Wellness during the Quarantine

We are almost a month into this quarantine and I know that I’ve had my fair share of processing all that is happening. Almost everyone in the world is affected in some way, which is a lot to try and think about. For some of us, we have lost our jobs; for others, we are working from home and trying to maintain some semblance of sanity.

If you are a student, you might be feeling overwhelmed by the fact that you have to stay home and attend school from a laptop, or trying to process what it might be like to miss out on your favorite high school traditions.

None of this is easy as we are all experiencing a global pandemic for the first time. Regardless of your situation, we want to try and support you the best way we can and share some ways that we’ve prioritized our mental and physical health during this season. You can pick and choose what works for you, but here’s what has been working for me and a few of our coaches.

Choose a hobby to try that you’ve always wanted to do or never have time for.

I never really have time to bake anymore, but being at home has given me time to explore new recipes. In the past two weeks, I’ve been able to make banana bread, coffee ice cream, and chocolate mousse from scratch. It’s been a stress reliever and a way to enjoy some of the fresh ingredients that are around my house. One of our other coaches has picked up sewing and other creative outlets like bullet journaling, something she wouldn’t typically have time to do.

Take walks with family.

I can’t lie to you — I never took walks before the quarantine. It’s honestly a little too hot and humid for me in Florida and I never had the time to spend 30 minutes outside walking. But creating opportunities to walk and spend some time with your family to get out of your house for a little bit can be helpful. If you are not a huge fan of walks, one of our coaches makes sure she gets 15–20 minutes of sun everyday by laying outside and enjoying the fresh air. Another coach goes for an hour long bike ride every day.

Create a mini exercise routine.

This one has been my personal favorite and has helped me more than I expected. I used to go to the gym a few times a week and never liked working out at home. But without any other options, I decided to try and workout every morning for 20–30 minutes — nothing too crazy. I always feel good after my workout and know that I accomplished something for that day. Not sure what to do in your workouts? One of our coaches is challenging himself to 200 crunches a day!

Have something to look forward to in the morning.

For me, this is my coffee routine. It’s something small that I know I will enjoy in the morning. Now, I’ve always been a rather big fan of coffee, but would rarely have time to make anything at home. Every morning, I look forward to experimenting with different methods and making my perfect pour over. And I know it’s a trend, but I have to try the Korean Dalgona coffee next — it looks absolutely delicious!

Use Zoom for your own game night or dinner with friends.

I know some of you might be exhausted from Zoom (Zoom fatigue is real, I swear), but you can use it to have fun with your friends. Plan a game night or create oddly specific Kahoot games. One of our coaches, who is also a student, has done trivia nights with her friends and Facetimes with them during lunch to create a slightly more enjoyable daily routine.

Build these growth opportunities into your schedule.

Just because we are in quarantine doesn’t mean life has completely stopped. For some of us, it actually has gotten busier! If you are in classes, you probably have just as much work to do as you did while you were going to campus. The only difference: it’s all done at home, which definitely can be overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to reprioritize wellness and include it into your daily schedule. If you have classes, homework, and other responsibilities right now, then taking time to appreciate the small joys in life can be helpful.

You don’t have to implement every healthy habit right now.

This idea was one that I really struggled with at the beginning of the quarantine. I wanted to achieve every healthy habit I could dream up right away — including waking up at 7am every morning. However, I am not a morning person and my work day typically starts at 9am. It was a personally unrealistic goal to go from waking up naturally around 9 to 7am right away. Instead, I’ve been gradually waking up earlier and earlier (with the exception of Saturdays!). And the other 10 habits I wanted to implement will just have to wait. Instead, I’ve focused on working out every morning as my one habit last week. This upcoming week, I’m going to try and journal every day. And next week, I will try to add a new habit. But growth doesn’t happen overnight, so take time to incorporate enjoyable and healthy activities at your own pace.

I know some of you have probably already implemented these ideas in your daily routine and it’s important to continue these small activities throughout your time at home! We just want you to know, we are still here as an academic support and are coaching students online via Zoom. However, we recognize it’s not all about academic success right now. So we wanted to challenge you to take part in a few of these habits with us to stay both mentally and physically healthy during this strange time.

Let us know of any ideas that have been particularly helpful to you. We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!