During the “normal” days before the pandemic, if we were to be at home it was ok because if we got bored or had a bit of cabin fever we would just go out somewhere. But knowing that we can’t do that or shouldn’t be dong that changes our mindset and we know the best way to fend off the blues is to stay busy. Well as the days go by, staying busy becomes a bit more difficult. How many YouTube videos can we watch or Netflix movies. How many phone calls or text messages, how much time can we spend on social media before it all becomes somewhat dull. Then the blues, which by the way were just sitting back waiting, begin to creep in and our thoughts are less positive and our problems are more pronounced and overall we just feel less happy.
So what can we do to fend off the blues? For me, I’ve set up a schedule that I try to stick to each day, starting with that much needed cup of coffee and some breakfast. A side note here, since we are less active for obvious reasons we need to be more aware of what we eat and how much, otherwise when this is all said and done, we’ll be looking for a wider chair to roll. Next, I go over emails, I check out my social media pages and post an update or two, spend some time on YouTube looking some for fun and interesting videos, I took advantage of a special offer from Babbel and I’m hoping to learn Italian, I brought the Ukulele out of the closet, dusted it off and realized that this simple and small four stringed instrument is far more complex that I first thought. I’m working on developing some level of proficiency with the instrument. I then make a call or two to check on family and friends. I spend time goggling new resources that I can put up on our website to help our community. I must confess, I do have a video game that I enjoy playing so I spend some time with that and later in the evening I watch an episode or two of whatever series I’m watching on Netflix or Prime Video.
So as you can see, this plan helps to keep my mind active each day, it’s not a fool proof plan but it works for me. Certainly worth a try if you find that your mental state isn’t as fresh as it should be.