Doing something a little different on the blog today inspired by my Time Out feature and a post by Song of Style. Aimee asked 7 of her friends to share how they’re staying positive and hopeful during this time. It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos and anxiety that is isolation, the news cycle, and general covid-19 panic. Trust I’ve been there. Sometimes I manage to catch myself, stop and take a step back. I listen to my body, think about what I can control, and what I’m grateful for and try to take things one day at a time.
Here’s my crew, these are the people who keep me inspired and amused online and when I’m lucky IRL. I hope through this you can find something to keep you going and hopeful. Much love.
Emilie Sobel – @emiliesobel
While in quarantine, I’ve been trying my best to remain as productive and positive as possible. I set my alarm every morning to wake up, workout and get work done. This helps me feel like things are still a little normal and that my time is not going to waste. I’ve been really trying to connect and share with my social media community and that has really helped so much.
Starr Hawkins – @babymommafit
I’ve been doing free workouts every day at 12 for the people at home. The first two weeks were with Yesjulz. Then I did a week of influencers. This week I am doing it from @inkedmag’s Instagram and then finishing the month off with Yesjulz again. Being able to give back and help other people has helped me get through the quarantine. Virtual training is at a peak and I feel very fortunate to be able to help other people. So I’m doing my best to give back with killer workouts. I’ve had people tune in for the last four weeks and every time they feel the exercise they hit me with *flame emojis* I started an online community and I’ve been seeing a great following from it to the point where I feel like this is bigger than me.
Taylor Boozan – @taylorstoddard
This is the longest period of time I’ve spent at home without travel, so I’ve tried to embrace the solitude and added leisure by focusing on self-care and picking up on hobbies to keep my creativity stimulated. I’ve been exercising every day which has been therapeutic, finally implementing a proper skincare routine, trying new healthy recipes to cook at home, brushing up on my Spanish and starting Italian lessons, and I am so happy I finally have the time to tackle some reading. And, each week I pick a different part of my apartment to clean and organize – full Marie Kondo style! Being in isolation has given me the time to recharge and reset, and for that I am grateful.
Kelly Saks – @kellysaks
A major key for me has been limiting my news consumption. As a journalist, that might sound like a strange suggestion… but too much news can actually be overwhelming. I get important news alerts sent to my phone, so we try to limit our TV news viewing to no more than 30 mins a day. Once I started implementing this I noticed my days became much less anxiety ridden.
Exercise has also been a major source of positivity. A daily rush of endorphins really helps boost your mood! It provides structure to my day and helps keep me both physically and mentally strong. (My trainer @ro54D has been streaming his workouts daily on IG for free! Over 25K people have been tuning in live to workout together.) My husband, Eric, actually started training with me during week two of quarantine and it’s been a great bonding experience for us.
Ginger Harris – @gingerharris
My motto has become: When in doubt, work it out. When it all starts to feel too heavy, I wander out to the balcony, hop on my mat and get my endorphins going. It’s helped me keep my head in all of this. And connecting with the people taking my online classes really gives me something to look forward to each day.
Erika Thomas – @itsmeerikat
I’m staying positive during quarantine by tuning into what I need – for example, some days I wake up and just wanna snuggle my kids and paint and nap. Then some days I want to work out and do a juice cleanse, and some days I want to binge Netflix and eat three bowls of Lucky Charms. Letting myself do what I am feeling is a freedom I haven’t had for a very long time (I started working at age 16!), so I’m really trying to soak up the idle time and do (or not do) whatever I want. Oh, and almost all days I put something in the slow cooker for dinner, because if there is one thing to break my spirits, its slaving in the kitchen all day fora mediocre meal.
Monroe Steele – @monroesteele
I’ve been keeping positive during this time by doing a lot of reading and writing. Reading is an escape for me and allows my mind to concentrate on other things non COVID related. I’ve also been taking great pleasure in organizing my space. I feel less anxious when things are tidy and have taken some time to seriously declutter, repurpose and get rid of things I no longer wear or need. I know it may sound weird but continuing to work has also helped me stay positive. I love creating and am happy that I can be a reprieve from everything going on around us with my content.
Nikita Walia – Work With Blank
Cautious optimism, actions of generosity, and gratitude have kept me going. It’s too overwhelming to imagine the global scale of this pandemic – and how any of us can change what’s going on in the world individually is nearly impossible: but to go to bed hoping the number of sirens will go down in two weeks, that people will be kinder, that we have each other gives me hope. Yes, the goal posts shift but it’s been better to have shifting goalposts predicated on the faith that the people around me are good and look out for one another than to turn inwards and retreat.
My trust in our institutions and systems to look out for us is at an all time low – predictably so for the moment we’re in, but being able to give what I can to the people around me, whether it’s time (I’ve been offering 30 minute strategy workouts), a listening ear, or a donation to a mutual aid fund has helped me feel that even from the comfort of my home I’ve had an impact on the people around me. I am positive that this will change all of our relationships to stuff and consumerism – being grateful for everything I have has really changed my perspective on my needs versus my wants. After this is all over I can’t wait to hug my friends and get more involved in fighting for a more equitable future for everyone: until then, it’s day by day.
Caroline Presson – @cpresso
One of the major things helping me to stay positive (that I thought would never come out of my mouth) is working out and staying active. I’ve never been a “workout person” but getting up and moving everyday, even for just 10 minutes, makes me feel so much better. I’m also using this time to be creative as I want to be while letting myself have a few completely unproductive days and not feel bad about it. It’s okay to have a few days to just chill and relax! I also stay focused on the future and keep in mind that what we are going through is temporary.
Kelly Augustine – @kellyaugustineb
What’s really been grounding me in all of this is knowing that we are all in this together. That I’m not spinning out here alone. I’ve also just been trying to think of this as the quiet time I needed.
Rae Witte – @raewitte
I think now that we’re 6-ish weeks into this, I’ve found the biggest thing is to not be too hard on myself about losing my old sense of routine. As someone that worked from home before this, I had a pretty set disciplined routine, and it’s been really helpful for me to let that go and accept a new, looser one. I go to bed later and sleep later now and I mix up workouts much more frequently than before. I’m really grateful to still be working, and I enjoy working, so that’s been a blessing. I’ve also found myself finding goodness in visiting old (like really old) routines I used to do, like listening to Toni Braxton (S/O Babyface!), listening to old Usher and Aaliyah and rollerblading. (Lol, but rly!)