A guide to help you stay at home in California (without losing your mind!)

During these unprecedented times of quarantine and isolation, stay at home protocols have been thoroughly enforced throughout the nation to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The world as we know it has almost fully transitioned to stay at home, work at home, eat at home, and to avoid going out unless necessary. As a result of the virus outbreak and California travel restrictions, adaptation to remaining indoors and staying home is undeniably at its peak.

For some, being indoors isn’t a problem. But for a percentage of the population, this transition has been one of the most difficult. Not everyone is used to remaining indoors, let alone wearing a mask everywhere when they do go out. So, if you’re part of the population who is still coping with how to stay at home without completely losing your sanity, we have a couple tips that you may benefit from.

Start a routine

If you’re into journaling or like the motion of pen and paper, start with some type of planner. You can purchase an edgy looking one online, or nowadays you can pull out your iPhone and ask Siri to do the rest. For someone who is an early-riser and wakes up before dawn, you might want to start the list off small. Dedicate a couple hours in the morning to self-care – hygiene, meditation, french-presses, jogs, reading and more. Try your absolute best not to get on the internet during this time. Sometimes it’s necessary to unplug from technology for a bit to realign yourself. You can even consider taking a social media detox if you’ve gotten a bit too sucked into scrolling during your downtime.

The less you scroll, the more you’ll have later for when you do get on the web. Plan ahead to cook for lunch instead of getting takeout again. If you don’t have groceries, it’s easy to shop from home in most places these days. Instacart is one of the latest companies widely available in California (and most other states) where people will handpick and deliver your groceries to your front door. In fact, there are home delivery alternatives for just about anything you need these days.

The sun will fall toward the evening, and you’ll finally be able to reward yourself with some time on the internet if you choose. Call your loved ones and wish them well, set up a group FaceTime with old colleagues and text that person you’ve been thinking of all year. Read the latest news, play some video games or get comfy to stream two episodes of the latest TV shows you’re obsessing over.

If you’ve never had (or kept) a routine or just haven’t thought about making one, maybe now is the time to start planning out your day at home ahead of time. Try your absolute best not to be on the internet all day. The option may not be for everyone, but having some sense of structure during a period of uncertainty is important. Plus, with all this downtime, it’s the perfect chance to focus on some new hobbies or activities that aren’t centered online (like most of our lives are in modern times).

Change up your space

Whether you’re living in a studio or sharing an apartment with a roommate, staying in the same space every day can be mentally and visually exhausting (aka boring). Now that we’re at home looking around at every inch of our household, it’s the perfect time to switch things around. You may not realize at first, but changing up the way your space looks every now then can be quite satisfying.

You don’t necessarily have to buy new furniture in order to switch up the way your home looks. Though you can, rearranging furniture you already have is sometimes all you need to do. So move your bed around, maybe even a couch, or order a new coffee table for your room. Pick up some easy houseplants to add to your desk and finally – open your blinds. Beautiful California sunny days can still be enjoyed by letting that light in, or even spending some time sunning on your patio or in your yard or garden if you have one. You may find that a furniture rearrangement and a change of scenery was all you needed. Plus, there are plenty of blogs online that can give you tops on achieving that classic California aesthetic and brightening up your space.

Although the point is to stay at home, there are ways to get out and enjoy sunny California days without putting yourself (or others) at risk. If you’re looking for things to do outside just to break up the day, try taking a scenic drive, or visiting an open park with your mask in hand where you can still practice social distancing.

Take up a new hobby

If you don’t have one now, this would probably be the best time to take up a new hobby. Because you’re going to  have so much time at home now, a new hobby or three may not be bad for someone inside all week. There are a countless number of cheap, fun hobbies out there, and if one of them doesn’t work out, just move on to the next and try something else. You don’t have to fully commit to just one. If you like it, go with it. If not, you always have the next day to give something different a shot.

If you are trying to squeeze in some outside time, consider taking up gardening or try out slacklining, the new modern day tightrope activity trending in California. Now is the chance to learn longboarding around your neighborhood. Once things get back to normal, you can take it up a notch in some of the best places to longboard in California. If you’re looking to stay fit, go on a run in your neighborhood, or just take a nice walk. Take an online yoga class, or look up easy stay at home workout routines.

Again, the first days of a new habit are always the hardest, so you don’t have to dedicate so much time to your first hobby if it doesn’t turn out the way you want it. Try a couple things out and see how you feel. Schedule your days with time intervals with each set for specific parts of your routine. Change up your space and try new things. You’ll find that being at home isn’t as difficult as it seems if you get creative.

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