Well, who would have thought that our homes would be turned into offices, gyms, schools and everything in between overnight? I never imagined having to write blog posts, work from home, and workout all in the same location for weeks on end. But here we are. Most importantly, how are you all holding up? For me, it has been a day-by-day process. Most days have been okay, but I’ve certainly had my ups and downs. Working from home has been an adjustment, but it has helped to try and stick to as normal a routine as possible. That means waking up at the same time, doing some light makeup, flat ironing my hair, taking my lunch break and going for a walk, and exercising at home in the evening. Still, there are days where I’m completely unmotivated to work on anything after my “working hours” end. So, that’s why I’ve been a little quiet around here lately. Rather than push myself, I’ve been cutting myself a lot of slack and prioritizing my self-care during these challenging times.
I’ve been home now for what feels like an eternity (although after consulting my trusty planner, it tells me that I’m on week seven), and since it doesn’t look like I will be going anywhere this month either, here’s what’s on part II of my quarantine agenda (and here’s last month’s agenda, if you need some additional quarantine inspiration):
Do: I’m proud to report that I completed my year-long health coaching program with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition last month! I feel such a sense of accomplishment now having completed the program and I’m looking forward to working with clients to help them live healthier lives. Since the training took up a lot of my “free time” after work (and now that I am home 24/7), I decided to take another online class to fill up the time. One of my followers mentioned Coursera to me, a platform that offers classes, certificates, and degrees from many different Universities completely online. I was impressed with their offerings and decided to take a course on Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics at the University of Pittsburgh. I realize that your first reaction may be, “We’re living through a pandemic, is that really what you want to learn about right now?” But I’ve had so many questions arise about how pandemics start and spread, that I thought I would leave it to the experts to explain.
Read: Staying home definitely lends itself to curling up with a good book, doesn’t it? But since my library is closed and I don’t want to order a ton of books online, what’s a girl to do? Ask your friends for recommendations that they can hopefully loan to you. I recently started reading Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray, and since it seems like it will be a while before I travel again, reading about good food in the South of France is ideal at the moment.
Buy: When I first heard about the impending quarantine/lockdown situation at the end of February, one of the things I did was stock up. While most people were waiting on long lines at the grocery store, I hit Sephora and Ulta for enough “staples” to last me a few months. But what I didn’t think of purchasing were cloth masks. So, a few weeks ago, I scrolled through Instagram and Etsy looking for a small business I could support with my purchase and I found Christine Shirley Designs in Wayne, PA. I ordered three masks that just arrived the other day and I could not be more impressed with these handmade beauties. I love the pre-selected prints and patterns that came in my order and that the masks are thick, yet still super soft to wear. I am keeping one for myself and giving the other two to friends because #PayItForward.
Try: The month of April was the first month where I have successfully meditated every single night. While I usually try do this nightly before bed, there are plenty of days during a normal month where it just doesn’t happen (and then I’ll do two meditations the next day to try to get back on track). I’m hopeful that I will be able to keep up these mediations moving forward, as I have noticed a significant improvement in the quality of my sleep.
What’s on your quarantine agenda this month?
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