Wellness Bucket List: 13 Ways To Make COVID-19 Quarantine Worthwhile
The image above was originally saved for a blog post of 13 things I’d like to knock off my bucket list. Due to the current events and 2020 erupting into a “Zombie Apocalypse” as the internet jokingly say; it’s imperative (regardless of our conspiracies) that we all still take precaution to protect ourselves and loved ones- seeing that lives are being lost. I have personally socially distanced myself for as long as I can remember and lived in “quarantine” for a little over a year now. However, I do painfully miss the luxury of nature walks and visiting museums…and botanical gardens to decompress.
Like damn, I was just about to act up. Was just twerking on a boat in Dominican Republic and fake swimming in ocean water with a floaty around my waist in March -then BOOM, statewide curfews and social isolation. Great.
Seeing that 2020 is on hold till further notice, I don’t want to speak death onto my goals and neither should you. I decided to reword this blog post that best fits today’s time. Below is a Wellness Bucket List of 13 things that we can dive into to make this moment more enjoyable. I chose 13 things based on the 13 buckets in the Casa Malca art display.
Focus On Spiritually + Manifestations
Now that the majority of everything is closed and canceled, hopefully this moment will help us all get closer to God and our beliefs. This moment shouldn’t be taken for granted at all.
Manifestation Activity:
Step 1. Gather materials:
Pen/pencil, paper, lighter, burning-friendly surface: Large metal/glass bowl or cauldron, a pan, a fireplace, dirt or stone clearing, etc.
Optional: crystals, stones, candles, essential oils, trinket, totem, sacred object, sage
Step 2. Set your sacred space or altar.
Place everything to your liking.
Step 3.Intention setting and grounding.
Sit or firmly plant your feet on the ground.Inhale and exhale with deep breaths till you feel ready to write. Once you feel grounded and focused, it’s time to write your intentions.
Step 4. WRITING Your intentions, use one paper or two.
On one side or sheet, write Things to Release. By all means, be sincere. For example:
“In the year of 2020, I release the emotions of doubt. I will release the habits of self sabotaging and comparing. I no longer need the lessons that these feelings, things, or circumstances would teach me. If I have not already learned the lessons that God and the universe set to instill in me, I vow to learn these lessons in a different way that will give me a sense of clarity and will result in a resolution that doesn’t feel painful to guide through.”
On the second sheet or other side, write “Invocation” for things that you wish to invoke. Example:
“Dear God and the universe, I welcome a new journey full of opportunities and prosperity. I will invoke change and an abundance of love into my life with an open heart as well as an open mind. I invite these emotions and circumstances into my life at this time to be a vessel of God. I intend that these things will fuel me to be of better service, to be more present, and live at my highest potential.
Step 5. Burn & Release
There is no right or wrong way to do this. However, be sure that whatever you do, burn your lists with the intention of moving forward and removing undesired attachments. You can purchase all the sage, crystals, and “energy cleansing tools” you want but with no intention in doing the actual work behind moving forward, everything becomes nothing more than decoration.
2. Organize Bills + Expenses for 2020 Write Offs
I don’t know about you all but I fail miserably at keeping track of business expenses. I would keep all my receipts but wait till the last minute to document them just before filing my taxes. I like using the mobile app Everlance. You can also use Quickbooks and there’s another app affiliated via Turbotax.
3. To Do Lists: THE MOST or Absofuckinglutely nothing
Up your presence and platforms on social media to market yourself or do it for shits and giggles. I personally plan on getting back in routine to logging tasks into my social media calendar. You can purchase an agenda or calendar. Or save money by using an excel spreadsheet. There’s no harm in at home photoshoots and doing whatever to keep yourself in high spirits. Write that book. Start that podcast. Revamp that business plan. Drop that EP. Or… or…. DO NOTHING. There’s no right or wrong way to spend your time at home. Whatever you do, just don't do crack. As the great Whitney Houston once said, “Crack is whack.”
4. Recharge + Unplug
With so much going on, be sure to unplug from the internet and any distractions. There’s so much fake news, even I fell for it.There’s been news wrongfully saying that Italy is much cleaner than ever before. So clean that Venice canals run clear during this pandemic while swans and dolphins are now visiting. Who’s responsible? Ahuja, who lives in New Delhi, India who decided to put the photos together in a tweet, unaware that swans are regular visitors in Burano before COVID-19 came about. She also doesn’t plan on removing the false information of her viral tweet. I suppose we’re all trying to be optimistic and look at the silver lining here. However, fake news isn’t worth the shares, likes and retweets. Constantly sharing false information does more harm than good, so if you're one of those people constantly updating your following- fact check. Take a break, too. Leave it up to credible news outlets to inform. It’s bad enough we can’t escape hearing about it.
5. Cleanse Your Home + Energy
Like the first bucket list, you don’t have to stop at cleansing your spirit. Pray over items you’ve thrifted to remove unwanted energy. Or maybe when it was safe to have guests over, you didn’t have the time to open your windows and sage your home so you might as well purify the space you're in now. Or maybe you’re the host for negative energy…. Do whatever you feel is necessary to make your space tranquil. Also… invest in a dehumidifier. I have two. Place them in different rooms in your house to purify the air. There’s an array of products you can use to clean and sanitize your home without using harsh chemicals. I personally prefer bleach-for e v e r y t h i n g. Harsh chemicals can affect the lungs though if you do have asthma, etc. Below are some alternatives for harsh cleaning products.
6. Health Is Wealth, Act Like It
Make smoothies, build your immune system and up the intake of vitamins, fruit and vegetables. Workout. Rest. Do what works for you. Food plays a major role in our attitude. I know it’s hard to avoid our “quarantine snacks” but try to implement healthy options into your diet. It’s obvious that certain foods lead to making us feel sluggish but over eating food with a lot of sugar or heavily greasy also links to anxiety, feeling down or depressed making it harder to sleep or concentrate.
7. A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste, Feed It
Read. Write. Keep your brain sharp. Try to avoid mind trash like fake news and gossip for a while. Being in self isolation can work wonders on the brain, both good and bad. Be mindful of the content you digest. Oh, and use this time to read your friends blogs and comment. Support their businesses and platforms (p u b l i c l y). Comment and leave reviews on their websites. Be a good friend!
8. Spend Time With The Fam
Perfect time to spend time with family and catch up with those who swear you don’t see them enough. Yep, that’s right, might as well move in for a bit and soak up that electricity, “free wifi” etc. Kidding, maybe. But no seriously, enjoy all the moments shared with family if you can. Catch up with all those friends you have on your heart to call but too tired or busy to do so. iPhones have that feature where you can voice record. It’s my favorite to use while catching up with my best friend from Chile. We can use it any time of the day without having to worry if its an appropriate time to reach out. Unlike texts, it just adds so much more to the message- hearing their voice and enthusiasm, their personality… makes it more personable and lively-like.
9. Remove Physical + Cyber Clutter
Toss out all that you don’t need. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Sell some items you don’t need.I like to go on a purge every now and then and unfollow social media accounts that have a negative affect on my spirit. Even if it’s a person I don’t want to unfollow or block, you can now mute accounts or “restrict” them. It’s worth it. I love traveling and art so I try to flood my social media accounts with platforms that help me “escape” when I need it. However… I’m human and no saint, I still follow people/platforms that have really dark humor. It is what it is, laughter is good for the soul, right? Also, clean out and respond to all your emails if you haven't done so already. TMI: One of my emails has a virus or something that I think links from a porn site. I get hundreds of spam. It's ridiculous. Can anybody help me with this or am I shit out of luck?
10. Cancel Those Subscriptions
I finally had time to cancel subscriptions. I didn’t even notice how many apple subscriptions I was paying for video and photo editing. Some I will renew but I don’t need them all. Oh, by the way. Porn-hub has this new thing where they’re giving out free subscriptions to keep people indoors. Not sure who needs that information but there you go.
11. Pick Up A New Skill
I’ve been putting off learning a second language for some time now. Now I have no excuse. Learning how to swim was on my bucket list this year but… looks like that’s on hold. Seeing that there’s an abundance of resources on the internet, I plan on sharpening my skills by utilizing some business courses online (tax write off btw if it costs and you’re a business owner/freelancer/entrepreneur.).
12. SPEND WISELY, Save Money + Invest
I still have a lot to learn with investing in stocks but I think this is the perfect time to do so with anything health and toiletry related. I’m sure cyber shopping has increased but ummm… I plan on saving. There’s so much I’m saving for and if there’s one thing I’m grateful for during this time– another reason to save money. Also, if you can, spend money and support local businesses. Here’s how to support your locals:
13. Enjoy Moments of Solitude
As an introvert, you’d think this moment is ideal for me. I enjoy social distancing but damn, having the government tell me what I can and can’t do doesn’t sit well with my spirit. Any who, one of the greatest ways to find yourself is limiting distractions and the influence from the outside world. Take this time to get emotionally and creatively on board with your “aloneness.” Attempt to develop a relationship with yourself and a better sense of understanding. Read more about this here, “Better Done Than Good: 3 Simple Laws of Enlightenment I Like To Live By.”
Source: Pinterest
