Keeping Yourself Occupied and Optimistic |ADDICTED

For most of our adult lives, the majority of us will have grown used to a pretty set routine. We’ll head to work, tackling the morning commute. We’ll stay in our work environment nine to five, collaborating with our colleagues. We’ll head home – facing the dreaded commute once again. We’ll do our chores. We’ll meet up with friends. We’ll spend time with our families. We’ll cook. We’ll eat. We’ll head to the gym. And. Repeat. But now, for the first time in many of our lives, this routine has been thrown out of whack. We’ve suddenly found ourselves living a very different and uncertain mode of life where, quite frankly, many of us feel a little lost. Not only that, but many of us around the world are being encouraged to stay in our own homes, only leaving when absolutely necessary. So, what are you to do to keep yourself occupied and optimistic during these rather surreal days? Here are a few suggestions to keep you above water.

Photo by Alena Shekhovtcova.

Stay Virtually Sociable

Just because we can’t all head out and see our friends in person, doesn’t mean we can’t see them at all. We’re blessed to be living in a technological era where contact is more easily maintainable than ever. You can make phone calls. You can text. You can email. You can chat on social media. Perhaps most useful right now? You can video call. What’s more? You can group video call. Try downloading apps like Houseparty or Zoom. Here you can talk to multiple friends at once. You can simply chat. You can come up with your own games, such as asking each other general knowledge questions, or niche quizzes, like beatles trivia questions.

Develop New Hobbies

If you have a hobby you can easily practice indoors, you’re probably pretty set. Do you like reading? Great. Do you enjoy listening to podcasts? Perfect. Baking is your passion? No problem! But if your usual set of hobbies usually revolve around social activities or outdoor activities, you may be up against a little trouble. The key to overcoming this? Keeping open-minded. See whether there’s anything you’re remotely interested in or have wanted to do for a while, that you can carry out independently from the comfort of your own home, now is the time to pursue it. Write that short story. Learn that language. Perfect those yoga stances. There’s almost endless possibility, so embrace it.

Try to Maintain a Routine

Without the need to be up for work early in the morning, many of us are slipping into staying up late, sleeping in late and eating meals at all sorts of odd hours. Avoid this. It can cause confusion, feelings of drowsiness and knock your body clock out of sync. Try to maintain a routine where possible!

These, of course, are just a few different ways to pass the time and keep yourself feeling as positive as possible. So why not incorporate them into your day to day routine? You could really benefit from them!