It’s 2021. We’ve gone past the worst of it – the year of 2020. If you’re living in Los Angeles, the misery of the year 2020 kicked off with Kobe Bryant’s death, then out came the global pandemic that’s known as COVID-19, then came the lockdowns, the deaths, the illnesses, the social unrest in the United States, a presidential election, the stock market’s ups and downs – we’ve been through a lot! Hopefully things are turning better for us in 2021.
We’ve all definitely had our share of bad days during the pandemic. Cabin fever is no joke – we are all itching to get out and get back to normal. We’re all filling the void by doing things like buying electronic goods, and you really see the value of these stay at home stocks really reflected in the stock market – Netflix, Zoom, and basically pretty much every tech company. It really sucked back in early 2020 when all we could do to go outside was basically go for walks around our neighborhood. That got old real fast.
Our social skills are probably on the decline. It seems as if the number of people seeking some sort of therapy is on the rise. People are uncertain. There are millions of Americans out there struggling. Shutting down all these businesses (restaurants, retail, services) will definitely have its ramifications and it feels as if those ramifications are what we experience everyday.
We can’t go out! We’re stuck at home! “Hey, let’s go on a Zoom call!”
I don’t know about you guys, but these times have been really challenging for me, but nonetheless,
Here are 7 ways I cope and feel productive:
1. I make my own bed every morning
This is actually a thing. Look it up. You’ll see many successful people advocate such a simple thing. Yet, when you wake up feeling tired and groggy, and you’re in a rush to get out, the last thing you want to do is make your bed. However, times are different now – a good chunk of us are stuck at home (provided that we work remotely or even if we’re service workers – we still have to go home as there isn’t much to do nowadays!)
What making your bed ultimately will do is that it starts your day in a productive manner – when you wake up and make your bed, you’ve just completed a task. This sets you on track to complete other tasks you have in your day. We’re a firm believer in momentum and Newton’s Law – an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless some external force acts upon it – that external force being you and your decision making. Once you pick up the momentum to do a simple task like making your bed, you might be more motivated to continue other tasks like brushing your teeth, cleaning up your room, paying bills, working towards your financial goals, whatever it is!
2. Brushing My Teeth
Despite the physical MUSTs regarding brushing your teeth – there are also plenty of mental health benefits from doing something so ridiculously simple. Brushing my teeth literally just makes me as a person feel “clean”. When I go eat a meal, and I notice there are still some chunks or even taste the remnants of food in my breath – it just makes me feel gross. Brushing my teeth after lunch or snacks make me feel a lot less disgusted with myself. Combine that with the myriad of benefits you get from brushing your teeth often – cleaner smile, fresh breath, good oral hygiene – there’s no reason not to brush your teeth so often aside from sheer laziness!
3. Getting In The Habit Of Stretching
All you really need is yourself from this one – you can do these wherever – in your bedroom, living room, office, outdoors. Just take 15 minutes a day and stretch. We won’t focus on the nitty gritty here, but just do some stretches – your body in 40 years will thank you for it! Being nimble and flexible has so many benefits – your overall sense of well being will increase and it will decrease chances of becoming injured. Go stretch right now if you’re reading this and haven’t stretched at all today. After you’ve done that, keep telling yourself to stretch. I can’t stress the importance of this.
4. Keep A Clean Area Around Your Home
Having a clean workspace, a clean living room, a clean kitchen will all contribute to being able to think more clearly. Having messy clothes all over the place, paper scrambled, and food crumbs everywhere just make you feel gross, doesn’t it? Get in the habit of creating a clean area whether it be at home or work, or both. You’ll be productive in the longer run.
5. Go Running
I wrote about this the other day – running is an easy way to hit your daily goal of 10,000 steps. Whoa, wait what? 10,000 steps, that’s a ton! It is, but it isn’t. If you live a lifestyle composed of laying on your bed, playing video games, watching Netflix, then hell yeah it’s gonna be hard! Go on a run, and if that’s too hard, go walking for 30 minutes straight – you’ll be amazed at how many steps you’ll get! Set yourself aside to run sometime this week, if not, today! If you’re reading this, I doubt you’re really doing much as of now so I bet you have the time!
6. Eat A Whole Foods Diet
This one goes without saying – you are what you eat. You don’t want to eat junk food all the time – you’ll literally feel like junk! We like to think of food as an oil change as opposed to fuel – if you’re on a clean diet, and you suddenly eat dirty, you’re going to be hit. Hard. You’ll notice that when you do eat unhealthy, you feel sluggish, you won’t be able to think straight, and you might even notice that you start breaking out! Do yourself a gigantic favor and eat a Whole Foods diet – consisting of lean meats, veggies, and fruit. Make sure you get your healthy fats in there also to satisfy your hormones – this one I learned the hard way!
7. Be Social Whenever You Have The Opportunity
Whether it be a random text from a friend or a stranger says hi to you when you’re out walking in the neighborhood, be social. This will create new opportunities to network, work on your social skills, and make connections. You’ll never know who that old person is walking past you – said person could have some crazy stories! Some of my best friendships have come from the most random things – small talk at the gym. When you set yourself up, things have a tendency to fall in place, and with the right mindset, you start naturally gravitating towards others with a similar mindset. Can’t explain why. Try to have a conversation with a stranger next time you run into one and see how that goes!