Quarantine is something that everyone around the world is experiencing. We are all forced to be cooped up in our homes with our families. With so much time on our hands, life can sometimes get a little confusing or boring without our normal routines, which often leaves us feeling unproductive, gloomy, and sluggish. Personally, quarantine has brought out the procrastinator in me. I know I’m not alone when it comes to putting off my school work, spending long hours online, or finding myself watching tons of movies. However, a few weeks into quarantine, I realized that I could be doing so much more. I had so much free time, so why wasn’t I using it to benefit myself? I believe that we shouldn’t let quarantine go to waste by staying in bed all day or constantly being on our phones. We should take advantage of this time to grow and improve ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. 

You can be much more productive if you have a daily schedule. You don’t have to follow it completely, but roughly following it can help you get stuff done, which makes you feel more accomplished. This will also help us in the future when we all have jobs and need to create a schedule that works best for us and allows us to get as much done as possible. I’ve noticed just getting up in the morning at the same time and getting dressed makes me feel so much happier and put together. Making time to get active or go outside puts me in a way better mood and keeps me healthy. Also, self-care like a hair or face mask usually boosts my mood too. Another way to help yourself grow as a person is to try something new! You can experiment with art, dance, singing, learning a new instrument, cooking, baking, or playing a new game. Take this time to get out of your comfort zone and hopefully learn something new about yourself!

Along with our daily schedules, we have to set aside some alone-time. We have the chance to take a step back from our normal busy lives, reevaluate ourselves, keep in mind what we want in life, what is truly important, and what we can change when we go back to normal. With all of our free time, we can evaluate our mental state, (fun fact: it’s mental health awareness month!) and examine what we are thinking about. Are we constantly comparing ourselves, tearing ourselves down, or thinking about things that we can’t change? If we are, then we aren’t helping ourselves in any way, but rather contributing to the gloom that we were already feeling from the pandemic. We have to choose happiness. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true. Only we have the power to raise our spirits, and it all starts in our minds. We need to think about what really matters, and for me that is my family, my faith, and my future. Finding time at the beginning of my day to do a devotional has helped me to reflect on myself and my faith, which also plays a big role in my mood during quarantine. When we keep our thoughts on the positive and happy side of life, our moods will change and we will be better able to get through this quarantine and difficult times in life. 

When we take the time to focus on ourselves, we can then give back to others, such as our family and friends. We need to be intentional with spending time with our family because what other opportunity will we have in our life to spend so much time together? I know our families can drive us crazy sometimes, but we should learn to cherish these moments that we have together. It will make our families stronger and connect us on a deeper level. So put down the phone and have a good conversation or play a game with your family. We should also reach out to our friends and be intentional on keeping our relationships strong, so we don’t come out of quarantine being socially awkward (lol). 

We should take advantage of our time during quarantine to grow and become better people instead of becoming lazy and unproductive. Doing so will help us on the other side of quarantine when we are older and have to depend on ourselves to get through tough times. If we don’t let this time pass us by, we can come out of this pandemic stronger, happier, and better people.