How to Organize Your Life during the Quarantine!

The quarantine has been tough on all of us. I’ve had a few people reach out to me and ask me about what are some things they could do to be more productive right now! In other words, how can you organize your life during the Quarantine?

I want to give you all easy and doable steps to follow that can help you feel more organized and productive during this quarantine.

Before I do that, I want to share my own experience with you. Skip over this section if you want to head straight to the steps.

My Experience –

Well, I had a very different idea of what this summer would look like in my life. In early March I got accepted to INSEAD for my Master’s. I got admitted to my DREAM school, I was so so excited.

Everything was ‘perfect’!

Then the pandemic hit, although I am still going to INSEAD this fall, at that moment my life felt like it was put on HOLD.

I was uncertain worried and nothing was ‘perfect’ anymore.

I was in a lull for a few days, I didn’t want to get out of bed, I wanted to eat everything in sight, I binged Netflix shows, and I did nothing.

A week into this, I realized that I CHOSE to put my life on hold! No one else hit the pause button, that was all ME! 

So, I decided to press PLAY and kickstart my life again. 

I view this quarantine as a period where I can work on myself and grow and learn more than I could ever before. I have a flexible schedule, I have the comfort of working in my own home, what more could I ask for?

One of the products of me kickstarting my life turned out to be myselfcareshelf, this blog that you’re reading right now! (I still have a hard time believing I’m actually publishing my writing for the world to see FYI)

I learned how to drive, I baked cakes, I completed a 60-day fitness challenge (on day 3 of my second challenge RIGHT NOW), I started a blog, I kinda became a morning person (still working on this) and sooooooo much more!

So you see, I accomplished a lot during this time AND you can too!

Here are the 5 Easy Steps I took to organize my life during the quarantine.

You can follow these too – they sound simple but TRY them before assuming they’re simple steps. You will feel a change and you will be able to organize your life.

5 Steps to follow to organize your life during the quarantine!

Step 1 – Write a LIST of GOALS

I want you to make a QUARANTINE BUCKET LIST! 

This is honestly the best time to do this, everything has slowed down so you have some time to introspect and figure out what you want to accomplish.

Setting goals for yourself in uncertain times like this will help you feel motivated!

Take some time to think about your goals and write down a list of ATLEAST 10 GOALS you set for yourself during this quarantine. 

They can be simple, like reading 1 book a week, meditating every day, or working out every day!

Or it can be very complicated, like figuring out your life purpose!

It can be whatever you want. BUT I want you to sit down RIGHT NOW and write down your goals. Don’t delay this, just write them down.

We don’t know how long this quarantine is going to last, and even once it’s lifted these goals will still be applicable.

So you don’t have the excuse of “oh but life is going back to normal soon!”

NO! Don’t be lazy, think about it and write a list of 10 goals.

This brings me to step 2!

Step 2 – Give yourself deadlines

For each of these goals give yourself a deadline or a challenge.

Next to each goal write down the deadline (eg. I want to read 5 books by July 31st), or write down the challenge (eg. I want to meditate for 10 minutes every day for 2 months)

For the more complex or vague goals write down WHY you set this goal for yourself. For example, I want to figure out my life’s purpose because this will help me plan out my path and I will be able to take more action.

Your WHY can be as long as you want it, a few lines or a few pages.

This step is important because it sets out the right expectations. When you have a deadline you will do your best to complete your task before that deadline. I also believe that setting a deadline gives the universe a timeline to work with you and help you accomplish your goals.

That being said, take actions to ensure that you are able to complete your goals before the given deadlines. BUT if you are not able to do this don’t be hard on yourself and set a new deadline.

The idea is to do your best and give it your 100%

Each day you are working on these goals you will feel productive & your LIST is there to help keep you organized.

Step 3 – Read/Enroll in an Online Course

Step 1 & 2 help you map out what you want to accomplish. Step 3 is all about HOW you’re going to accomplish your goals. 

These days there are so many online resources to help you learn about pretty much anything you want.

University’s are holding free webinars, websites like Skillshare and Udemy are offering classes on so many topics. You can even look into certifications on Coursera. 

There’s a lot out there!

If you’re not interested in enrolling in a course pick up a book you’ve been wanting to read for a while. If it’s a book that will help you accomplish one of your goals even better!

Take this time to invest in resources to LEARN. Don’t overthink about the fact that “its an ‘online’ class so how much will I get out of it?” I used to think that, but there are great online courses out there. It’s all about how seriously you take these classes. 

So find a course or a book that you’re interested in and START! 

Step 4 – Accept CHANGE

Accept CHANGE.

Remember change is inevitable, it’s on you to be adaptable to change!

The day you decide to be OKAY with change this quarantine is going to feel a lot less overwhelming. This may be a period of time that is absolutely necessary for the world to HEAL.

Focus on the positive. This is a time where we all have more time to invest in ourselves and in our relationships. It’s a time to work on yourself.

“Change” is daunting if you look at it in a negative way, but it’s exciting if you look at it in a positive way.

Take this opportunity to “CHANGE” your narrative, to learn, to grow and to accomplish! 

It’s not impossible. Trust me I know! I never thought I would start a blog – but I knew I wanted to create a positive space. I accepted the change in my circumstances and gave it my 100%.

It’s also important to accept that YOU can CHANGE your current reality.

You’re not stuck, you’re choosing to be stuck! 

Change your perspective on this quarantine and focus on how you can grow!

Step 5 – Do something you’ve never done before.

Lastly, challenge yourself to do something you’ve never done before. 

This is a time to experiment and think out of the box! Do something you never thought you’d be able to do.

For me, it’s writing! I never thought I could sit and write 1200 words (that’s how long this blog is right now sorry!) for fun. I never thought I’d be able to publish my writing for the world to see.

But honestly, this blog has been one of the most fulfilling projects of my life. I look forward to coming up with content that can help all of you.

Take a chance to try something you’ve never tried before, who knows, you may even find your calling. 

I know this was a long blog post, but I’ve given you a lot to think about.

You have this time to organize your life, make full use of it! You don’t want to look back at 2020 as the year where you did nothing!

Make it a year of accomplishing your goals and accepting change!

These 5 steps will help you organize your life right now – sound off in the comments if you tried them and had success!

These steps will also help you organize your life outside the quarantine, the key is to learn the importance of setting goals and accepting change!

If you enjoyed this post check out my blog post on healthy lifestyle tips – Top 10 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle – Easy and Effective

Here’s to the start of your self-care journey!

Cheers,

Disha