10 Tips to help manage the stress of 2020

1. Make time to unwind. Use a few minutes of each day to do something you genuinely enjoy.

2. Cherish the small things in life. Go for a walk by yourself explore and appreciate the beauty of nature or go for a ride with your bicycle.

3. Self-care. Start taking more care of yourself. If your country is in lockdown, it is a great opportunity to spend more time on self-care. Since you have more time to spend by yourself, have a self-care routine every day, this will help you feel healthier. Get enough sleep, eat well and balanced meals, meditate.

4. Spend more time with your family. Go buy a puzzle or play board games with your family. Instead of laying on your bed for hours scrolling through social media, spend your time productively with your family.

5. Help the environment. Whenever you are outside on a walk or exercising and you see a plastic bottle of water on the road, pick it up. Instead of leaving it there, be the one that makes the change.

6. Listen to new music that makes you feel good and motivated. Create a new playlist with the songs that make you feel like home and motivated.

7. Change your waking up routine. Don’t wake up and pick up your phone immediately. Instead, as soon as you wake up, stand up from your bed and go brush your teeth and wash your face. Go make a warm cup of coffee to make you feel cozy. Otherwise, if you stay in bed, on your phone, you'll probably be there for 20 more minutes.

8. Re-organize your bedroom, and always keep it tidy afterwards. This will make you feel like everything is in place and so you will be more organized. Your room is very important to make you feel warm and cozy since you probably spend a lot of time in it.

9. Try new things. Try things you never imagined yourself that you would do. For example, try drawing or maybe an online workout or cooking. This will make you feel proud of yourself at the end although it may seem boring or tiring at first.

10. Start writing a journal. A journal is a great way to write down everything you feel every day. This way, if you don’t feel comfortable to talking to others about something, a journal is a great way to write down everything that you are thinking and this will make you feel better.

P.S If this is the second time you are in quarantine, write down the things you wish you had done the first time but didn’t. This way, your second quarantine will be way better than the first one.

Also, things may feel overwhelming, but taking steps to cope with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.