¡Hola mi amigos! ¿Cómo estás hoy?
As I finally breathe after my mini victory of ranking first on Amethyst Level in Spanish lessons on Duolingo, I wonder how much has changed since I last wrote a tete-a-tete letter to vent out my feelings of anxiety. But with this “new normal” (I know you are tired of it already), I wonder how others are taking it on with so many changes forced upon us due to the pandemic.
When the lockdown initially began, there was chaos. From WFH to COVID-19 statistics; we were all waiting for a solution to resume our lives as soon as possible. I mean, how long can it go on for? Maybe a month or two. Fast-forward six months later, the vaccine is nowhere in sight, people are being mass fired from their jobs while every single day there are reports on how many are infected in our country (with reports probably being tampered since many go unreported on ground level). As bleak as it sounds, I still see people coping (with frustration and urge to socialise) nevertheless.
As I drink my black coffee and see grey sky and rain out of my window, I want to stop and think what lockdown has taught me, personally. As a person who likes keeping herself engaged in one activity or another; I have taken this opportunity to build habits and learn new things.
P.S. Below I have included screenshots from my cellphone since I believe these gadgets are pretty darn smart in tracking your activities quite precisely.
Taking care of my health
I enjoy running marathons. And I usually practice 2-3 months prior. But regularly jogging with my father has given a new meaning to my routine. It helps me manage my moods and sleep better, has improved my relationship with my father and it is a quality time spent well. Stacking it up with jogging routine is my meditation/stretching activity to ease those after jogging cramps. It also helps to slow down my thoughts to reflect better and focus on deep breathing.
Reading more books
Even though I only went to my office physically for a month before the lockdown, I could sense that working six days a week leaves me with less time to read books. But this has improved, thanks to no commute hours, I am glad my reading hours have increased. Whether it is an eBook or a hard(soft) copy–a book a day keeps my blues away.
Reducing social media usage
Another reason why my reading hours have improved. If you haven’t watched “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix (genius how the name of Netflix giant wasn’t included), chances are it will trigger you to uninstall some time-sapping apps from your phone. And I won’t lie, it is difficult to reduce screen time, but I am trying to do it consciously for my benefit. Bye instagram, twitter, youtube, etc (for a while I guess).
Bullet Journaling aka BuJo
Okay, so I have bad handwriting and considered bullet journaling reserved for those who are artistically talented (just search #bulletjournal on instagram). However, I was proved wrong quite accidentally. It all started when I wanted to track my days of jogging consistently by making tiny boxes and connecting them from one day to another. And it works. I have tried plenty of digital habit trackers, but nothing comes close to just doing it on a plain paper and pen. It is now my go-to notebook to build habits that I want to work on slowly and steadily. In case you are curious how to get started, check out this book—The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll.
Learning Spanish
¡Estoy aprendiendo español en Duolingo! I have had my ups and downs with learning a language, however with practicing consistently, I have made it a part of my routine to complete few lessons of Spanish before I go to bed. ¡El idioma es interesante de aprender! Also, La Casa De Papel made me do it. *winks*
I hope my update above inspires you to try or share your experiences to cope in these troubling times. So, what have you learnt in the last six months? What challenges have you taken up and overcome? Or are you in the process of overcoming it with small steps and positive motivation? Did you start learning something and stopped midway? Did you face failures while learning? Let me know in the comments section below.
Thank you so much for reading this post. Cheers!
Eternally Bonkers 