I have been quarantined for over a month now and let me say that it has been quite an experience. On one hand, I have hated the idea of social distancing from friends as I am a hardcore extrovert. On the other hand, I have gotten time with the person that I need to take care of the most, myself. I never truly realized the importance of taking care of yourself as much as I have realized within this time. As I have spent my days working on online classes and balancing being back at home from being at college with my freedom, I have come to learn a lot about myself.

I am a sucker for routines

I never realized until now that my productivity was always lowered in the morning because I had never created a personalized routine for myself. I have always been someone who dreads waking up in the morning and would always sleep in until the last possible minute to run out the door for class, which would always leave me scatterbrained and could never seem to have a "good day". I have now begun to wake up and make time for myself. I wake up and make my bed immediately, go shower and brush my teeth, and make a list of what I can accomplish that day. It might sound nerdy, but I have never felt more alive.

I am not lazy, I just have to see my goals on my screen

When I need to get something done I always manage to do it, but it always seemed last minute. I have always been the CEO of procrastination and I have decided to change that. Within the routines I am setting, I have realized how wonderful I feel after getting my list accomplished before 4 PM. I have started using the sticky notes on my Macbook and now I set my daily and weekly goals and will usually get ahead in my work when I see them written. I love Netflix and Hulu (especially Dance Moms right now), but I won't let myself watch those things until I get my goals done for the day. It has never been that I couldn't complete a task, it was that I put obstacles in the way for myself.

Podcasts are my life

I am a person who needs constant sound while achieving tasks and goals which caused me to always have a show on in the background. Eventually, it would become me just watching the show and saving my work until later. It was not until I took something I really loved, podcasts, and added them into my day (like my whole day) that I changed the game. From the moment I start my day I love to put my AirPods in and turn on podcasts. While in quarantine there aren't many people to talk to as your friends are also working on school and doing their own things, why would you not listen to people on podcasts and listen to their perspectives on self-help, productivity, relationships, etc?

Here are a few of my favorite podcasts that have really been loving: HoneySoleil, Gals on the Go, & Anything Goes

I don't have to be directly dependent on others to feel joy

While humankind directly relies on people and the connections made between them, your main source of happiness should come from within. While at home you aren't able to go see those people in your life that bring you joy, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be feeling the most joy from yourself. I have always been an extrovert that relies on her friends and her relationships for a huge chunk of how to feel mentally. I have actually gotten to see that it has to be myself that will affect my mood for the day, not those people around. I have been able to reflect on myself and who I am becoming and it has really influenced my own perspective of self-worth. I need my loved ones and close friends to be myself as much as I need to have that space and personal time to reflect on my goals and my feelings.