– इस ब्लॉग को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें।
While the country is in a state of lockdown we are all experiencing some degree of disruption to daily life. At unsettling times like the coronavirus outbreak, it might feel like things are very much out of your control. Most routines have been thrown into disarray and the future, as far as the experts tell us, is far from certain. But we must believe that social distancing is not isolation, we are all in this together.
We understand that all of us are taking measures to take care of our health and our community amidst the lockdown, here are a few more tips to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and our community :
- Talk to your family and friends
While some of us are lucky enough to spend this time with our family, many of us are far away. So pick up your phones and call them. Talk to your family, friends, and relatives, sharing your thoughts can make us feel lighter and less lonely. So go ahead make a call!
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- Exercise and Meditate
It is very important to keep yourself physically and mentally active during this phase. Daily physical exercises and meditation help us to boost metabolism and keep our mind and body healthy.
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- Embrace a hobby
Engage in something you really love, it can be something new and exciting or something you always wanted to do but could not take out time for. So this is your time to start doing what you always wanted, be it art, gardening, cooking, yoga, dance, etc.
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- Read
If you are a reader, you know what you can do. If you are a beginner, maybe this is a good time to start reading. Begin with something light and engaging. Here are few of our favorites:
- Fakruddin’s Fridge, by Meenu Thomas
- Perfectly Norman, by Tom Percival
- Ish, by Peter Reynolds
- Sol, the Centipede, by Pallavi Raikar
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- Stick to a routine
While most of us would love to sleep in, because we don’t have offices to rush to, having a set time is important for our mental well-being. It helps us feel that we’re in control of the situation. So eat your meals at regular times, and have defined times for sleeping and waking up.
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- Learn something new
As rightly said we never stop learning, so get hold of something which excites you and learn a new skill, course or anything which makes you feel interested. Well, for us there are few things which we are learning such as on-line courses on Public speaking, Learning a new language or a musical instrument.
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- Limit social media usage
While staying digitally active, it is also important to carefully choose your news and media sources, particularly if some of the information you are receiving is leaving you feeling overwhelmed. It can be a very difficult task as our lives revolve around our cell phones,here are few beginners tips which would help you to keep a check on your phone usage:
- Challenge yourself- Take things slowly but adhere to discipline.
- Keep yourself on a schedule
- Turn off as many push notifications as possible
- Take distracting apps off your home screen
- Keep your device out of bed
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- Keep yourself meaningfully engaged
Keep yourself meaningfully engaged throughout the day, watch something upbeat which cheers you up, get creative, or de-clutter clean your house and arrange your wardrobes.
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- Stay Indoors
You can help yourself and your community in this pandemic in the most efficient way by staying indoors so be safe and be at home. Here are some measures for safety precautions Safety amidst COVID 19
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- Remember that you are not alone
Most importantly keep your spirit high and remember you are not alone in this. We all are in this together and this shall pass.
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Though this pandemic can feel like it will be endless, it will eventually pass. Staying motivated can help refocus our attention away from these stressful changes and towards a more hopeful future.
To read this blog in Hindi: Click here.
About the author:
Pranali Patil: has completely her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Mumbai University and holds a diploma in early childhood care education. She works at Apni Shala as a Programme facilitator (leading primary SEL curriculum). When Pranali is not working you will find her making travel plans or trying new restaurants or doodling.
Aditi Ganguly: has completed her Master’ Degree in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Tata Institute Of Social Science. She has been working with different communities for the past 3 years. She works at Apni Shala as a Program Co-ordinator managing partnerships and fundraising. When Aditi is not working she is busy reading or listening to songs.
Loved reading this piece? At Apni Shala, we are committed to bring you more SEL-aligned resources during this pandemic. Our work is dependent on generous donations from our supporters. If you found this useful, make a donation here: I would love to donate to Apni Shala.
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