5 Daily Habits To Practice During The COVID-19 Home Order

What a crazy time, right?

Life has changed for many of us, for some in more drastic ways than others, but we are all still doing our best to get adjusted. Whether we like it or not, this is our current reality. The quarantines, the staying home orders, the travel bans, the masks, the gloves, all of it.

I, like I’m sure many, sometimes have to combat negativity and the temptation to just sit on the couch with the news or Netflix running 24/7 and wait for everything to end and then go out and do all the things like normal.

But instead of giving in to laziness, I have challenged myself to at the very least implement some healthy daily habits to help me make the most of every day. Yes, Carpe Diem during a global pandemic! Even indoors with a full house, even without physically embracing my family for weeks, even with my favorite events or planned trips cancelled.

Here are some of the things Calvin and I (and by default, Josiah too) are doing every day to help us make the most of each quarantined day:

1. Move your body

Every morning we go for a walk around our neighborhood. Normally not many people are out that early, so we can easily keep our distance from our neighbors and stay safe. This allows us to move our bodies everyday and get some fresh air, a win win! Living room dance parties, a bedtime stretch, Youtube workout videos, work too for getting a light exercise in daily. Gyms may be closed but moving our bodies each day is still a possibility and much needed. I promise you’ll have more energy after.

2. Pray it out

At about 9:30 AM every morning, lead pastor of Church Project in The Woodlands gets on Instagram LIVE and leads viewers in a time of prayer through Scripture via the Church Project Instagram Account. I get a notification every morning when the LIVE starts and if I’m busy with Josiah and can’t tune it, it is a reminder that I need to pray things out.

Are you praying things out? Calvin often says, prayer is like the untangling of our souls before God. Take time each day to be intentional to pray. Set an alarm on your phone and pray every day. Talk to God, praise Him for who He is, ask for His will to be done, confess sin, cast all your worries on Him, and thank Him for every blessing, even in the midst of hardship. And if you need guidance on what to pray, open the Bible to the Psalms and make those your prayers.

3. Stay informed

While I don’t advice we all sit in front of the television with the news blaring all day long, it’s still important to stay informed during this time. We do this by tuning into the Coronavirus 411 Podcast everyday. It is precise, gives facts, and only 4-6 minutes long each day. If I, personally, am watching devastating news all day, my heart remains heavy and negativity begins to consume me. So do stay informed but if you’re like me in that regard, keep the news intake (whether on TV or social media) at a minimum.

4. Connect with others

Any other extroverts out here struggling? It’s hard to be away from my people. But just because I have to be physically distant from them does not mean I stop talking to them or seeing them. We live in such a technologically advanced time. We have FaceTime, Facebook Messenger Chat, Instagram Video Calls, WhatsApp Video Calls, Marco Polo, the list goes on! Get on your favorite app and video call your people. Text them. Call them. Don’t isolate yourself from genuine, heart-felt connection with others just because our bodies are needing to be physically apart for the time being.

5. create something

My husband works on his music almost daily now (writing, recording, editing) while I enjoy baking, cooking and experimenting with my daily coffee. In case you missed it, #WhippedCoffee has taken over the internet and I have been sucked right in, tweaking my own recipe and sipping the finished product in complete satisfaction. Draw, sew, paint, start a home project, design, write, dance, or whatever else brings a smile to your face. Get creative and take said creative endeavor one day at a time. No need to recreate the 16 chapels in one day or one “stay home order” month.

That’s what we’ve been up to every day as we have adhered to the state wide Stay Home, Work Safe order in Texas. I’d love to hear what you have been up to? Anything in your routine that has helped bring you some stability and some peace of mind? Share it in a comment below!

I hope these will be helpful to you as you begin to put them into practice. I leave you with something Jason “The Tik Tok Doc” Campbell from Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (who though daily at the frontlines of the combat against Coronavirus, has gotten both creative and physically active by putting out Tik Tok videos with his co-workers) said:

Make the most of your everyday at home or as an essential worker during this time. And if your home environment is a difficult one, please know that no matter how dark it may get, darkness cannot overtake the light. I pray you find light, hope, peace, love, and strength. Don’t let your light dwindle. God is with us, even in our darkest of days. Hold onto that truth. This too shall pass.

Thanks for reading, friends! Don’t forget to share this with a friend or on social media, and if you do, be sure to tag me so I can thank you personally.

- Crystal

MORE HELPFUL DURING COVID-19:

What To Do With Over Ripe Bananas (from your COVID-19 haul) | How To Get Out Of Your Head (and stop overthinking) | Lies Whispered In The Waiting (and ways to combat them) | How To Read the Bible More Right Now (+ FREE Devotional)

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