Sleep

The amount of sleep you get sets the pace and tone of your day. If you want to go to bed at 2 p.m. and wake up at 10 a.m. every day, that’s fine. If you want to sleep from 2 p.m. to 7 a.m. and then take a nap in the afternoon, that’s fine too. The key is consistency, and trying to sleep 8 hours for every 24.

Having trouble getting to sleep? Create a bedtime routine to help your brain realize it’s time to wind down. For example, if you brush your teeth, change into pajamas, and put on lotion every night before you lay down, your brain will begin to associate those things with sleep! You’ve heard it before, but consider putting your phone aside for a while before bed, or at least before going to brush your teeth. ASMR, Lo-fi music, or rain sounds might also help you out.

Food

This is another thing where it might be hard to stick to a routine. Taking a break from your work and appreciating the food available to you creates a change in pace. Making comfort foods could really help your mood. Trying something different might be really helpful, too!

By the way, if you’re home all the time, and you’ve got access to an oven… What better time than now to learn how to make bread by hand? It’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds!

Movement

It’s important to not just sit around all day, no matter how tempting that might sound. Getting up and moving just a little bit will really improve your overall mood. Taking a short walk, dancing to your favorite playlist or moving furniture around your room are all valid ways to get out of your chair!

If you don’t know how to dance, what better time than now to learn? Did you know there’s an art to placing furniture called feng shui?

Cleanliness

You might find it hard to find motivation to wash your hair as often if you don’t have anywhere to be. If no one is coming over, you might let laundry pile up. The environment around you is very important to your mental and emotional health. If “take a shower” seems like a chore in your head, buy a new scent of soap and frame it in your mind as “trying out the new scent”. And if you have to go up and down stairs to do laundry, you can consider that a checkmark next to the movement category!

Variety

Lucky you! A lot of other people are also bored, so there are plenty of ideas floating around about how to keep entertained. Even if you still have work at home to do, you should try to fill some of the gaps in your schedule with a variety of activities.

If you’re a goal-oriented person, then consider this checklist:

• Learn 100 new words in any language.
• Try one new type of art. Create three pieces.
• On your weekly shopping trip, buy one plant. Snake plants, spider plants, and philodendron vines are easy to care for, don’t need too much light, and will grow fairly quickly!
• Listen to music that’s completely different than what you’d usually tune in to. Try to find three new songs you like.
• Write an actual, physical letter to someone like you’re living in the 1920’s. Bonus points if you write it like a 20’s gangster.

Again, the environment around you affects you, so you might try moving your furniture around if you can just for something different. If you have a wax melter or some kind of air freshener, consider adding a different scent to your CDC-recommended weekly shopping trip.