I remember thinking, I’m so glad that’s not me, whenever a flesh-eating zombie scene jolted to life on my television screen. Sensationalized, post-apocalyptic imaginings started taunting me long before the zombie trend chomped its way to the surface. I told myself that if I did happen to witness Earth’s demise in my lifetime, I would be prepared.

The contents of this article aren’t about secret underground doomsday bunkers or long-lasting survival foods. It’s about helping victims of the COVID-19 pandemic keep busy (and hopefully stay productive) during the most uncertain time of our lives. 

First off, I want to make it known that it is perfectly acceptable to be a couch potato and do absolutely nothing while you’re processing everything. If your mental well-being is suffering as a result of unemployment, economic hardships, health issues or general uncertainties, you’re not alone, this virus doesn’t discriminate.

Luckily there are plenty of ways to turn our lump of lead into gold depending on how we choose to respond to recent events. So once you’ve given the colors of your emotions the chance to splatter, read onwards to become the alchemist of your life. 

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1.) Explore.

I know there’s been travel bans and it’s tough to go outside these days amongst all the zombies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore inside.

When was the last time you asked yourself what it was going to take to make you happy? Do you know the answer to that question now?

It’s perfectly fine if your first inclination is to shrug, huff, moan, or even roll your eyes. It’s a tough question because not many of us know how to answer it.

Most of the time our worlds are saturated with so much noise that we can’t hear our timid heart’s desires.

Well, now that the world is mute, this is your chance. Go ahead, ask yourself.

You can also start by visiting viacharacter. This is where you can take an awesome free survey that pinpoints your top character strengths.

This site was recommended to me by the professor of my Science of Wellbeing course through Yale on Coursera and I highly recommend it. Who doesn’t enjoy learning more about themselves?

Part of what we learned in our course is that if we don’t use our character strengths in our daily lives we aren’t going to be fulfilled. The problem is that most people don’t know what their strengths are, and if they do they aren’t utilizing them.

Use your downtime to determine your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses. You might come out of this apocalypse with such a minty fresh perspective that you won’t want to return to the same career even if you could.

Perhaps you’ll discover you were meant to freelance or start a side business of your own. Have you considered teaching English online temporarily with VIPKid or exploring freelance opportunities on Fiverr or Upwork, where you can get paid to write, illustrate, design, build or produce from anywhere in the world?

Don’t be afraid to get lost in a new project and find yourself all over again. 

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2.) After you’ve used your free time to explore, use it to take action by learning a new skill, talent or art form.

For all you know, you could be destined to write the next bestselling novel, design a killer mobile app, play the mandolin or speak three languages fluently.

Have you ever considered recording your own podcast, starting a YouTube channel or using your unique expertise to build an online course? What about content creation or affiliate marketing? What is it that tickles your curiosity? Are you a creative or an entrepreneur at heart? Once you identify your seeds of passion, water them and watch them grow. Sometimes it’s just a matter of making that first move.

A fun activity might be to make your own vision board so you can set your intentions and get clear on your goals.

To give you some ideas, my vision board consists of pictures of my quaint bed and breakfast in Spain, smooching couples walking the beach at sunset, Golden retriever puppies, a honeymoon in the Maldives, my memoir at the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, and of course a bunch of models with perfect legs, abs and butts (they’re great motivation).

The best part about a vision board is that there are no rules. You’re allowed to be as successful, healthy, or head-over-heels in love as you want.

Another thing I started doing since the apocalypse is keep a gratitude journal by my bed. I find that writing in it each night forces me to relive my happiest moments throughout the day. Doing this not only feels incredible, but it makes you a magnet, attracting even more things to be grateful for. 

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3.) Take a course.

As I mentioned in the first section, I took a course called The Science of Wellbeing (online) through Coursera. I also took The Strategy of Content Marketing, which provided me with the tools to get my own website started. Coursera is a great way to expand your skills and also make you a more valuable asset to any company.

Another online course provider I love to mold my mind with is Udemy. Udemy offers a wide range of courses as well with lifetime access; everything from graphic design and iPhone photography to self-hypnosis and finding your life purpose.

The difference is Coursera has specific start and end dates and is more focused on academic topics. So if you’re looking to receive more formal education from an accredited university, Coursera is the way to go. But if you are simply looking to learn something interesting and maybe even a little outside the box, Udemy is your go-to.

Many courses are being offered at discounted prices too, which has tempted me to purchase them in bulk. I love learning, and can appreciate the fact that my knowledge is the one thing no one can ever take from me. Plus, if we don’t take advantage of these resources now we probably never will. 

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4.) Read all those books you told yourself you didn’t have time to read before.

Books are knowledge and knowledge is power. So read as often as humanly possible and you might just learn how to make gold after all. But don’t just read anything. We live in the age of information vomit, meaning not all of it is going to be worthy of our attention.

Ingest books and media that feed the soul the way an apple would rather than a pop-tart. Learn to filter out the garbage and engage with truth and merit.

I’ve never been shy to admit my love for self-help books. There’s unfortunately such a stigma that exists around them but in my personal opinion, self-improvement is the new “too cool for school.”

Since when should the growth of our spirits ever be considered shameful?

A few of my favorite spirituality books include, The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein, Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

But in terms of a little shameless self-help, you can never go wrong with these foul-tongued bestsellers: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson and Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop.

All it takes is a few words to change someone’s life forever. Imagine what the right book could do for you. 

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5.) Meditate.

This one is simple but so essential. Especially if you’re one to stare up at your ceiling into the wee hours of the night agonizing over your last relationship, family feuds or friend fallouts. Or perhaps you’re fretting over the many uncertainties in life, because let’s face it, nothing’s written in sharpie these days.

If you’re like me, you have a hard time staying present. In fact, you might even spend more time loitering in every other time period. Haven’t you ever noticed that worrying never helped? Not ever? Not even once? Most likely, it only made the situation worse because you were more focused on all that could go wrong and were therefore manifesting your greatest fears.

Meditation is obviously a wonderful practice to help quiet the mind and become more present. It can also reduce stress, increase emotional well-being, enhance self-awareness, boost immunity, and improve memory, focus and intuition. Many people have also reported that meditation helped them to improve their relationships and even to overcome addiction.

It is recommended that if you’re just starting out, you mediate for 10-15 minutes a day. Not too bad right?

If you’re having a particularly challenging time calming your mind or if you are too busy to meditate, it is recommended that you double the time. Because if you’re too busy, chances are your mind is in need of a vacation.

I started practicing daily meditations ever since COVID hit and I’ve already noticed such a difference in my productivity levels and overall sense of well-being. Meditating before bed is a good idea for those struggling to fall asleep. It can help enormously.

If you still aren’t convinced of all the magical benefits of meditation do a little search around the web yourself. There’s another thing you suddenly have more time for, research. 

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6.) Stay active.

I know gyms are closed but that doesn’t mean you can’t spread out your yoga mat and do some warrior ones with one of the many yogis on YouTube.

I personally adore Yoga with Adriene. She practices every type of yoga you can imagine such as Shakti Flow and yoga for relieving stress and anxiety. What I love about her is that she never forces you to turn yourself into a praying mantis pretzel unless you want to. She focuses on what feels right for your body and I always feel like a brand new human after her sessions.

There are plenty of free workout videos out there, and I confess that I occasionally even dabble with the very dated aerobics videos (just to mix it up a bit).

I am not the biggest athlete but I do believe that in order to maintain good mental health you must also maintain good physical health.

If you want to thrive in life, you need to find a way to stay active even if all that means is getting enough daily steps to satisfy your Apple watch. 

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7.) Start a blog.

You most likely are in dire need of an expressive outlet. Perhaps a blog will allow you to confront what you’re feeling and maybe even help some others along the way.

Setting up a website is surprisingly hassle-free too, with the help of platforms such as Wix and WordPress.

Personally, I recommend WordPress simply because it offers more features and flexibility; however it does require a bit more technical knowledge. That being said, I started my site Old Soul Searching with WordPress using Bluehost as my web host, and I was able to customize my theme, upload my logo, set up my homepage, publish my first blog post, add an About page, and install plugins all within the time it takes to watch World War Z. I am basically a third grader when it comes to anything technical so if I can do it I know others can too.

Having a website of your own is one of the most empowering feelings. It’s completely yours and you can start publishing passionate prose immediately.

There is no better time than now to learn a new skill and explore a side of yourself you might have neglected in the “old world.”

Blogs allow us to have a voice and to express ourselves in ways the generations before us could only dream of. Take advantage of it while you can. You have the time. What do you have to lose? 

. . .

Of course there are many ways to keep yourself productive that I’ve neglected to mention but hopefully this gives you a start.

You can be anyone you want to be, starting now. It’s the perfect time to pique your curiosity; to reinvent yourself.

If you’re looking for an excuse not to you’ll find one every time. Try instead to say Yes to life.

This might require you to adapt and might even make you feel uncomfortable at first, but what is the point of a life that doesn’t force us to grow?

So make some art or some history and share your gifts with the world. They say we only get one of these major pandemics every century, so make the most of it – and make gold. 

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Photo by Tai’s Captures on Unsplash

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