Dear Readers,
Well this is certainly a bizarre time to be living in, being encouraged to stay home and to social distance ourselves from our friends and family. However personally, I am so fortunate to be safe at home with my parents and one of my brothers. I am even more fortunate to be able to work from home.
I for one, have always been so busy. I am usually out the door every morning by 8:30am, and often have a board meeting, gallery opening or a social event after work, which often results in be coming home after 10:00pm during the week.
Instead of looking at this as a “negative” experience, I have tried to twist this into a positive experience, but creating a bit of routine, and trying to take this extra time to focus on my own personal self-care (which of course means I have been living in my housecoat even more than usual 😜).
Here are my 9 Suggestions on How to Pass the Time During Social-Distancing:
1. Read.
If you follow me on Good Reads you will notice I have been on a bit of reading rampage the last couple of weeks. I usually have a goal of reading one book a month, but I have been reading at least one book a week since this whole thing started.
Take a look at the books I read in March in my post on The East Coast Girl here.
2. Workout.
I usually try to make it to at least one yoga or barre class a week at either Amana or Yoga Haus. But that is usually all I can squeeze into my busy weeks. Last spring I started running, and I completed two 5K races last summer. Unfortunately, after my car accident I wasn’t able to run for a while due to my soft tissue injury in my neck, I wasn’t cleared to run again until the end of January!
Lucky for me, my parents finished renovating the basement the weekend before social distancing started, so I have been able to make full use of the treadmill. I re-started the 5K program I used last spring and already completed the eight week training in just two weeks. I have now started running EVERY DAY, my Fitbit has never loved me more.
If you are new to running, or need a little motivation, I recommend the Couch to 5k app.
3. Go for a walk.
If running isn’t for you, that’s totally okay! Take advantage of the nice weather and go for a walk. Most of the walks I have taken have either been with my parents (my dad’s idea of going for a walk is going to my grandmother’s for sweets), or with my friends to try and get just a little social time in (but we stay six feet apart of course – which is actually quite funny to see). Prior to some of the governments newest suggestions on staying away from parks, my brother, boyfriend and I had all met up for a hike along the ocean.
4. Clean.
Well my room is FINALLY staying clean, it turns out I just have to be stuck in my room for a period of time. I have sorted through my books, re-organized my dresser, put together a bag of clothes to donate, re-arranged the art in my room and washed all of my makeup brushes.
5. Spend time in the kitchen.
I don’t usually cook very often (besides breakfast), but I have taken this time to help out with supper and try out some new recipes from Pinterest. My brother Liam, has been an excellent co-chef. I have also been trying some cookie recipes, another thing I never ever do.
6. Movie Night.
Turn on your Netflix or iTunes account, make some popcorn, pour a beer and have a movie night! Too often I just watch a movie by myself in my bed on my iPad, but give yourself the full movie night experience, even better ask your fellow quarantine members to join you!
My dad and I have had a few movie nights together, in his new “man cave or dungeon” downstairs. We have been crossing off Oscar nominated films like Ford Vs Ferrari and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Up next is 1917 on my list of must see films.
7. Support Local.
Saint John/ Rothesay is such a vibrant community filled with small business. I believe in supporting local, and despite right now being a difficult time I still want to try and support local businesses. If it’s take-out from one of the many restaurants/ or cafes, or buying a gift card or having a product delivered to your house, there are still so many options to #supportlocal.
In our house we have gotten take-out from our favourite pizza destination, Vitos, and we had Moosehead deliver beer to our door on Saturday!!!!
8. Video Chat.
Make use of all the technology we have access to in order to have a group chat with your friends and family. House Party, Zoom, FaceTime, Google Hangouts are all great ways to get social. My Glasgow Gals and I took liberty of our free-time and all had a chat last week, plus it’s the perfect way to make your own happy hour!
9. Enjoy your mornings !
Mornings are usually such a rush for me, so taking the time to enjoy my mornings has been a real treat. I set my alarm for 8:30am every morning, usually lay in bed until 9:00am while I check my work and personal e-mails, before starting my day.
I have taken my “breakfast” period as my blogging time of the day, before I dive into my work load. As I have mentioned 100 times before, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so it has been so nice to take the time to make my breakfast instead of just grabbing a yogurt in the morning, or making a couple of hard boiled eggs the night before.
For more tips on dealing with Social-Distancing during this time, take a look at the variety of articles on my new blog, The East Coast Girl:
- 10 Things to Do While Staying Home During this Pandemic
- Self-care During Self Isolation
- Go Loco for Local
- 5 Ways to Make Your Yoga Practice Bloom
- How to Keep a Healthy Mindset through the Madness
- Working From Home Tips
The most important element during all of this is to #stayhome. Do your part to help flatten the curve, so we can all get back to our regular day to day lives.
While we are home, appreciate the little things, it will make this entire experience much more enjoyable.
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