COVID-19 is here and has shown no signs of slowing down. Place the blame on whoever you wish, but we are all in this together whether you or the celebrity on Twitter you follow like it or not. With that said, moving forward life will be different, but you can still be productive with your time even if you’re home more. Here are 4 things you can start doing:

1. Find Your Inner Bobby Flay

If you have a Food Network junkie spouse like I do, you will be well versed on Food Network personalities. While in quarantine, this is a great time to watch more of their programming. Look at yourself introspectively, see how much better it would be to cook your own food at home instead of eating out for lunch all week. For people with HIV, there is an obvious need to maintain a healthy, nutritious diet to keep the immune system healthy. Bettering your cooking skills will no doubt help your wallet from overspending. You can invest that extra cash into an emergency fund, paying a debt, or investing for your retirement.

2. Get It Right, Get It Tight

If you find yourself going stir crazy and are tired of waking up, working in your home office, watching your Netflix show, or doing both together. It is time to get your body moving and spark some endorphin action. Excuses begin to lack when you have an abundance of time to work out. Right now, there is a growing number of Yoga studios and gyms offering classes online. You are now easily able to make the commitment and take an online Yoga class or join an independent trainer with at-home Zoom video training sessions. If you would prefer to do your own thing, you can go to YouTube and search for video workouts that can be done at home. If you need to get a quick sweat to work off any angst and stress that this time of uncertainty brings, get your body moving.

3. Learn New Tricks

Have you ever wanted to start a new hobby, but couldn’t because life just moves so fast sometimes? Now is as good a time as any to start working on one. If you have wanted to learn to play an instrument or learn a language, then do it. If you don’t know where to start or you need some inspiration, visit Pinterest or a search for hobbies you can start at home. This way you can assess what you have to work with and what you would still need. As always, keeping the practices of social distancing in mind and limiting your out of home activities to only crucial things.

4. Get Social(ly) Distant

To top this off, staying home and limiting your risk of exposure to COVID-19 is essential right now. However, technology has created new avenues to stay in contact with those we love most. Having a virtual happy hour or going back to the basics of calling someone and spending time on the phone talking is a nice way to break up the monotony of social distancing. If you are working from home, try having a FaceTime call with your co-worker where you simply do your work, simulating the work environment you would typically have under normal circumstances. As humans, even us introverts need human connection and interaction. It gives us the feeling of solidarity, like we are all one team going through this and it makes life right now feel less lonely. Simply call or text someone you haven’t spoken to in a while or do a quick FaceTime chat with a friend. You will thank yourself to interact with SOMEONE that isn’t your cat.

About Hope & Help

Hope & Help, Inc. is a not-for-profit health center, offering HIV/STI testing, prevention, and treatment services.