“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people all over the world, overloading hospitals and causing severe illness and death. Despite the media blitz of bad news, the majority of people who get coronavirus are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. Most people recover at home, and don’t require hospitalization.
The Shelter at Home and quarantine orders have disrupted the daily schedules you’ve come to depend on, but you can use this interruption to recalibrate your life and improve your health. Instead of worrying over news stories or things you can’t control, concentrate on discovering new and better ways to live.
Be Proactive
Be proactive in your personal and work life. In other words, do what you can to make life better for you and your family during this worldwide crisis. Make a schedule for each day, and keep web searches over Covid-19 to a minimum. Live life one day at a time.
The Stay at Home and Shelter in Place orders are currently being lifted in some states. Social distancing, reduced operating hours for businesses, and wearing face coverings will still be required in most areas.
Continue using all the new behaviors, or new hobbies you discover, even after the quarantine has lifted. Chances are that life will return to normal in phases, so you’ll still be spending more time at home than before the pandemic.
Don’t feel you have to finish writing a novel or a complicated project during this time. Take little steps each day to improve the quality of your life, which forces us to get out of our comfort zone and learn new things and in a sense, reinvent ourselves.
Here are ten things you can do to improve your health, rearrange your priorities, and reinvent yourself during quarantine and beyond,
Sew Masks for Your Family, Friends and Neighbors
If you are skilled at sewing or arts and crafts, make cloth masks for your family and friends. You can make masks with your sewing machine or fashion no-sew masks with pillowcases and hair ties. Use cloth with fun patterns to make facemasks for kids.
Exercise Indoors and Outdoors
You don’t need to spend money at a health club to stay fit. You can take a walk around your block or ride your bike while social distancing. If parks or hiking trails in your area are open, take advantage of fresh air and hike or jog. Fifteen minutes of outdoor exercise in the sunshine will also give you plenty of Vitamin D, which is essential for better immunity – and more protection against COVID-19.
Do yoga, which helps reduce stress and tone your body. If your anxiety is out of control, learn how to meditate. Mindfulness meditation has been proven to reduce stress, which can weaken your immune system. Find a quiet room or space where you can close your eyes, sit comfortably and clear your mind. Without the distractions of your regular workday, it will be easier to learn how to rid your mind of extraneous thoughts and meditate.
Eat Healthy Foods
Without dine-in options and limited takeout/delivery at restaurants, even the culinary-challenged need to go grocery shopping and cook at home. If you’ve resisted cooking at home because you didn’t have time before, quarantine is the perfect time for you to learn how to cook, bake, and even create your own recipes.
Planning your meals and shopping trips is a necessity. You’ll increase your chance of getting COVID-19 if you browse or dawdle while you shop (and other shoppers will get impatient with you) unless you know exactly what you want.
Now more than even, it’s important to concentrate on buying fresh, healthy foods and prepare nutritionally-balanced meals. Buy fruits and vegetables with Vitamin C, zinc-filled shellfish, seeds, nuts, meat and legumes, and salmon, leafy greens and eggs with B-complex vitamins.
Some supermarkets will have limited supplies of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, fish and other healthy foods, so you may need to make several trips to get everything you need. Order online and have groceries for pickup or delivery to save time. Luckily, farmer’s markets are still open in many areas, so you’ll still be able to buy fresh produce.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking filtered (or bottled) water, juice, milk and tea will keep you hydrated and fill you up so you won’t snack on junk food. Drinking enough liquids also protects against illness and boosts immunity. Hydration supports your lymphatic system, which helps flush out toxins.
Avoid soft drinks, alcohol, and drink coffee sparingly. You may have overindulged in coffee when working onsite (or on alcohol after a long day at work), but these beverages actually deplete the body of fluids.
Volunteer to Help Others
Giving back to the community is important during quiet times, and it’s essential today. Bring meals or groceries to elderly or sick neighbors. Offer to run errands for a neighbor who doesn’t have a car, or volunteer for a virtual gig as a mental health or food bank counselor. If you’re not sure where to find volunteer opportunities in your area, check out the listings on VolunteerMatch.
Work on Your Garden
Grow your own food. If you live in an apartment, plant cayenne peppers, avocados, lemons, mushrooms or green beans. Buy seeds online or purchase stated plants from your local gardening supply store, if it’s open in your area.
You can grow just about anything in your backyard if you own a house, including carrots, tomatoes, herbs and lettuce. Create a no-dig lasagna bed on your lawn. The name refers to the layered gardening method, which is similar to layering a lasagna. This type of garden ensures rich soil and doesn’t require any tilling. You can use yard waste or scarps from your kitchen as fertilizer, and the bottom layer of composting will make benefit the environment and save you time tending the garden.
Clean and Organize Your House
You can’t use the excuse that you don’t have time to clean your house anymore. Clean and organize your closets, drawers, and kitchen cabinets. You may have delayed a major cleaning job, like shampooing your living room carpet or scrubbing the guest bathroom.
Take advantage of your time at home to sort through old papers and photographs. You might find precious, long-lost memories.
Get in Touch with Family and Friends via Zoom or Skype
Use Skype or Facetime to connect with friends one-on-one. Call or Skype friends you haven’t talked to in awhile. Reconnect with old classmates, co-worker and neighbors, even your cousins you haven’t talked to in decades. Use social media, texts, phone calls and video conferencing to get in touch. Show people that you’re thinking of them, even if you just send a text. Your kindness will be appreciated.
The Zoom app allows you to conference with co-workers, family and friends across the globe. You can visit with a half dozen of your friends simultaneously. Have a cocktail hour, impromptu sing-along or dance party, or use the app as a virtual classroom for your kids, or as a tool to share your knowledge of drawing or another skill with friends.
Learn a New Skill
Use all the free time you have sheltering in place to better yourself. Now that you don’t need to worry about your regular routine, you can finally pursue new hobbies and actually have time to pursue them. Have you always wanted to draw or paint? Bring out the easel and tap into your creativity.
Maybe you need to be more practical and learn a skill to earn money. There are many free courses in accounting, law, coding, engineering and other subjects online.
Improve Immunity with Supplements
While nothing can guarantee that you won’t get COVID-19, improving your immunity and overall health will improve your chances of avoiding it or getting mild symptoms if you do get it.
Nutritional supplements (along with meditation) will keep you calm so you can get a full night’s sleep. Many people have reported getting disturbing quarantine dreams due to isolation. Getting enough restful sleep, eating well, and keeping busy at home can help curb these dreams.
Take a Wheatgrass Supplement to Stay Healthy
Wheatgrass is one of the most nutritious supplements you can take. This chlorophyll-rich plant contains minerals, amino acids and hundreds of enzymes you won’t find in any brand-name multi-vitamin. Wheatgrass Love offers three supplements - Happy Girl Natural Mood Enhancer, REVV Natural Energy Supplement, and Zeal O2 Natural Weight Loss Supplement. These supplements are made with high-quality wheatgrass to increase your immunity to respiratory infections, congestion and other symptoms often experienced by people with COVID-19.
Learn more about these supplements and how they can boost your immunity at Wheatgrasslove.com.
