How I Managed My Quarantine Routine
By: Changwon C.
Tags: Covid 19, Lagos Portugal, Quarantine, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Update

Photo by Artem Riasnianskyi on Unsplash

Since I was to quarantine alone for ten days, I knew that it might get a little lonely. I see people complaining about quarantine times locked up with their kids and friends and saying that it can get unbearable.

I always feel like quarantining alone can be a skill that you can hone to get a better productivity flow. However, all of us think about the boredom that can come with being alone. I realized from my unique situation that this fear of being alone is not a direct result of this pandemic, but it has been for millennia. Sociologists argue that solitude forces us to come to terms with ourselves, and ironically enough, people are often not ready for this process.

Staying at Sollagos accommodations, I immediately decided I wanted to know the effects of loneliness on pandemic survivors. A quick Google search informed me that people who are completely away from their family and friends are at a greater risk of contracting the virus. I felt lucky that I had my colleagues keeping tabs on me, and I am not entirely on my own.

My Initial Response

Quarantining alone meant that I could not randomly be leaving my accommodations, so I had to get creative with connectivity. The first thing I tried to fix in my schedule is to straighten my social connections. I had decent data service available, and I rang up my parents and friends to tell them that I was okay. I recommend anyone who is isolated right now because they have contracted the virus to keep a close check on your communications. Try to take inspiration from this opportunity to get closer to those who mean something to you.

Why Have a Routine

Here is how I came to find a niche for all my tasks during my time in the self-imposed quarantine:

I figured since it is human nature to sort their tasks so that they can minimize uncertainty, I found it was utterly primal to have a list of my schedule

A routine helps you be more efficient, and staying a better part of my day alone can get distracting if I have nothing to do

Routine increases productivity. Many sociological types of research have concluded this statement, and I needed to boost my productivity with the amount of time I had

Routine during quarantine is shown to decrease anxiety and depressive thoughts

Setting A Routine

Here is how I came to find a niche for all my tasks during my time in the self-imposed quarantine:

Waking Up

I tried to fix a morning time to wake up every day. I decided 9 AM was the best time to get out of bed and start my day. This time limit gave me ample time to catch up on my sleep and made me feel well-rested, fresh, and ready to take on the day by the horns.

Training

I searched online that physical training or exercising in the morning had fantastic health benefits. It not only gave strength to your muscles, posture, and refreshed you; it is an excellent immunity-booster — as little as a 15-minute walk has shown promising results in increasing body immunity. I work out for about 20 minutes every day. The training includes a variety of body exercises that target multiple muscles.

Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash

Getting Ready

After exercising, I hit the shower to freshen up and get rid of the sweat. It is after that that I take my breakfast. Marcelo makes sure that I take plenty of greens, including plenty of fruits and nuts, in breakfast, and I am incredibly thankful to him for taking such good care of me. I prefer to eat a healthy breakfast that can help me get me back on my feet. Since I am not down with any symptoms, I try to keep myself busy sometimes by taking time for some cooking.

Working

I plan my work schedule right after breakfast because I feel fresh by then, and I have a fair amount of work, so I head on to it. I have a habit of jotting down all of my tasks in order, clearly, on a clean paper pad. I stick by this to-do list every day.

Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash

Lunch

Around 1 PM, I make pasta and eat it on the balcony outside. It is the same every day, but that little time out on the balcony helps me get some sense of normalcy. I can see one or two people moving about, some cars moving around, and birds flying above my head, and for a moment, I can pretend that things are every day again. It helps me realize that we have many things in life that we take for granted. It makes me humbled and appreciative of my surroundings.

Evening Routine

After dinner, I work till 6 PM and call a day. After this time, my evenings and a small portion of the night include YouTube binging on videos and various online courses.

Task Distribution

I made it a compulsion upon myself that I would break each activity up to the minimum level. I researched online and found that doing things this way helps micromanage the daily tasks and keep the overwhelming feelings away. I even tried putting smaller break chunks between the work time and labeled them with the relaxing activity that I would perform during that time.

I found a perfect planner app as well, among many such tools at your disposal online. I like to keep things old-fashioned, so I prefer pen and paper. Many other people put their lists on those app platforms, share it with their close friends and peers to maintain a sense of accountability. You can color code the tasks in those apps, put them in a particular order using labels, and pull them out in a specific category with just a click of a few buttons. Some of these apps include Todoist and Habitica.

About Online Courses and Other Activities

I emphasized a great deal of my free time after finishing work to learn new things. My greatest passion after traveling is photography, so I found a few great Coursera courses about beginners’ photography. I found some graphic designing courses that helped me, as well. Other courses that I took up for free or for payment include coding courses, e.g., Python language courses, health benefits, learning more about the pandemic, precautions against it, and time management ones. I also took some valuable information from some travel vlogs and blogs about documenting my experiences effectively.

In addition to that, I looked online for workout videos, physical fitness videos, and video courses for learning new musical instruments. I had always wanted to play the keyboard, so I took some rudimentary lessons from YouTube.

I also learned a few things to cook, mostly over the weekends when I would not be working. I tried my hands at Acara, the local breakfast delicacy. Puff puffs were comparatively easier to make. There was another dish called Dambu Nama, which Marcelo provided me with the recipe, but I just could not make it right.

What I Learnt from My Quarantine Routine

I found out that managing my daily routine in my quarantine was precisely how I would be a student. I could get extra sleep but would not afford to sleep off the day. Without having any symptoms eased the process further. I would get breaks in between, but my main goal would be to finish the day’s tasks.

After I was done with work, I could enjoy and learn new hobbies or skills. This freedom of choice made me understand how important it is to have a slotted time for yourself, even during regular times, because it is mind-relaxing.

Another important thing that I learned is that your goals should not overwhelm you. You should put the daily goals that you can finish within the time slot you have available at your disposal.

You can also put your time to fair use by providing your services instead of just consuming them. I have heard that many youth-related programs in Portugal specifically encourage youth to join knowledge-groups. These groups organize digital scholarly symposiums where people from different walks of life convene to discuss specific education topics.

I also learned what it was to help the greater good by staying away from the general public for a few days. Studies have shown that people who go into self-quarantining avert 44 to 96% chance of affecting others, and this is a highly impressive success rate for such a simple yet effective method.

In Conclusion

The pandemic’s uncertainty can bum anyone out, and it is only natural to feel this way. To not get rolled over by your negative thoughts, it is always better to keep yourself busy. This process is why maintaining a routine during quarantine days helps people have a sense of purpose. You can gain a great deal during these times, and later use it for your advantage, e.g., you can learn new skills for your job, etc. Thus, having a routine is very important as it helps you not lose focus and have other distracting thoughts.