Happiness At Home: 5 Ways to Adjust to the At-Home Lifetsyle

Before the stay at home order I was not used to spending so much time inside my dwelling, as I am sure many of you have experienced as well.  Here is what I have found to be the most essential coping practices during the current pandemic.  

1.) Make a Schedule

I find that making a schedule adds a sense normalcy and structure to my post-pandemic life.  I have scrapped the month-at-a-glance calendar at my desk that was mocking me with its blank squares and canceled save-the-dates, opting for a simpler solution.  Looking at your life in terms of months can be overwhelming, I mean who even knows what day it is anymore? That’s why my trusty spiral notebook is all I need.  I start the day by opening it up to a blank page, maybe I write the date, maybe I don’t, but what I do make is a structured to do list for my daily tasks.  This can be as simple as folding laundry or as ambitious as handmaking a mosaic backsplash that makes your kitchen counters pop, just write it down until that ever so satisfying moment you get to run your pen along the paper to cross it off.  If you don’t get to it that day, THAT’S OKAY! Add it to the next day’s list and see what happens.  Just make sure include at least one fun thing to do for yourself every single day.  

2.) Go Outside

While we have to shelter in place, we aren’t limited to the confines of our homes. Spend some time in your yard, go on a walk around your neighborhood, find a hiking trail you’ve never been to, even ride your bike along the LA river.  With weather this gorgeous who would want to miss out on that Vitamin D? You can use that time outside as a way to reconnect with Mother Earth.  Listen to the natural soundscapes, try to spot what is in bloom, smell the flowers, and feel the sunshine.  As someone who lives in the heart of Downtown, I started feeling cut off from the natural world around me.  So much so that a few weeks ago I hung my hammock from the rafter beams in my loft where I had all of my windows open to hear the birds and feel the breeze. Hanging there with my eyes closed it almost felt like I was in a park.  Luckily trails start opening back up and I have been hiking up in Angeles Crest to give myself a much-needed break from my urban landscape.  Just remember to practice social distancing wherever you venture!

3.) Reach Out to Friends, New and Old

As someone who lives alone, this was a must for me on day one. I have used this time to not only strengthen the connection with my most immediate network of friends, but to also reconnect with people from my past. There are so many great digital platforms we can utilize to keep in touch such as Zoom, Discord, and FaceTime. My 25th birthday was in early April and I was able to celebrate with more people than I normally could with friends logging onto the call from all over the country.  Every day I check in with at least one person to see how they are doing either by shooting them a text, calling them up, even sending letters in the mail.  Right now, we all have free time and could use the extra support, so see how you friends are doing and it will improve everyone’s mental health all around. 

4.) Stay Active

Staying at home doesn’t mean you have to stay idle!  There are so many ways to keep an active lifestyle.  As I mentioned above, the world is still your playground (to a certain extent) so take your activities outside by going on a run, a hike, or a bike ride.  There are also ways to stay active without leaving your home.  Cue my shameless Whole Body Method plug…WE HAVE VIRTUAL MAT PILATES CLASSES EVERY DAY! Our virtual classes are a great way to keep up with your Pilates practice by strengthening, lengthening, and centering your body. Just go to our website to see the schedule and sign up for a 55-minute Mat class that you can do from the comfort of your living room.  If you want to mix it up from Pilates, there are a ton of wonderful options out there right now.  Try a virtual dance class, yoga, kickboxing, anything that is available over livestream. 

5.) Do Something Different

Use this time to mix things up a bit and do something you wouldn’t ordinarily do.  Move that chair from your den into the living room to see if it will flip your perspective and maybe inspire further design changes.  All the guys out there, I’m sure you’ve never gone this with long without a haircut, how about you try a new style. Are you rocking the man bun yet? Put together an outfit you would never leave the house in. Does that shirt go with those shorts? Who cares!  Who knows, it could lead to the next cutting-edge style trend. Make recipe you’ve never cooked before or try your hand at mixology.  There are great online classes out there right now so see what’s out there. You could even leave the quarantine with a brand-new skillset.  I have started picking up my hula-hoop again, an old forgotten hobby, to learn new tricks.  This is not an ordinary time, so it calls for you to think outside of the box. 

Bronwyn Adams-Cohen

WBM Director of Operations & Social Media