Life

What To Do During the Coronavirus Pandemic

March 27, 2020

Coronavirus is now truly a pandemic. It instills fear in most logical people’s minds (since there are plenty of brainless, selfish people who still don’t care). It’s taken a lot of people’s livelihoods. It’s separating families apart. It’s hurting the economy. Worst of all, it’s taking people’s lives.

It’s taken away the choices that we seem to take for granted, such as going out to eat wherever we want, whenever we want, with whoever we want.

It’s taken away the chance for us to do what we normally do on a daily basis, such as going to work, the gym, and spending time with people we care about.

It’s forcing us to change how we live our lives… but should we let it? 

Of all the things COVID-19 has affected, continues to affect, and will affect, there is one thing that it has not and never will—and it’s one of the most important things in our lives—time.

We still have 24 hours in a day. We still have 168 hours in a week.

Yes, I know sudden changes are challenging, the uncertainty is uncomforting, and the unknown forcing us to revert to what’s familiar are all valid reasons as to why we’re struggling; however, we have to adapt.

Those reasons should only be reasons for a week, max. After that, they become excuses.

In my experience, the first week when classes transitioned to fully online and I started working from home was the toughest. I had to make a new routine and then I had to adjust my brain to function to my new normal.

Now, I feel like my new routine is almost as good as my prior one.

Since all of my classes are now online, I now have more time to do other things. Whereas before, I’d have to go to class and stay there for the entire duration, now, I can finish all of my work and assignments for the week by the end of Monday morning (Yes, I attend all of my Zoom lectures but sometimes, especially my morning classes, I’ll mute myself and do my workout, do yoga, or make breakfast while listening to the lecture).

Since I’m working from home, I can finish all of my work on my time and have more flexibility with my time.

It’s not all bad.

Here are some of the things you can do to help flatten the curve by staying inside, being productive, and come out of this pandemic more educated, stronger in every sense of the word, and overall a much better human being.

THIS WILL BE ONE OF MY FINAL FREE ADVICEs!

You can:

  • Educate Yourself
    • About investing
      • Warren Buffet once said to be “fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
      • Markets are down but somehow my market is up.
      • Get a free stock with this link!
    • About something you’re interested in
    • About your future goals and how you can achieve them
      • Think, do research, and come up with a plan!
  • Connect
    • With people that you usually talk to
      • Ask them how they’re doing
      • Zoom conference calls are one of the best ways to socialize
    • With people you haven’t spoken to in a while
      • Check in on them and maybe rekindle a friendship
    • With people you’ve never talked to
      • No better time than now to establish new connections
  • Explore
    • Music that you may have missed (For even more fun, do your research on the artists and the story behind their works! You might even discover other artists that are within your taste palette. It can take you into a rabbit hole that you’ll be glad you fell in).
      • Classical Music Recommendations:
        • La Campanella by Franz Liszt
        • Fur Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven
        • Symphony No. 5 in C Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
        • Liebestraum No. 3 by Franz Liszt
        • Mariage D’amour
        • Four Seasons by Vivaldi (Winter and Summer are my favorites)
        • Soirées de Vienne by Franz Liszt
        • On the Beautiful Blue Danube
        • Flight of the Bumblebee
        • Guillaume Tell: Overture
        • Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor
        • 12 Études, Op. 25: No. 11 in A Minor by Chopin
        • Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor by Chopin
        • Arabesque No. 1 by Debussy
        • Cello Suite No. 1 by Johannes Sebastian Bach
      • 70s Music Recommendations:
        • Elton John
        • Al Green
        • Queen
        • Stevie Wonder
        • Marvin Gaye
        • The Jackson 5
        • Earth, Wind & Fire
      • 80s Music Recommendations:
        • Michael Jackson
        • The Police
        • Lionel Richie
        • Prince
        • Rick James
        • George Michael
        • Billy Joel
      • 90s Music Recommendations:
        • Lauryn Hill
        • A Tribe Called Quest
        • Jay-Z
        • Daft Punk
        • Notorious B.I.G
        • Dr. Dre
        • Tupac
      • 2000s Music Recommendations:
        • Eminem
        • Outkast
        • 50 Cent
        • Kanye West
        • Beyoncé
        • Coldplay
    • Movies/Shows that you haven’t seen before
      • I’m not an avid movie goer/binge watcher so I’ll keep this one short:
        • The Rocky Series (From Rocky I to Creed 2)
        • Psych (on Amazon Video)
        • Suits (on Amazon Video)
        • House, M.D. (on Amazon Video)
    • Places that you haven’t been to
      • Museums with virtual tours!
        • Please, don’t go on Google Maps and look up your place of residence
      • Landmarks you want to visit
      • Countries you’ve never heard about
  • Learn
    • How to play an instrument
      • You can learn any and everything online now
    • A new language
      • Duolingo is a really good app
        • And it’s free!
    • How to become better at something you know you’re not really good at
  • Keep your mind active
    • If you’re in school: reread lectures, (re)read the book (or read ahead), take notes, do your assignments early, and connect with classmates/professors
    • If you’re not in school: evaluate your job, analyze where there’s room for improvement, and discuss with your coworkers
  • READ
  • START A PERSONAL PROJECT
    • Something, anything, that you can dedicate your time to and be proud to call your own
  • Stay active
    • Buy a yoga mat
      • Do yoga!
      • Strengthen your core!
    • Do some home exercises!
    • Jump in place for x minute(s) as if you have a jump rope
    • If you live in a building, run up and down the stairs
  • Stay sane
    • Reflect
      • Get in touch with your mind and become more familiar with yourself
      • Achieve inner-peace
    • Write
      • What you reflected about
      • Reflect about your reflection
      • Be more metacognitive
  • Work on yourself
    • However you see fit. Just don’t be the same person you were, or worse, before everything happened.

Those who say that they have nothing to do are simply being lazy. I listed plenty. And there’s more that I could add. Unfortunately, I don’t want to make it any lengthier than it currently is as my intended audience are people who can’t stand the thought of sustainably doing something productive (if you want or need more, just ask me!).

I want to thank those who are doing nothing but sleep all day, stay up all night, binge watch shows, play video games, participate in dumb challenges on social media, and any and everything else that falls under being unproductive as this article wouldn’t be written without you all.

I have nothing against any of the things I listed. Once in a while, you can do those. I, however, have something against consistently doing something that amounts to nothing, which renders that something nothing.

The coronavirus might not affect you physically but you’re letting your mind deteriorate because of it.

Just think… If imprisoned people can reform themselves and come out of prison better than when they came in, why can’t everyone else, who has access to everything and has it much easier, do the same?

Quarantine mode should be like, according to a great friend of mine, prison mode: doing nothing but staying safe, staying out of trouble, working out, and bettering yourself.

I am here to help. We’ll all get through this together.

You have the same 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week that I do. If I can do it, why can’t you?

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