How are you holding up? These are crazy, unique times, and it can be overwhelming.

Personally, I have been finding it helpful to see what others are doing to keep busy and/or sane during this quarantine. I am by no means telling you to mimic what I’m doing, but since it’s now been MONTHS [how crazy that that is plural!] of the stay at home mandate, I thought I’d jot down a few things that are helping me survive this twilight zone.

I’m sure you’ve heard the standard “go outside, exercise, eat healthy, do a puzzle, bake a sourdough loaf…” I’ll try to steer clear of the standards and offer a few other suggestions.

-Keep a slight routine. Things are all out of whack currently, but I’m still trying to maintain a routine. Not only does this apply to kids, but for me as well. I’m still working out, eating meals at similar times and making sure we get the basics in. It has been helping to keep a small grasp on the day.

-Beyond simply eating healthy, as it may not be the easiest for you, why not try a few simple things like eating some citrus, taking vitamins, making a smoothie with fruit and greens? I have noticed that since I’ve been conscious of still making fruits and veggies a part of our diet, I don’t feel quite as sluggish.

-I am typically a control, wait, let’s be honest, I am a total control freak. So you would think something like a global pandemic would set me into a tailspin. I do have extra stresses, concerns and what seems like a longer to do list. My solution has been to keep a notebook on my nightstand and before I turn out the lights, I mind dump for lack of a better expression. I write down my to do list, grocery list, prayer requests of others etc. I find that I am able to fall asleep a little quicker since I’m not laying in the dark trying to mentally go through my list and telling myself not to forget such and such.

-Clean or organize something. Let’s not go overboard here. I am seeing people talking about how their house has never been cleaner or they organized all the rooms of their home. While that’s wonderful, that’s not possible for me right now. I’ve started doing a tiny bit at a time. Cleaning one room, organizing one closet etc. That’s a win for me!

-Take the extra time to pamper. This can be anything you like, take an evening to do a facemask, paint your nails, take a bath, have a cup of tea. Right now is a highly stressful situation, so I’m trying to make sure I am doing a few things that can alleviate the added stress.

-Avoid looking at your phone or turning on the news immediately when you wake up or right before bed. This practice is something I’ve been implementing for a few months, and it’s never been more important than right now with the constant flood of covid-19 news and climbing numbers that tick on the side of the screen. If that’s the first thing you see when you wake up or the last thing before bed, what do you expect other than high anxiety! Give your mind a break!

Of course, I do think getting outside and exercising right now are helping me big time, but it is okay if there are other things that you find helpful 🙂 I’d love to hear from you. What are you doing to keep your stress levels down?