Living through a pandemic during the past year has taken an unprecedented toll on all of us, both physically and emotionally. For months, we were holed up in our homes, looking for ways to stay remotely engaged. Admittedly, it was a much-needed break for some of us, despite the extreme form in which it has occurred. 

Looking back, it seems this past year was really a reflective time for us to explore and understand ourselves in ways we haven’t made time for. How long have we made excuses or simply chose to ignore our own self-care? 

Here are some of the things I did to get back in touch with myself that we can all still do now:

Reassess Values to Align with Your Priorities

As a mother, wife, creator, and community leader, my schedule was always jammed packed with events, meetings, and kid activities. 

Truthfully, some days were overwhelming, juggling all of the obligations. However, during this time, we can all apply a lesson from the late Toni Morrison. On a pad, write down a list of things you are supposed to do, everything you have committed to. When done, review the list and circle only the things you have to do. When Toni Morrison did this, she was left with only two things being a mother and writing. My outcome? Three. 

From here, I started to think of how I could eliminate items that did not fit into the needs, even when the outside world opened up. My goal was to dedicate my time to the things that matter and let everything be secondary if and only if time and my mental well-being allowed it. If there is anything this past year has taught me, it is that my time needs to align with the things I value and truly need to do. If the ability to go outdoors, something which we seemed so entitled to, can be taken away, there is surely no guarantee that time won’t be so, why not spend it doing the things that I love and with the people I love most?  

Get Moving

Making time in my busy schedule to care for my body was extremely difficult. And while the downtime has been welcomed, the habit of being immobile started to set in even further with the shift in schedule, enabling me to sleep later and move even less. 

Honestly, the more I stayed still, the more I wanted to stay still. After four weeks of resting and truthfully feeling unmotivated, I decided to get back on track, and this time for the right reason. Not to lose weight or prove productive, but simply because my body is able and wanting. I realized the less I move physically, the more drained I felt emotionally and mentally. Excessive sleeping, mindless television binging - all the things that I never had time for suddenly began to consume me. 

One benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic is the plethora of free resources. I was able to find free apps for in-home workouts, yoga, and meditation. I looked for small moments to get out of the house for some sunshine and walks. Needless to say, my body and mind have thanked me for the self-care. 

Journal & Meditate

Social distancing and the sudden cold turkey detox from human connection was difficult, even for introverts like me, even more so for those of us with previous or current mental health conditions. 

As much as I may not always enjoy the company of others, I learned that I could not deny the yearning for connectedness. The best coping mechanism I found was settling into the emotions while meditating and allowing the feeling to pass through me as well and leveraging my love for writing to document the journey. Writing for myself and not for an audience has allowed me to freely express the sadness and loneliness I occasionally feel without any added pressure. 

Take a moment to think about what the past year taught you about your needs and how you need to care for yourself moving forward. What have you been missing? What have you gained from the seemingly idle time? What will you do to explore and care for yourself when other tumultuous times come up? 

By reflecting, like myself, you will be able to take the lessons from our collective pause to apply them in creating your best life moving forward.