How to keep yourself sane during Movement Control Order (MCO)?

As you might know, Malaysians are currently under “Movement Control Order” (MCO) for the next 14 days as social distancing is enacted to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19. It is indeed strange times we live in, however much needed for all of us to play our part in being socially responsible. For those who have not had the experience of “work from home”, it might be a novelty to suddenly have this much time on your hands – time saved from waking early, commuting to and from work, heading out to eat lunch/dinner. Of course, I will wager by now you might feel like you are getting a little stir-crazy and feeling as though you are under house-arrest, so here are some considerations on keeping yourself sane while taking care of your well-being in this period.

Keep normal timings is important for your well-being

If you have a daily routine, it might be helpful to maintain it, least of which it will help the adjustment later after 2 weeks! For your well-being, keep a reasonable time for waking up (yay extra hour to sleep!), make breakfast as you always do and set your time aside for morning tasks. Eat lunch at the appropriate time, fix your afternoon slots and end at a reasonable time for the end of the day, or when tasks are finished. Rinse and repeat.

Be a part of the online movement!

Your WhatsApp/Telegram/WeChat/any chat groups are a source of entertainment, information and communication – just be careful as to the sources of some of this information, but just because we are separated physically does not mean we stop communicating and talking. Sometimes having someone to talk to will help you cope with your own anxieties about this period and help lessen the feeling of being in self-isolation. Not to mention, there are some really good meme’s out there for this period. Laughter is the best medicine after all!

Keep up your own fitness and health with online workouts

Yes, your gym is closed; but at least now you know you will not contract COVID/flu/cold from the person running next to you on the treadmill! There are plenty of FREE resources out there for workouts (HIIT, Yoga, Barre) – just search on youtube and set aside some time to keep your own body healthy and happy.

Use meditation to bring more awareness to self

I discovered the one biggest tool last year to manage my own stress and thought process has been meditation. This could be as short as 5-10 minutes to as long as an hour if you are an avid practitioner. The best quote I’ve come across during this period is this one –

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” ~ French philosopher Blaise Pascal

Apply that to yourself and see if that is not true! Meditation lets us realise very quickly how little we are in tune with our own innermost thoughts and feelings.

Try out these 4 tips for your well-being and see if it helps for these trying times! As always, stay strong Malaysia and stay in!