10 Positive Ways To Keep Yourself Distracted During A Pandemic

Hey beautiful friends! So here we are in a true time of social isolation. In California, we are officially under a mandated shelter in place. It’s weird. It’s real. And it’s weird. I don’t want to use the word scary cause sometimes that word in itself exasperates fear so I shall stick with ‘weird’. If we use positive words in our communications, we help others do the same, right? I refuse to sit in a state of panic and fear. If I let myself go there, I will go down a rabbit hole and listen, I am claustrophobic so a rabbit hole is not a good place for me! With all of the scary stuff feeding our brains via the media, I wanted to be more of a bright light during this crazy time so I am sharing 10 Positive Ways To Keep Yourself Distracted During A Pandemic. I see a lot of fear being spread. Don’t get me wrong, this is scary but how can we simply follow the rules and not spread fear? Let’s work on that, ok? Together we can be stronger. I am actually not feeling super fearful. I am almost at peace with being at home. For now. I don’t have small children. I have teenagers. It’s hard to get a super social teen to understand that they need to not be social. Painfully hard actually. I am not having to micromanage schooling because one kid was already online and the other is so self-sufficient with school so I never really manage him. I have become a bit more introverted over the years so being home doesn’t break my heart however I could change my opinion on that as this situation evolves. For now, I am doing my thing. I am still getting out for daily walks, writing, and keeping up with friends and family via text and social media.

Here are the upsides, I am not out spending money, I am cherishing the fact that the world has slowed down and I feel like maybe we really needed a reality check when it came to how busy everyone was. People were just going a million miles a minute. Overscheduled, overworked, overtired. Maybe, just maybe this is the universe telling us to slow down. There are so many people spreading joy across the internet. Can we also just press pause and find gratitude in the fact that we have this whole internet thing to keep us all connected right now? It’s pretty amazing really. A friend celebrated her 50th birthday last week via a conference call. How cool is that? Jimmy Fallon suggested that everyone get outside last Friday at noon and ring their cowbells (bang pots, etc.) to thank the first responders. Folks are actually putting their Christmas lights back up to spark joy. Families are writing sweet messages on sidewalks with chalk. You guys, the options for spreading joy are endless.

10 Positive Ways To Keep Yourself Distracted During A Pandemic

1. Listen to Podcasts!

I can’t tell you how many times I have caught myself giggling over what I am listening too. A few of my favorites:

• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard – This episode with Jason Bateman is one of my favorites
• Oprah Super Soul  – This episode with Amy Schumer cracked me up. I loved hearing Oprah giggle.
• Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham – I enjoyed her interview with Demi Lovato
• Unqualified with Anna Farris – This episode with Jake Johnson was a good one.

2. Watch funny videos. This is a complete-time suck but hey, who cares? A few that keep me entertained.

• Ellentube is fantastic. You can find so many different genres here but the latest in the line-up of funny is her home quarantine calls which are so good.
• This video of Kevin Hart riding a rollercoaster with Jimmy Fallon makes me laugh every single time.
• The Holderness Family is always up on current events and they make you smile through the hardest of times. This one on social distancing is quite catchy.
• The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon always keeps me laughing. You can catch his at-home while social distancing episodes here.
• Watch Stella play in the leaves here.
• Watch Neil Diamond switch up the words to this classic here.
• If you want some happy inspiration, check out Dave Hollis and his adorable daughter as they navigate the ways to stay positive + build each other up. This sweet series is called Teatime with Noah.

3. Meditate. This simple act of being still and breathing can shift your mindset and help you get centered.

• This website is offering up a few ways to stay mentally healthy during this scary season.
• Mindful.org has you covered on the basics.
• If you do a search on your phone, you will find several apps that can help you with meditation. I came across this one called Oak which has a $5.99 download fee. Many apps have some free meditations but charge you an annual fee. I am currently using Insight Timer which is working well for me.
• Do this 5-minute meditation at Goodful.

4. Connect.

Reach out and make a connection that that isn’t via texting or conversing via social media. Call a friend. Facetime the grandparents. Do something that allows you to hear a voice or see a face. This is vital to our well-being, especially now.

5. Have a dance party in your living room. 

You can make your own playlist on Spotify or iTunes. I found this one full of fun dance grooves. Do a search for fun dance music and see what comes up.

6. Work out.

Yes, it’s that simple! There are several businesses offering free on-line classes right now. Youtube is also a great resource! if it’s sunny where you live, get outside for some Vitamin D. Just remember to keep 6 feet between you and the person who might be passing by you on the sidewalk. Better yet, find some trails off the grid and away from others.

• Good Housekeeping shares  25+ live-stream videos. Some are free for a trial period.
• Golds Amp App is free until May 31st. You’ll have access to 600 audio and video workouts and hundreds of DJ mixes to keep you moving in the gym, outside, or at home. Get started at goldsamp.com/promo, and enter promo code FIT60.
• Core Power Yoga is offering up some free classes as well.
• 305 Fitness is offering around 20 free classes while their studios are closed.
• You can join in over at Planet Fitness Facebook page for some classes too!

7. Watch some mindless TV.

You know, the kind of shows that don’t require a lot of thought but they elicit lots of laughs. A few of my favorites:

• Friends not currently streaming but it still has reruns on TBS
• New Girl (Netflix)
• Happy Endings (Netflix)
• The Goldbergs (Hulu)
• Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
• The Ranch (Netflix)
• The Office (Netflix)

8. Read a book.

The options are limitless. Maybe you have some books on hand that you have been meaning to read. The time is now.

• Not a fan of reading? You can subscribe to Audible.
• Check out this selection of audiobooks in Oprah’s Book Club.
• Reese Witherspoon also has a book club. You can check out Hello Sunshine here.
• This list of 31 books to read while social isolating was chosen by Boston booksellers.
• Real Simple shares 27 great books to read.

9. Take a break.

Technology is a blessing and a curse, especially now. It’s a wonderful tool to keep up with loved ones while partaking in social isolation. It can also keep updated on the latest news but it is also full of scary stories and can overwhelm us with negativity. Sometimes a break is a way to allow us to keep ourselves in a positive headspace. Turn off the TV. Shut down your devices. Walk away. Sometimes hearing all the things that we can not control feeds our worst fears.

10. Practice Gratitude. 

• I recently shared this post over at Medium about how I keep a gratitude journal.
• I loved these questions from this article over at Life Hack.
  1. What can I be grateful for in my life today?
  2. Who are 3 people that I can be grateful to have in my life and why?
  3. What are 3 things I can be grateful for about myself?
• Share positive quotes or messages via social media.

Sometimes we are tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths. – Uknown

As I said, this is a weird time and we are all navigating unchartered territory. It’s like the world is currently asking a big question and no one really has the answer so we wait. We wait and hope and love and hope some more. Patience is the thing we all have to practice the most right now.

If you are really struggling with staying calm during this pandemic, Virus Anxiety has created a website with specific tools and resources to help get you through it. Just remember that you are not alone. We’ve got each other and let’s never forget that, okay? Sending all my love out into the universe. I hope together, that we can heal and find our new normal soon. Maybe once this hard season passes, we will all be a bit humbled by the lessons we’ve learned.