Episode #14: 10 Daily Habits to Improve Life During the Pandemic

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Listen to the episode: 10 Daily Habits to Improve Life During the Pandemic

 

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14: In this episode, I’m sharing 10 habits, rituals, and things that have been keeping me sane during this pandemic while we’ve been stuck at home. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this stay-at-home thing for a year now.

And while getting the vaccine is hopefully just around the corner for all of us, who knows how long it’ll be until we get that shot, and when things return back to some kind of normal.

In the meantime, try out these 10 habits and rituals—some of them spark joy, and some of them just help me feel less miserable during the panny.

Give some of these habits a try and let me know what else is sparking joy for you and keeping you sane during this time! Be sure to tag me in your Stories @wtfab when you try some of these habits so I can reshare! 

If you haven’t subscribed or rated/reviewed the podcast yet, please do! 

Quick Links from the episode

Equilibria – You can read my full Equilibira review here and use my discount code WTFAB on EQ’s site for 15% off (new customers)

HIIT School – Shoot me an email if you want to sign up and get $50 off! (elise [at] whatthefab.com)

Headspace

Fiction book recs: Where the Crawdads Sing, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, The Vanishing Half

Podcast episode on my productive morning routine

Podcast episode on my digital detox challenge

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Episode Transcription

Here are 10 things that have been keeping me sane during the panny. I sat down and journaled about the habits that have made a difference for me, and all of these things have been bringing me joy and making my life less miserable than if I didn’t do them.

1. Date Night In

Having some kind of date night in and just breaking up the routine and the monotony of having dinner, watching Netflix, maybe having a glass of wine has been really helpful during the pandemic. We got into such a monotonous routine of doing this every single night for days on end that the nights were just starting to blur together.

One of the things that we’ve been having fun with is playing a card game or a board game. It’s been fun to have a glass of wine and sit down and play a game or do a puzzle and we end up chatting about other things that we wouldn’t have if we had just turned on Netflix.

We’ve also found a few other fun things to do for pandemic-safe date nights. For example, Napa has opened a drive-in movie theatre where you can watch movies right from inside your car.

We also recently did a sushi night in. Omied found a local seafood place that was selling these sushi kits, so we got slices of sashimi, sushi rice, nori, etc. And we learned how to roll hand rolls and mixed and match the different garnishes that you could put with the different fishes. It was so fun!

There are lots of like cooking class options online. So try to come up with some fun date night things and pick one at least once a week and set a date. It’s nice to have something to look forward to, and it kind of just helps break up the monotony.

And if you’re single, living alone during this pandemic, you can still set a date for yourself to go out and do something fun and pandemic-safe or do something with friends virtually.

Just having something fun on your calendar gives you a sense of time and something to look forward to!

2. Outdoor Time

Being in our new house has made outdoor time a lot easier. When we were in San Francisco, it was definitely harder, but I was putting in the effort.

Now that I spend more time at home, I try to have lunch and journal outside as much as possible. I also made it a daily habit of taking 15-minute walks while leaving my phone at home to help detach and reconnect with myself.

When we were in our old apartment in San Francisco, I got creative by journaling and writing my to-dos outside. I didn’t have anywhere to sit, so I sat on my neighbor’s steps to finish writing out my important tasks.

We were doing our workouts inside of our one-bedroom apartment and needed to change things up. I bought a 50-foot long Ethernet cable to make it reach the garage area.

We could do our hit workouts with our trainer outside, and it was so nice to get out of the apartment for an hour. You can get creative with how you get your outdoor time in.

3. Meditating

Meditation and breathwork are the number one things that you can do while exercising for stress and anxiety. I’ve been meditating off and on for years, I got good at it when I was at Google and doing it every single day.

Omied is reading this book all about the human mind, stress, and memory. He was telling me about how feeling stressed and anxious creates neural pathways, that make it easier to access feelings of stress and anxiety.

The more you stress, the easier it is for your brain to feel that stress. So it’s a good idea to get into the healthy habit of meditating every day even if it’s only for ten minutes.

4. HIIT Workouts

Try incorporating HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) workouts into your daily habits. I worked out with HIIT school for maybe three years during my time at Google.

That was one of the things that I was missing when I left Google was my old trainer. The classes were on Google Hangouts, where they would be able to see you and give feedback.

I was excited to work out with my old trainer again and spend time with Omied since he could join. Having structure gave us something to look forward to over time and improve our lifestyle.

Exercise has been a great way to help manage my stress and my mood. Moving my body helps with endorphins, especially being stuck in a pandemic.

5. Morning Routine

I started having a morning routine when I started working for myself. I didn’t have one when I worked at Google, I would roll out of bed, get ready, and run out the door.

If you don’t have a morning routine, you should start one since it’s the first thing you do to start the day. It kicks off how the rest of your day flows and your intentions. I love making myself a coffee, journaling, writing a gratitude list—these are all healthy habits that have formed because of a morning routine.

6. Having Something to Look Forward To

We have a group of friends that we’ve been doing weekly Friday night facetimes with. Every Friday night, we look forward to hopping on FaceTime with them.

We drink, talk, and think about everything—we learn something new almost every time. We love mixing it up by doing virtual game nights so it’s something to look forward to every week.

I recommend trying this with your loved ones, friends, or people that make you happy.

7. Reading Fiction

Before this past year, I would gravitate towards books that are focused on personal growth, personal development, as well as business-related books.

I started to read more fiction books for pleasure and I forgot how nice it is to get hooked on a good story. If you have any great fiction book recommendations, definitely let me know.

I read Where The Crawdads Sing last year and it was beautifully written—I highly recommend it. Currently, I’m reading Pretty Girls and it’s a thriller keeping me on the edge of my seat. Reading has become a great way to take social media breaks.

8. Equilibria CBD

During this pandemic, I’ve been on my CBD game and have a routine down. I do a half dropper in the morning and a half dropper in the afternoon of the CBD oils.

In the evening, I do a soft gel and I love that the soft gels are a slow-release over eight hours. It helps me sleep so soundly through the night. I wake up the next morning feeling so well-rested!

You can read my full Equilibria Review here. New customers can try Equilibria and get 15% off with my code WTFAB.

9. No Cell Sundays

On Sundays, we put our phones away by locking them up in a drawer and don’t touch them all day. It sounds hard, but it’s so refreshing.

It made me realize how much I’m reaching for my phone and how stimulated I am by the notifications. I recommend trying it since we’re so attached to our screens, and it’s important to give yourself intentional breaks.

10. Meal Planning

A couple of months ago, I started planning out a few meals. I would order groceries online so that they would be delivered and ready to go for the week.

We don’t struggle anymore deciding what to eat and turned cooking into something we look forward to. I like adding variety to new recipes we try, and I’m always looking for new healthy recipes to add to the meal planning for the week.

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Those are the 10 habits and rituals that are bringing me joy and keeping me sane during this pandemic. Let me know if there’s anything that you’ve been doing that has been helping you.