Our Top 10 Tips to Staying Sane During Quarantine

We’ve compiled a list of our top ten tips that have helped us stay calm since we’ve been home. It’s a strange transition to go from the freedom of being at school to living under the same roof as your whole family. It can be hard to find motivation to go about a normal day when you haven’t been around your friends in over a month. Here are some tricks we have been doing to stay somewhat sane. 

1. Get outside 

Make an effort to go outside for at least one hour every day. Even if you are living in a place where it’s pretty chilly, it’s important to go on walks or even bundle up outside with your hot coffee. Being stuck inside all day can really take a toll on your mental health, so it’s important to soak up some vitamin D and get some fresh air. 

2. Put yourself together 

About three times a week we recommend waking up early, putting on jeans and a cute top, doing your makeup and then starting your day. Getting the motivation to get out of bed is tough, but once you’re up and dressed you’ll feel so much better. If you feel unproductive or like a slob every day then putting yourself together in the morning might be the trick you need to feel more accomplished.

3. Create a workspace 

Try creating a little section in your home designated for your work, including your Zoom calls and WebEx sessions. You might notice a difference in your productivity when you’re not working from bed. You might just be surprised and find that you get your work done faster, which leaves more time for Netflix later.

4. Get ahead on work 

Along with creating a workspace, try to get ahead on work. It’s easy to procrastinate, but with nothing else to do, it’s significantly easier to get stuff done. Instead of working for 5 hours before a big assignment is due, try to spend 30 minutes a day just making sure you’re not behind on anything. It adds so much stress when you have to get an assignment submitted in such a short amount of time. 

5. Yoga 

We find that taking a break and meditating, or doing yoga, helps calm the mind and improves mental wellbeing. If you ever have moments at home when you feel like you might be going stir-crazy, do a 60-minute online Feel Better Yoga class, which can really help bring you back to center. Plus, this supports our local studio. Living under the same roof as your siblings and parents after being away at college can be challenging, but meditation and staying calm can really help get you through it. 

6. Make dinner 

Making dinner is not only fun but can also take up a good chunk of your afternoon. It’s fun to come up with crazy new recipes to make. We suggest trying some of the TikTok cooking challenges or themed dinners to spice things up. 

7. Find new music 

What better quarantine activity than throwing in your earbuds and searching through hundreds of Spotify playlists? Music is definitely a good tool for maintaining sanity, and quarantine is the perfect time to expand your musical taste or get those pregame playlists ready for the fall semester.

8. Find a new show 

Whether it’s Money Heist, Ozark, or basically anything on Netflix, binge watching TV is something we never have time to do at school. It’s nice to just lay down and watch a whole season in two days. We recommend Schitt's Creek and Tiger King.

9. Stay Connected 

It’s so important to stay in touch with your friends. This is a weird time, and everyone is super uneasy about what is going to happen next or the next time they will be able to see everyone. Make sure to FaceTime your friends or even just send texts to check up on everyone. Some people may be struggling with being home and away from Elon. One simple text can completely make somebody's day if you haven’t heard from them in a while. 

10. Relax 

Last, but definitely not least… try to relax! This too shall pass, so try to focus on the positives that quarantine has brought and take this time to reconnect with your family and spend time focusing on yourself.