July 1, 2020

Quarantine Habits I Hope to Keep

Look y’all. I’m not going to come in here and pretend like I’ve been #LivingMyBestLife during quarantine. LOL. Definitely not the case. But as we’ve adapted to life during quarantine, a couple of new habits have formed that I’m actually kind of into and would like to make stick around once this whole thing is over. Someday. In the very distant future because for some reason wearing a mask is impossible for some of you. But that’s a whole other story. So yeah, while there are some quarantine habits I will need to kick (looking at you, staying up til 3:00 am), these are the ones I’d like to keep:

Eating dinner as a family or with my husband: There are A LOT of times during our hectic and random everyday schedules when family dinners are just not a thing. We still tend to not eat at the same time Squirt does, but lately we’ve all been sitting together during his dinner time, and then Matt and I eat together after he goes to bed. It’s nice to have that touchstone moment at the end of our day when the two of us talk and connect and actually have adult conversation. This is a habit that tends to fall by the wayside when we both get busy, but I’d like to make a more concerted effort to keep it up during our post quarantine life.

Writing every single day: I know for some quarantine has been a creative drainer, but for me, it has been the opposite. I feel like I NEED to write every day in order to stay sane and my writing productivity has been super high. I finished the first draft of a new book in two months, which is significantly faster than my normal pace. I don’t know that I will always be able to keep that up, but I’m going to try!

Calling up friends just to chat: I think I’ve talked with a lot of my friends more during quarantine than I have in a long time! I live an hour and a half to two hours away from the majority of my friends, and even further from one of my besties, so it’s hard to see each other for a casual hang out. But now that we’re all trapped at home, it’s easy to jump on a call or a Zoom and catch up, and it’s been nice to reconnect.

Spending way less money: In a lot of ways, it feels like we’re hemorrhaging cash because we’re spending more on groceries and alcohol than we normally would. But on the other side of it, we’re not going out to eat or grab a beer. We’re not going to the movies or to Disneyland or to any of the places I would normally go and drop anywhere from $20-$50 on an average excursion. We’re also being more mindful of spending since we’re both unemployed, and that obviously sucks, but I would like to keep up our saving habits when we come out on the other side. (Note: I am still spending a small fortune on books and that will never change and I make no apologies for my book buying habits, I’m keeping the publishing industry alive!)

Have you developed any helpful new habits during quarantine? Let me know!