Take Quarantine by the Reins!

Hello loves <3!

Today I wanted to share some of the things I've been doing to make the most of my time in quarantine as well as how I try to maintain a sense of normalcy during these uncertain times. 

The first thing I've done is maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends (but honestly, I've lost track of what day it is haha). This is SO important, because erratic sleep schedules can leave you feeling extra stressed, lethargic, and grumpy. It can also give you headaches and concentration/memory problems. These are things you definitely do not want, especially if you're working from home. I go to sleep around midnight every night and wake up around 8:30-9am every morning. This is very different from my usual late night/early morning schedule when I'm at university so it took my body a few days to adjust, but I can tell you I've never felt better! It's also helped give my days more structure, as I try to plan everything within that timeframe. If you take anything away from this article, I hope it's this! 

A typical day for me in quarantine looks like this:
-9am: wake up and have coffee + breakfast while reading
-11am-2pm: paint or do groceries/errands around the house and then have lunch
-2pm-6pm: work on my poetry collection, write drafts of articles for my personal blog and blog on Medium (and now Fashion Potluck!)
-6pm-8pm: Workout (yoga/cardio/walk), dinner, and shower
-8pm-midnight: write more poems, post on Instagram and blog, call friends/read/Netflix

This has been my daily life for the past two months since I graduated from uni. During the school year, my day was pretty similar except I would wake up at 6am and do my workout then, and then go to class/work from 8:30am-6pm. My night routine, instead of writing, would usually be study and read/Netflix. As you can see, I'm really big on creating daily routines. This is because, in my honest opinion, having structure in your day is the best way to maintain a sense of normalcy.

I'm quite fortunate right now as I have some time off before I start graduate school in September and am able to focus on pursuing new hobbies/writing. I know many of you are in much more difficult positions and have work/family/other stuff to juggle as well. If you've been wanting to learn a new skill but don't feel like you have the time for it, try to integrate it into your usual routines. For example, I've always wanted to learn how to create beautiful latte art, so I practice this every morning when I make my coffee. I've also been knitting while watching Youtube/Netflix/Disney+ and sometimes while I read.

Being stuck at home is not ideal for many of us, but I do hope you try to find the positives in it. Personally, I've been trying to think of it as a short break, a pause in my usual hectic life, a time that I can dedicate to self-care and self-improvement. These are things that I, and many others, tend to neglect because of how busy we are. I'm a firm believer in "life is short" and "you only live once" so I've been doing my absolute best to make the most of whatever time I have and doing everything I've always wanted to do but never really had the time for. Of course, this is just me and how I like to spend my days, but I hope that you were able to find some inspiration in this article!

If you enjoyed this and want to read more articles from me (and maybe some poetry!) then please visit me on Instagram and on my blog 98-thoughts.com. Don't be shy and say hi! I'm always looking to make new friends!!