All over the world people are being asked to #stayathome. This may be a challenge to many of us, and to overcome it depends on how you decide to face your quarantine. Are you going to eat all the leftovers in your fridge and in a couple of weeks be able to keep your neighbors afar due to your muffin top? Or are you going to take this time for yourself and your hobbies, like knitting a scarf that can wrap around the entire planet and finally getting your name in the Guiness Book of Records?
As far as I’m concerned, I’m loving my quarantine as I’ve always wanted to date myself! Here are some tips, just in case you also want to enjoy this period:
- Free yourself from the oppression of the bra and other restrictive items of clothing! If you’re one of those lucky people who can work from home instead of braving the real world, you have a great opportunity to free your body from lots of constraints. For we women who don’t like to wear a bra, here is our chance of attending online meetings wrapped only in a bathrobe or a tube top (depending upon your occupation, of course). Also, your feet can take a huge rest from stilettos — you can wear your comfy slippers 24/7 because they match your robe beautifully. And take advantage of being in the seated position in front of a computer and immerse your tootsies them in a tub of warm water and some essential oils while completing that long Excel spreadsheet.
- Let’s get physical! Remember Jane Fonda in the ‘90s showing us how to jump and chassé in the living room? Well, as vintage as it may seem, both Jane and working out at home are trendy again. Make your living room your gym, use the dinner chair as a fitness machine, and become your own personal trainer (try not to make yourself cry).Take every break to do some squats, then some crunches, or a few planks as the cat uses you as a ramp to the window. Stay away from your computer for 5 minutes every hour or so and by the end of the day, you will probably have done almost 1 hour of exercise. By following this advice, you can have the bikini body of your dreams even before the virus gets defeated.
Not only does working from home offer you opportunities that being in a cubicle does not, there are also advantages that need to be spoken to.
- There are so many ways to take advantage of your online meetings. Detox your face with a green clay mask or do your manicure. Neaten up your bikini line or eye brows. Consider learning self-tattooing for those really long meetings.
- No more closed offices and air conditioning that’s too cold. You are the master of your own room temperature (no more fights with your co-workers about the frost hanging from your nose), and you can open the windows for some fresh air to breathe real oxygen whenever you want. You can dress for the season you are in, not short sleeves during the winter nor scarves and Uggs during the summer. Actually, you can wear whatever you want to, or even work naked.
- You don’t have to run into people you don’t like when you go by the printer or when you rush to the toilet. That boring colleague always talking about stuff you’re not interested at all, like potty training or fantasy football, has vanished into virtual reality. And if he or she shows up in a chat group, you can always mute them. Or you can always claim your camera broke down and you can’t use Zoom anymore. And because of the pandemic, you can’t let someone in your house to fix it!
- Now, you can take a nap after lunch. Many people say the secret of longevity is not caviar moisturizer nor drinking celery juice early in the morning. Our ancestors defended the idea that a small nap just after lunch is the key to a better health and better skin. No more fighting the urge to nod off around 2 p.m. Get a good 20 minutes to 4 hours’ worth of snoozing and you will be able to go back to work with the stamina of MMA fighter.
Basically, now you have time to yourself, to strengthen your family ties (or tie down your family), read In Search of Lost Time, write your quarantine diaries as if you were Bridget Jones, and more important than everything: you don’t have to wake up early in the morning to catch the bus. Instead, you can watch the sunrise while tasting a homemade cappuccino, and imagine you are the leading actress in an old-fashion TV ad. What’s not to love?
