Stay At Home Survival Guide

Seeing that the Corona Pandemic is not going to evaporate soon, I decided to compile some personal tips as stay at home survival guide.

It’s the fourth week of quarantine in Indonesia. The pandemic hasn’t been easy for all of us. I have faithfully avoided the outside world. I go outside only when it is absolutely necessary such as grocery shopping or taking my father to his monthly doctor’s appointment. My sole connections to the world are social media and video calls. I’m sure most of you are in the same position.

Being stuck at home could spell boring. But I managed to work out a few things to help me get through the situation. Here are some of my stay at home survival guide:

1. Have The Ability To Be Grateful

I know this is a frustrating time but those of us who can stay at home should be grateful. We have the means and resources to be protected from the virus. Others may not be as fortunate. They have to go to work everyday. These people are in danger of being exposed to the virus yet they can’t afford to stay home.

Those who are lucky enough to stay home; count your blessings, appreciate them and be grateful.

2. Stay Positive

It’s easy to feel nervous and miserable in the midst of a global pandemic. Especially when we have to stay home all the time. Staying positive gets you through each day. Try to see silver linings in everything.

Ever since the quarantine, some of us got to spend more time with family. Maybe you finally have a shot at reorganising your home. Or finish that book you started long ago. There are two sides of everything, choose to stay on the positive side.

3. Control Exposure To The Internet

The Internet can be overwhelming with its continuous stream of information, whether it’s good or bad. To shield myself from feeling bombarded, I opt to limit my exposure by having phone-free day certain days of the week. I also ignore informations received through social media, choosing only to access trusted channels to keep up with current updates.

4. Make Your Space Comfortable

Since we are going to have to stay at home for an uncertain period of time, try to make our home as comfortable as we can. Now is the perfect time to declutter and reorganise your space. Create a space so comfortable that you won’t ever want to leave. This is a perfect way to keep yourself busy and take your mind off things.

5. Maintain Mental Health And WellBeing

Meditate. Write a journal. Share your feelings with someone you trust. Learn to manage stress. Control your fear and anxiety. Maintaining a good mental health is utterly important because it impacts your mood, thinking and behaviour. Poor mental health won’t get you through tough times.

Besides keeping mentally healthy we need to maintain a healthy physical too. Keep moving as opposed to being cozy on the couch. Workout at home. Do movements that you enjoy and does not require a lot of equipments. Body weight strength training is easy to do at home. Yoga, dancing or simply walking around the house is another perfect example.

6. Set Daily Goals

I set personal daily goals to help me ride out each day. Something doable and one that I look forward to every day. I aim to walk 10,000 steps daily. I simply walk around my space and make sure I do activities (house chores, decluttering, etc) to help me achieve this goal. 

I also set additional daily goals to overcome boredom. Such as dedicating one full day to declutter my wardrobe, another day to finish a book I am reading, another day to learn new skills, another day to spend with my family and so on.

Daily goals help me focus on something rather than spending time aimlessly at home.

7. Stay Connected With Family And Friends

Being stuck at home doesn’t mean you have to miss all the fun. Meet virtually with your family and friends. There are so many apps you can use for this. Update and support each other. That way you will see that we are all in this together and we are not alone.

I hope this stay at home survival guide will help you figure out how to endure quarantine days. What are you ways to cope with these days? Leave them in the comments below. I would love to hear them.

Stay safe. Be well.

Thanks for reading, guys!