4 Lifestyle Changes I’m Keeping After The Pandemic is Over
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Because all of us have made changes in these past months that are actually worth maintaining and don’t involve doing a face mask on Friday nights.
2020 was a year of an overall change in habits, daily living, and social standards. Whether that looks like working from our couch instead of going into the office, or helping our kids with online school, or just doing Netflix marathons over video chat with our friends, the pandemic is still far from over however these new ways of living are now molded into our lives and are here to stay.
I’ve been reading and listening to so many Youtube videos and podcasts that love to talk about “self-care” and that make me feel like somehow I'm not even fitting the standards on what that is. Meditation, bubble baths, and face masks seem to be the definition of taking care of our peace of mind, and rightfully so or not that's not something that makes sense for all of us.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, worldwide lockdowns, and travel bans I’ve taken my sweet time to readjust and reevaluate what’s missing in my life and how much somethings are just not as important as I saw them be at a particular point in time and how others I was craving and not acknowledging it. So here’s my list.
- Making time for my friends
Might sound stupid or odd but I’m that friend that can spend weeks without talking to you and out of the blue I’ll send you a random text asking “Hey how are you?”. Not because I don’t care about my friends but my job as Cabin Crew makes me unavailable 70% of the time as I’m traveling the world and the other 30% I’m sleeping and recovering from flying. However, being home made me realize that while I’m out, people’s lives are moving just like mine and sometimes my absence creates unnecessary distance and too much silent space. Video chatting or just texting my friends more often not only is not hard but it helps me acknowledge that they are just as important to me as I am to them.
2. Being home doesn’t have to be related to Netflix and boredom
I’ve struggled with this like I’d say the majority of people. As I’ve said before my job has a few physical side effects on my body so recovering is often associated with being in a hotel bed binging on Netflix day and night so the last thing I wanted to do was to binge at home day in and day out. So I decided to put myself to the test and made a shortlist of things I wanted to learn more about or do in general. Out of that list, I decided to learn Italian and add that to my already overachieving list of 4 languages in total. To do that I watched a few Youtube videos (that were actually helpful) and online language platforms like Pimsleur to get me started. Fin qui tutto bene!
3. Self-care looks different for all of us
Don’t get me wrong, I’m just like any other woman and I do like a good bubble bath and a face mask but that doesn't give me complete peace of mind, rather a more instant feeling of relaxation. Being in complete silence, being able to process my own thoughts and feelings by myself, writing, cooking something delicious that I saw on Pinterest, listening to music, going out for a long walk, and having someone to vent when my anxiety spikes are my idea of self-care.
4. Spending became a lot more controlled
I’m the type of person that likes to spend my money on experiences rather than things so eating out, traveling, exploring whatever new place I find is my most common expenses. Given that the world caved in and we are locked in our own surroundings I did save money because of it but I found myself going on Asos to buy that unnecessary shirt that looks just like three others I have in my closet. So I set a budget for myself on what I could afford to buy that are necessities (only when I’m about to run out of something) and the rest save up for when we can move around again and budget for upcoming trips.
Conclusion
The pandemic doesn't have to be a synonym for stagnancy, mental isolation, or a waste of time. Without any pressure or judgment, look inward at yourself and find what it is that you need more of and what you can eliminate for good, I promise you only good comes from it.
