10 Things To Do Inside While In Quarantine

During the coronavirus outbreak, individuals are highly encouraged to wear a mask, social distance, and quarantine if exposed to someone with coronavirus. 

For most of us, being in quarantine is a new experience that can impact our mental health and emotional wellbeing. We've never known a life of strictly working from home, only going out for groceries, and not being able to visit friends or family.

Ask yourself these three questions before you starting the day:

As humans, emotional health is an essential part of our overall well-being. According to Time Magazine, isolation could have a physical impact on your heart health. There are extensive psychology and health studies suggesting strategies to combat isolation and loneliness.

• What are the 3 things you want to accomplish by the end of the day? Write these down.
• What are the 2 things that make you happy today?
• Who should you call or text to check on?

1. Try Yoga, Stretch Out Those Muscles

During this time, it's normal to be feeling more stressed than usual. Staying at home and being confined to your space can be difficult. Starting your day off with yoga has multiple benefits, such as decreasing stress, relieving anxiety, promoting better sleep quality, and increasing strength. There are multiple online yoga classes you can stream right from your phone:

• DoYogaWithMe
• CrossFlow Yoga App
• Fightmaster Yoga
• Yoga With Adriene

2. Working from home? Having A Separate & Tidy Work Space Is Key

Keeping a clean and tidy workspace is very important when it comes to productivity. Clutter oftentimes causes stress (even if you don't initially realize it)- and who needs more stress right now? Taking a few minutes to put papers away and throw away trash from the day before has numerous benefits such as:

• Inspired confidence
• Improved efficiency
• Better use of time
• More focus

3. Have Daily Video Chats With 2 People And Rotate Them

Research shows social interaction really improves our health and well-being. But too much of it could also cause stress, especially for some of us who are introverts. Keep your daily interactions at an optimal level is key.

Many of us are missing family and friends during this time. And while we have to distance ourselves physically socially, it doesn't mean you can't still FaceTime and call your loved ones! Staying connected is especially important to maintain your relationships, and it also greatly benefits your mental health by getting you out of your headspace. Use these apps and software to make staying in touch easier:

• House Party
• Zoom
• FaceTime (for iOS)
• Skype (multiplatform video-chat)
• Facebook Messenger
• Discord (for gamers)
   

4. Journal- Write down your feelings

Life can be stressful, especially during the coronavirus quarantine. Journaling has many benefits:

• It helps keep your thoughts organized- journals can help us make more sense of what were are feeling
• Improve your writing- as you write how you feel, you're actually practicing writing skills
• Set & achieve your goals- writing down your goals helps to manifest them
• Relieve stress
• Allow yourself to self-reflect
• Inspire creativity- if you can write it, you can do it!

If journaling isn't your thing, you can also try coloring books (yup, they make them for adults!)

5. Continue with daily routines

By continuing with your daily routine, you're helping your mental health by keeping a sense of normalcy. Below are some examples of routines you can try to keep even during the coronavirus quarantine:

• Get dressed at the same time each morning
• Put makeup on
• Make meals at the same time
• Make your bed
• Walk or play with a pet
• Tidy up your space

6. Read a new book

Reading a new book can help you get you of your headspace and into a whole new world!

There are plenty of ways to download free eBooks to your reading devices too. Whether it's a tablet, computer, or phone, websites such as Authorama and Project Gutenberg have several hundreds of public domain works for you to download and enjoy. 

7. Learn a new game

Learning a new game is a great way to exercise your brain in a new way or even bond with the people in your household! Try these games:

• Chess
• Uno
• Checkers
• Scattergories
• Poker

8. Write a letter to a loved one

Who writes letters anymore? Well, maybe you!

Writing letters are a personal way of getting in touch with a family member or a friend. I mean, who doesn't love getting mail? 

Here are some things you can write about:

• How much you love or appreciate them
• How you've been feeling lately
• How your life is going
• Your job
• Asking how the person is doing
• Asking the person how their family is

What To Do During Coronavirus Quarantine On The Weekend? Your Weekend Guide

Saturdays: Visit a Virtual Museum or Theme Park

Finding entertainment during a time like this could be tricky. 

Your desire to leave the house becomes stronger, and you've already scrolled through Instagram 50 times for the past couple of hours. But now, you can walk through a museum on your computer, like The Met, or even go for a ride at Disney World for free from the comfort of your couch! 

• The Met - This award-winning series of six short videos invite viewers around the world to virtually visit The Met's art and architecture in a fresh, immersive way - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project
• Disney World - Explore a park in Disney- https://www.visitorlando.com/en/things-to-do/virtual-tours/walt-disney-world-resort
• Smithsonian - Access awesome exhibits- https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour

Sundays: Listen to a Sermon or Meditate

Listening to a sermon helps you stay connected and hopeful in a higher being that you may believe in. It may bring you peace and remind you of your beliefs. Meditating is also a great form of stress release that may help you:

• Reduce anxiety
• Promote emotional health
• Enhance self-awareness
• Generate kindness

Bottom Line

By staying home and practicing social distancing, you're helping to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Isolation and quarantine are big factors in terms of starving out the disease. Reducing the movement of people has a great effect on reducing those getting infected and is a collective effort of everyone in the United States.