With the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), we have been confined at home for several days now (and many more days left). How to make the most of your time during confinement?
In this article we will see some key ideas on how to have a productive confinement which will help you combat the feeling of boredom, anxiety, fatigue or loneliness that may appear, and that will make you make the most of your days (or almost).
How to have a productive confinement and take advantage of the time at home?
The first thing to keep in mind and that will help you how to have a productive confinement is that you must do things that bring you closer to a situation of normality and routine even if you are locked up at home.
It is not, either, about filling your days with things and “not stopping”, but rather about structuring your days and incorporating elements that allow you to take advantage of the time and enjoy, to the extent possible, in the context of this such a complex situation that we have to live.
We leave you here 10 key ideas on how to have a productive confinement:
1. Create your own space
The first of the key ideas is to create a space to work, or to carry out the activities that you have proposed.
This It is essential to maintain a certain sense of routine and to concentrate better in the event that you must telework (work online, from home). Ideally, it should be a quiet space, in a room, away from noise and where you feel comfortable.
The second key idea we give you is this: take off your pajamas! If in your case you cannot even go out to work, and regardless of whether you must telework or not, the ideal is that you shower and dress in work or street clothes.
Being in your pajamas all day will only make you feel like the hours are passing more slowly, and that the day never ends. Additionally, dressing in street clothes can help activate you, both physically and mentally, and will give you some sense of routine and normality.
3. Create a schedule
Remember, we are talking about how to have a productive confinement in case you have to stay at home confined (with the impossibility of going out to work), regardless of whether you have to telework or not.
To do this, it is also important to create a schedule of work or pending tasks, and even activities or hobbies that you can and want to do. The schedule will allow you to structure the day, better organize the hours, making the most of them and will also reduce the likelihood that you will get bored or anxious from being locked up at home all day.
4. Set some goals
Set small goals that you want to achieve during these days of confinement, whether they are work goals, pending things that you have always wanted to do and for which you have never had time, household chores (cleaning, organizing, etc.), time quality to be with the family…
They can be goals that you set daily, for example, and write them in a small list and cross them off as you get them. This list can give you a certain feeling of self-actualization, in addition to offering you small goals to achieve, which will increase your motivation and get you away from the routine (that is, the “negative” routine).
Even if you are at home and cannot go out, taking breaks if you work remotely will also help you in the task of how to have a productive confinement. So, When you create your schedule, also introduce spaces for small breaks to rest.
During breaks you can take the opportunity to eat something, look at your phone, etc. All of these actions are aimed at giving you the greatest sense of routine possible, similar to what you had when you could go out on the street. So, They are essential tools to structure your day/day.
6. Practice physical exercise
It’s a lot of hours locked up at home, we know… so you should try to keep your body minimally active. The reasons? First, so that your body does not atrophy (nor your mind!), second, to relieve tension and third to defocus, at least for a time, your attention from the current critical moment we are experiencing.
You can do routines at home with or without material (on the internet you have a wide variety of tutorials to choose from, and to work on one area of the body or another). In addition, sports release endorphins that can improve your mood, in addition to increasing your energy.
7. Eat healthy
Another key idea on how to have a productive confinement, which will help you have good energy levels and maintain healthy habits, is simply to eat well, eat healthy (and eat in a structured way, without “snacking” too much in moments of boredom). .
You can take advantage, now that you have time, to cook healthy things and even experiment in the kitchen. You don’t need to invest a lot of time in it either, plus there are many easy and simple recipes that are still healthy (you will find thousands of recipes on the internet).
Avoiding excessive sweets and ultra-processed foods will help you sleep better and stay more active.
8. Do some activity that motivates you
Think about it, always complaining that you don’t have time to do what you really like… and now you do! Take the opportunity to rescue from memory those things that you wanted to do (those that you can do at home), and do them.
Here you will find a list with examples of activities that you can do at home and that will help you combat the feeling of boredom or restlessness that can appear at certain times of the day:
9. Be careful with overinformation
Avoid being aware of the news, social networks, etc. at all hours, since there is a lot of misinformation in many aspects, fake news, information overload… All this will not help you and will increase your feeling of nerves or anxiety.
If you want to stay informed regarding the coronavirus and quarantine, consult official sources, such as the WHO (World Health Organization).
10. If you have children, organize their schedules
We know that spending so many days locked up with small children (or adolescents) is not an easy task, and that living alone is not the same as living with roommates, etc.
If you have children, also create schedules and a routine for them. Introduce small activities into their daily life that they may like and prevent them from being constantly exposed/connected to television and the Internet (although there may be moments of everything… there are many hours in the day).
