Right now with everything going on in the world most of us find it difficult, to be productive, especially since it is much easier to give in to distractions such as Netflix, video games and whatever else aids in escaping reality. Distractions keep all the emotions from flooding in as well as keeping us from accepting that our current reality consists of being confined to our homes, wearing masks in public, and keeping 6ft apart, amongst many other global changes. My goal is to provide some suggestions that aid you in getting more out of quarantine than mindlessly passing the time.

The first one is getting in shape by doing some home workouts or hitting ten thousand steps a day. Not only does this keep you present, but it allows you to work on your health at the same time. As a health enthusiast, I always push for people to get in some form of exercise daily because it helps with a variety of things. An important one being alterations in the parts of the brain that causes a reduction in stress and anxiety. Furthermore, with these two being so prevalent in the new “normal” it’s great to know, moving around will reduce some of the load. Exercise has a lot more benefits like improving sleep, energy levels, overall brain and skin health, which make it an ideal quarantine buddy.

That said if you would rather something less physical, the next alternative is reading. Reading works your brain, relieves stress, alleviates negative emotions and even helps in improving sleep. Moreover, I use reading as a tool for personal growth by choosing books about development, neuroscience, business in addition to astrology. These topics allow me to absorb information that I find will push me further in life while using other parts to formulate my hypothesis about the world. There are a lot more benefits as well as reasons to pick up a book than the ones listed above, but I just wanted to share with you the ones I find most important.

My third suggestion is to work on self-acceptance, which I know sounds scary and requires some hard work, but it’s so important. Self-acceptance does not mean being alright with acting one way in public and another behind close doors. Rather the opposite it means to be who you are no matter the circumstances, understanding that some people won’t like it, there will be judgement, rejection amongst other things. Yet, all of this is ok, because we are not here to be accepted by everyone or give in to stereotypical behaviour, instead, our purpose is to be an original and to love ourselves unconditionally. Moreover, experience emotions as they come by embracing them as you would a loved one without judging or obsessing over their meaning. The same goes for thoughts since they are harmless until set into motion. By doing this, we can experience life through spontaneity and bliss instead of anxiety, stress and conformity.

I will expand a lot more on this third option in another post about ways to accept all parts of ourself rather than the parts we think society will endure.

As you read through these three options, I hope you try one or all three throughout the remainder of quarantine. If one helps you share it with a friend to provide an alternative to mindlessly going about their day.

E