I don’t think many of us expected to be locked up in our homes for much of 2020 when we watched the ball drop on New Years, but these are the cards we were dealt and we should try to make the best of it. Being home for most of our time can allow us to improve, get productive, and be our best selves. I wanted to share some things that I personally have found to be helpful in staying productive and feeling fresh, not only when it comes to school.
Go through your room, house, closet and keep things tidy!
Going through my room and closet are some of the first things I did during quarantine. With so much more time on my hands I was able to purge my things and stuck to three rules in picking out what stays and what goes: have I worn/used it within the last year, does it make me happy (or as Marie Kondo said, does it spark joy?), do I need it? When I go through my closet I either do one of two things: resell my clothes or donate them. I found it really easy to sell some clothes on Depop and Curtsy. Clothes can also be donated through donating bins (I have some at my local grocery store) or you can bring your clothes to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or another place you might know of. Also, if it’s something you're good at, try upcycling your clothes and things too! When we’re working at home it’s important to keep a clean and decluttered work space so we can keep our minds decluttered and keep from distractions.
Learn a new skill or hobby
I’ve been using some of the free time that I have to learn more on some of my most important skills, like photography and photoshop for me. Youtube I find very helpful for working on and learning about these specific skills and practicing a lot! Learning new skills can be super hard and time consuming, but most of us have a lot of time on our hands and picking up a new skill might be more fulfilling than finishing another Netflix series (or not! Some Netflix series are quite good). Some ideas are taking up guitar or another instrument, crocheting or knitting, cooking and baking, art, or maybe even trying to make some stylish masks! I find cooking, baking, and art to be pretty therapeutic and helpful when I need to clear my mind.
Make a schedule for yourself.
It’s really easy to stay in your bed until noon scrolling through Tik Tok, or binging Netflix, unless you need to make an 8 AM. Making a schedule is easy, but sticking to it while spending nearly an entire day at home can be hard. Making a schedule will probably be even more helpful when school is over and some of us who may have even less obligations and structure. Make sure to allow time to do school work, your outside of school work (if you have it), time to improve on your skill sets and develop new ones, time to catch up and check in on loved ones, time for exercise (mental and physical), as well as time for yourself. Structure is important and self discipline is an incredibly important skill to master, as many of us have probably started with moving online. Some tips that I’ve found useful in keeping to a schedule are limiting screen time on my phone, turning off wifi on my computer when I don’t need it, and taking my dog on another long walk when I need a break.
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