Hello, lovelies! I haven’t published anything in over a week. I’ve started multiple posts, but just haven’t been in the mood to finish them. After taking my last final last week, I just relaxed for a few days (which was well earned in my opinion). The problem is that I’ve been having trouble being productive again. I literally spent a week doing nothing and can’t stop.
I have some of my shit together. I’ve been filling out my graduate school application and working out every other day, but overall, most of my time has been spent watching T.V. and sleeping. I know that this will eventually take a toll on my mental health, so I need to get a productive routine going. The biggest step to getting my act together is publishing blog posts again, so I may as well start here.
//How I’ve Been Spending My Time
The first few days after my final were pretty relaxing. I got a few things done, but I was mainly talking with friends on the phone, reading books, and watching T.V. I went for a drive, which was my first time leaving my neighborhood since March. That was weird. (Didn’t get out of the car though).
Friday was supposed to be my graduation day, so I felt kind of sad throughout the weekend. Not sad as much as despondent. I felt nothing towards my graduation. It didn’t feel real until Sunday when I dressed in my graduation gown and took pictures with my family (and a virtual picture with my friends). It was also both my parents’ birthday weekend, so we ate a lot of cake. This month would’ve been crazy and fun because of the graduations, birthdays, and Ramadan if the pandemic wasn’t happening, so it was hard not to think of how things would be different.
I started watching Station 19 last weekend, which was a nice distraction from everything. I like the show, but it’s not the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. (None of the relationships last for more than seven episodes). It’s just been a fun distraction. I’ll probably finish season 3 this weekend. That’s pretty much what has entertained me and kept me distracted this week.
I visited my cousin on Monday for her 16th birthday. That was the first time I’ve been out outside of my neighborhood since March. We never leave the car when we go on drives, so it was nice to sit in the grass and talk to her for a short time. The rest of this week has honestly gotten away from me. I don’t remember what happened specifically. I just fell into a relaxation hole. Last weekend was kind of sad because of my unheld graduation, but this week was good. I watched television, read, talked to my friends, cooked with my mom, and slept in late. The only productive things I did were for grad school applications (filled it out, asked for recommendations, sent my transcript, etc.), which albeit was my most important task this week. My entire family’s sleep schedule is messed up because of Ramadan, so we stay up till 3 or 4 AM. I usually wake up before eleven but have been waking up after noon these past few days. I need to fix that.
That’s pretty much where this post comes in. I want to create a tentative routine for my days so that I don’t feel like they’re passing me by. When school was in session, I had productive things to do which gave me purpose, but I have no external motivation right now. Every deadline and goal is my own, so I need some incentive to publish blog posts every Tuesday and work out every day, while still enjoying the perks of not having to be super productive right now.
//Maintaining Mental Health Checklist
I randomly wrote this list in my notebook one day, so I thought I’s share it here.
- Stop laying in bed till noon
- Get dressed in the morning
- Work out 5 days per week
- Drink enough water
- Fix your sleep schedule/get enough sleep
- Call people
- Go outside
- Do something fun
- Do something creative
- Take a shower
- Create a productive routine
//My (Very Flexible) Quarantine Routine
//Morning
- Get out of bed by 9:30 AM each morning – I’m going to have to work my way back to that. I don’t want to wake up at 5 AM and I’ll probably have to start waking up at 7 AM once I start working anyway, so I may as well enjoy sleeping in a little bit before then.
- Morning routine + Get Dressed – I never get anything done when I’m in pajamas all day. I also like feeling put together, which is why I’ve been getting ready every morning since this all started. (Though I haven’t worn a bra in three weeks.)
- Ease into your day – I’ve loved doing this every morning. I drink some tea, eat breakfast, and just chill for an hour. It’s great.
- Finish one big thing on your to-do list by noon – My biggest problem these past few weeks is that I don’t like starting work. I don’t generally have the motivation to get things done until the afternoon (and am very productive in the middle of the night), but I would like to start getting at least one thing done before 12.
//Afternoon
- Write a blog post – I don’t necessarily have to finish a blog post every day, but I would like to get one thing done like outlining and creating the image one day, writing it out the next, then editing and publishing it last. I want to get a routine going where I am consistently blogging a little bit rather than doing it all in bursts like right now.
- Clean an area of your room – I’ve slowly been decluttering and cleaning different areas of my room. I don’t want to do everything all at once since I’m not in any rush. It’s more manageable to do my bookshelf one day, inside my desk the next day, etc.
- Eat Lunch – My family doesn’t eat lunch together since we run on such different schedules. We usually just eat when we’re hungry.
- Take a Break – I’ll probably watch T.V. or YouTube
- Take a walk or take a drive – Otherwise, I would never leave my house.
- Work on one of your monthly goals (Career Goals/Personal Goals) – My to-do lists nowadays aren’t super long. There is usually one blog task and two career/grad school oriented things I try to get done each day. I haven’t been able to get them all done these past two weeks because I’ve been lazy. I have enough time to get them done. I just need to apply myself consistently.
//Evening
- Work out – I prefer working out in the evenings. I’ll probably do this at 6:00.
- Take a shower
- Eat dinner – My family and I eat dinner together at around 8:30 and when I cook with my mom, we usually start at 7:30.
- Watch a movie – I have a list of movies I want to watch while in Quarantine, but haven’t been doing the greatest job at crossing them off. This would be a nice way to unwind at night. (Inception is next on my list)
- Get unfinished tasks done – If all goes well, I will have finished most of my main daily goals during the day and will only have little things left to do. I’m most productive at night, but I would rather reserve the majority of that time for relaxing.
- Read a physical book – I listen to an audiobook throughout the day, though not nearly as much as I did before since I’m not taking the bus or riding to class. When it comes to reading physical books, I have to remind myself to pick one up each day. At night, I want like to read until I go to sleep (I’d like to go to sleep at 1:00)
Weekends – I plan on just relaxing and video-calling with friends. I don’t want to constricted to a schedule every day or feel like the work will never end.
Well, that was my rambling for the day. I’ll try to get back on my posting schedule this week. Until next time!
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How has your life been going under quarantine? How have you been maintaining your mental health?