relax (hens sleep!). An unmade bed will distract you from getting everything you need done because you’ll just constantly have the urge to crawl back into its glory and comfort to nap, go on your phone and watch Netflix. Let’s also not forget about the quarantine pounds that you’ll be gaining by staying in it all day. Oh no no no! Making your bed also plays a huge roll in #3 which is…
#3: CREATE A CLEAN LIVING SPACE
We’ll say the one thing that you portably don’t want to here; clean your room as well as your house. Now hear us out. Unless you work from home on a regular basis, having a clean living space technically doesn’t really matter unless you’re a neat freak or unless your parents are Slavs. The logic behind this statement; when you’re in your room, you’re usually just there to rest at night. Throughout the day, your elsewhere: at school, at work, at the gym, outside etc. Circumstances change during the quarantine though when your room or your house become all of those things for an indefinite amount of time. Having clean surroundings is important because your mind needs to be at ease in order to maximize its productivity. If you’re constantly surrounded by mess and the smell of dirty laundry, the least of your concerns is getting work done because your mind we be preoccupied by all the distractions around you.
#4: CREATE A ‘WORK SPACE’
Just as your bed is a place to sleep, designate an areas of your room or your house as your work space/place: a desk, a room, a section of the floor etc. Make this your little productivity bubble and tell yourself that when I’m here, my work gets done. Avoid watching Netflix here or doing anything other than work…it defeats the whole point of your work place.
#5 LIMIT DISTRACTION
This is another thing that your probably don’t want us telling you but, sadly, it’s something crucial that has to be done if you really want to be productive. Because of all the technology, social media, notifications etc. that our lives revolve around today, it’s so hard to not be distracted while you work and its challenging to just drop these ‘distraction’ in order to start working. If you find yourself on your devices too often or on one particular one way to much, maybe consider limiting the time that you spend on the device. Put your phone on airplane mode, give your computer to your mom or your girlfriend to keep for the day, turn off your notification for a few hours, delete some of your apps temporarily, unplug your gamin set up…even better, give yourself an hour on whatever it is that distraction it but only after completing that work that you want to get done. Use is as a reward to motivate you to be productive again (were kind of jumping the bow a little as this is basically #8).
#6 SET GOALS
When you wake up in the morning, write down something that you want to accomplish by the end of the day. An assignment, a phone call, a task that you've been putting off for a while, a workout that you’ve wanted to try. You'll feel motivated after completing the task and that motivation will turn into a drive of productivity. The goals can be big or small as long as they are reasonable and achievable.
#7 CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Challenge yourself to do something every day. This can include waking up at a certain time, following some meal plan or diet, doing some fitness challenge or workout every day, doing 1 hours of work every day, trying something that you’ve never done before everyday...you can get extremely creative with this one and make it as fun or as serious as you want it to be. It’s up to you. Again, after completing this, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment which will motivate you to keep being productive.
#8 REWARD YOURSLEF
After doing 3, 5, 6 and 7 especially, reward yourself. The regard can be anything that you love doing or anything that you find fun; Netflix, Instagram, video games...something that would make you feel prideful of whatever you completed and make you want to do it again.
#9 ADAPT THAT POSITIVE MINDSET
Think of this quarantine as a time to better yourself, to do what you've been wanting to do for ever (obviously safe), to do the things that you’ve been putting off because of your busy ‘normal life’ scThedule etc. This is a great time where, other than homework and work, you get the opportunity to stay home and do anything you want. Time is at your favor so use it to accomplish everything that you've been putting off. Make the most of it and avoid being negative about it because there is nothing that you can do to change the situation that all of us are in. Having negative thoughts about the quarantine on a regular basis just puts you in a bad mood right from the moment that you open your eyes. Read our previous post titled “Quarantine Vibes; Positive Message for all of those that feel discouraged” if you need some motivation.
#10 RELAX
Finally, the last thing that you need to do is remind yourself that it's ok to relax and to be unproductive. If you’re constantly expecting yourself to perform without allowing yourself to relax, you simply won't perform. It's unreasonable to say that you'll be able to work from 9 to five like you normally do on a regular basis because you're doing everything from the comforts of your home. The circumstances are completely different and demand a different kind of outlook. It's ok if you find yourself distracted or in need or a movie night at home; the quarantine is also the ultimate time to breathe and sleep and just relax without having a worry in mind.
About the Creator
CF international
✩𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢, 𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢, 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎✩
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studentstravelabroad/
Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0UISgAH0dE&t=20s
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.