Three Things I’m Doing to Stay Sane During the San Francisco Bay Area’s ‘Shelter in Place’

Yes, I know, I’m writing another blog post about the coronavirus (COVID19).

My life and the lives of millions around the world have been impacted by the coronavirus. Let me explain how.

I’ve been working from home. I just had a 1-week staycation (I planned 1 week off more than two months ago and canceled my travel plans). I live only with my husband who works at an essential manufacturing facility.

So I have been spending A LOT of time at home alone in the past week, except for the rare text or phone call from a family member or a co-worker.

If you are new to my blog, I am an Account Executive at an education technology startup and have been privileged enough to have the ability to work from home since the beginning of March. I am very aware that I am in a lucky position and am not an hourly employee like I was up until my graduation in college in 2013. I held many jobs as a cashier, movie theater manager, and other service jobs that I will maybe mention in a future post.

I am prioritizing my health even though my gym is closed

I just got into the habit of going to the gym in the morning when I was able to work from home. And then the Bay Area ‘Shelter in Place’ was put in place on Monday, March 16th and my apartment complex’s gym was promptly shut down. Darnit!

That’s okay. I was still able to take 30 minutes to 1-hour long walks outside, do yoga while following along to a YouTube video, and meditating at night using the app Headspace. I no longer had the usual excuses for being ‘busy’ or having ‘so much work to do’ so I had more than enough time each day to exercise. I surprisingly didn’t miss the elliptical machine or free weights that I often used in the gym.

Another health benefit that I didn’t expect was that I consumed more water and less food than I did during a normal week before being quarantined at home. I wasn’t on work phone calls, didn’t have to commute into the office, and felt much less stress (except when I watched the newest coronavirus news video). I only ate when I was hungry instead of eating when it was “time to eat”.

I spoke to family and friends more often

I love my family and my friends. I have a very small circle which makes it easy for me to stay in touch. But, I still would prioritize my work responsibilities (and this blog) and sometimes go days or weeks without speaking with my family members or friends.

This isn’t ideal and the scare of the coronavirus helped put into perspective how short life is and how it can end at any moment. It made me remember just how much I cared for my family and their well being. I hope to be able to carry these habits with me even after I no longer have to socially distance myself and the coronavirus dies down (fingers crossed).

I read more books and took care of much-needed chores I have been putting off

I’m not saying that I’m a lazy person, but of course, I can tend to procrastinate some chores and tasks that don’t have an immediate need to get done. During my seven day stay-cation, I had an unlimited amount of time to dedicate to these small tasks each day so that they wouldn’t bore or overwhelm me.

I went to the post office to renew my soon to expire passport. I organized my closet and put away clothes I was no longer wearing or didn’t fit well into a bag to be donated in the future. I organized our pantry so that we wouldn’t eat through all of our emergency food at once. All of these once annoying tasks were welcomed distractions and ways for me to kill time during my quarantine.

All of this free time was perfect for me to catch up on reading. I went to the library right before they planned to close for 3-weeks due to the coronavirus and found five great reads to help occupy my time and feed my brain. I planned to check out more than five books but decided the less time I spent in the library around large groups of people, the better!

In conclusion, I feel grateful and lucky that I am able to work from home and be paid. I also don’t have any children that I have to worry about homeschooling. I have a high enough income that allowed me to buy some nonperishable goods that could last my family 2-weeks without grocery shopping.

So, although having to ‘shelter in place’ is not ideal and can give you cabin fever try and take this opportunity to not only relax but try to complete some tasks that you have been putting off for a while. Take care of yourself, reach out to friends and family and stay safe.