Contributed by – Healthians team
The coronavirus outbreak has brought about a time of crisis, never seen before. The resultant 21-day lockdown is something that most of us are still grappling with. It is making us realise how we can’t take anything for granted. At the same time, it is also teaching us the way to live with restrictions. In such a scenario when resources are limited, time is abundant, we’d need to do a lot of rethink, on how to best utilise resources, energy and time to reduce waste, be happy and live stress-free. As we learn to adjust to this new routine, here are a few quick tips that will help you make the best use of this time and help you discover your true potential saving you from stress and anxiety.
Learn something new
It’s the perfect time to improve yourself and learn something that will help you with your personal growth. Be it an online course that will enhance your professional skills or some life skill like cooking – in the long run, it’ll be highly beneficial.
Get back to your hobby
As a child, we all had at least one hobby. But with all the growing up to do, it was somewhere forgotten about. Well, now is the time to get back to it. Take that guitar or those watercolors out of your cupboard, play a tutorial on YouTube and start.
Cultivate a reading habit
There are numerous benefits of reading good books. They can make your mind think deeper, teach you more about your field, sharpen your skills, curb your anxieties and generally just help you grow to the next level. The time is now to take out that book that you read long back or bought recently but couldn’t complete.
Deep clean and reorganize your home
Since we are all doing our best to keep those germs away, why not deep clean your house as well? And while you are at it, reorganize your furniture too. It’ll give your home a new look and fresh feel. Who doesn’t love a good home revamp?
Strengthen your relationships
All of us are now either spending too much time with our family or are stuck far away from them. Both of these situations are not ideal for healthy relationships. If you think it is causing friction in your relationships, then here you can find some tips that’ll help you strengthen your bonds with your loved ones.
Focus on your health
Your immunity is your shield against the virus right now. Do you think yours is strong enough to fight the infection? While you are at home and your reach to junk food is limited, get on the right track and start eating healthy food. It is the easiest way to build your immunity.
Take a break from social media
Once we start scrolling through Instagram and Facebook, we don’t realize where the time goes. Each one of us has experienced this. And right now, social media is flooded with fake news. Taking a break from it will give you some much needed peace.
Work in a room with plenty of natural light
Take full advantage of the natural light that comes in your home. It will not only help you reduce your electricity bills but will improve your mood, productivity and health.
Unplug whatever you are not using
We all are guilty of leaving our phone and laptop plugged in even when they are fully charged. They are still using electricity. So, switch off, unplug and save!
Plan your meals
Ever read the quote “failing to plan is planning to fail”? It’s applicable even when you’re cooking. Plan your meals in advance so that you know what exactly you can make with the limited ingredients available and how well you can utilize them in these rough times.
Do batch cooking
This tip is especially useful for those who live alone. Instead of cooking small meals every time, cook one big meal. Make extra chapatis, extra dal, extra rice and give them a little makeover for your next meal. You can fry the rice with freshly cut vegetables and make fried rice or dip the extra chapatis into the water, add a little butter in a pan and cook them on both sides. They’ll turn into delicious parathas. Similarly, you can make use of any leftover food.
Stock up on important things but don’t hoard
Make a list of things that you just can’t do without. Lentils, rice, potatoes, onions, spice – these are a few items that you’ll reach out for every single time you’ll enter your kitchen to cook something. So, stock up on those first but don’t hoard. Keep the needs of others in your mind. Don’t forget, we are all in this together.
Buy easy to cook healthy food
Pulses, daliya, oats, vermicelli and sabudana are a few items that are easy to cook and full of healthy benefits. It’s understandable that you can’t make heavy meals every single time and these are perfect alternatives for that. Also, these items will also serve as your quick snack. These are also perfect for breakfast and you can let go of processed items like bread, jam, breakfast cereals.
While the lockdown is a scary and frustrating time, it is also the time when you can rethink, revamp and reset your life. Live a simpler, more wholesome and healthier life. Stay safe.
