I’m not going to lie to you on here, I’ve almost lost my marbles several times since March of this year. Mostly due to work, but also due to the constant cancellation of plans I had (a miracle that I even had plans, really, since I never do) or even the worry over winter driving. It’s not out of the ordinary for me to arrive home at the end of the day and literally sit on my couch for 20 minutes in silence, just because I can’t immediately find the motivation to start dinner or go upstairs to shower. A common trait shared with a few colleagues of mine.
For those reasons and more I have been trying to do a better job of including something from my “self-care” list daily. Below I’ve included a list of things I do to unwind or de-stress. I’m not saying any or all will work for you; I’m just saying that these are things that help me feel more relaxed and/or rejuvenated.
Spontaneous dance parties. These happen most often when I’m either cooking or putting makeup on, because why not? You don’t have to be good at dancing to have a fun time jumping around like a nutjob to some catchy tunes. Make a playlist of all your favourite tunes and have at it. I’ve got my own pandemic playlist on a loop lately.
Listen to a podcast while getting ready, unready or making dinner. I became a solid fan of podcasts this year. My favourites include:
- Casual Interactions Frank Iero and two of his best friends (Podcast producer John “Hambone” McGuire and comics writer Shaun Simon) reminisce over the time they were in a band together as teenagers and into their early twenties. Their stories are hilarious and should honestly be written into a novel or featured in a film. They delve into other topics as well, including mental health, the creative process and all things “nerdy”.
- Office Ladies Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey break down every episode of ‘The Office’. As two individuals who starred in it they really deep dive into all the things you have ever wondered about the binge-worthy (again and again) show. A must-listen for super fans.
- The Pedestal A group of friends choose a famous or “classic” movie to break down each episode and decide whether or not it still holds up in present day. I’ve both agreed and argued with thin air whilst listening. If you love movies like I do you might enjoy this one.
- Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend I just recently started listening to this podcast and have been burning through the episodes. Conan chats with a slew of favourite guests and the results are hilarious. Like a late night talk show, but a lot more relaxed and with extra banter.
Make time for writing. I’ve been able to post a blog entry each week over the last month and a half because I have been more mindful of the time I set aside for writing. That doesn’t mean all my writing time is dedicated to blogging, though. I’ve also been doing a better job with journaling and revising my novel. The simple fact that I have been writing at all makes me significantly happier.
Light a candle and/or fake candles. There’s just something about a candle that calms a room. I like to celebrate a calm room by performing a lazy bellyflop onto my couch where I will inevitably turn myself into a blanket burrito.
Take a Lush bath and read a book. I overcame my fear of dropping books into the bathtub this year and I’m so glad I did, because it was a game changer for me.
Watch a feel-good TV show. During dinner, after dinner or right before bed I like to watch an episode or two of a show that I’m familiar with and know will make me laugh or smile. My go-to choices at the moment include:
- Schitt’s Creek
- The Office
- Friends
- Bob’s Burgers
- The Conners
Snuggle my cat (even if he hates it). Freddie is not the cuddliest cat. That’s not to say he’s never cuddly, it just needs to happen on his terms. He’s super affectionate right when I arrive home at the end of the day (he’ll greet me at the door like a dog and roll around on the floor until I pick him up). His favourite time to snuggle is either when I’m curled up on the couch or reading a book in bed. He’ll come hurrying over to nuzzle against my side. There’s good reason why studies have shown that animals decrease stress.
Memes and other humour. The internet is terrible for a lot of things, but it brought us memes and has an algorithm that slaps my kind of zany and sometimes morbid humor onto my wall or feed, so I can’t stay very bitter for long. Sometimes you just need to watch a video of otters holding hands (paws?) or read a comic strip of the grim reaper making a witty comment.
Apps. I’m not the biggest fan of playing games on my phone, but there are a few apps that I’ve been enjoying lately for one reason or another:
- Rain Rain An app that lets you choose and combine soothing sound effects. It’s free and has the option of some in-app purchases. I’ll often have rain sounds playing when I have a bath or set the timer on it for when I’m trying to fall asleep.
- Happy Color It’s literally colour by number on your phone. The pure satisfaction of completing a picture and watching the playback of it being filled in spot by spot!!!!
- Wordscapes Mixed up letters and your job is to create as many words as you can to fit them into the crossword.
- 94% It’s basically family feud on your own. You’re given a topic and must guess the most popular answers.
Hot chocolate (in a favourite mug). Winter is coming (ugh!), and one of the few things I’m looking forward to about it is drinking hot chocolate in the evening whilst giant snowflakes spatter against the window. Admittedly this has already happened (thanks Winterpeg). Bonus points if the hot chocolate is Land Lakes raspberry, hazelnut or French vanilla. Even more bonus points if it’s in one of my favourite mugs.
Doodle with Sharpies. I can’t tell you exactly why it brings me such joy to doodle a bunch of random lines onto a page and then colour chunks of it in, but oh baby! I’ve probably spent hours upon hours of my life doing this. Calm colouring books are an alternative option.
Call/check in with someone. A family, a friend, a colleague, etc. I’m notorious for notresponding to messages on time (so sorry). I will get back to you in minutes or in literal months. I’ll work on it… However, when I am in the mood to chat, I’ll make any excuse to start a conversation. Usually with a ridiculous meme or video I found that reminded me of you. There has never been a better time to utilize technology to reconnect with relatives or friends that you’ve lost touch with. I’ve reconnected with a few people during this pandemic and it has been great catching up.
Well that’s that. I made time to make this blog post for my sanity and now I must return to getting some work done.
How are you doing during this pandemic? Keeping sane? What’s on your self-care list?