The transition started on March, 16th. I got the text from my manager to take the day off work until the team could come up with a game plan for the next step. To be honest, I thought maybe I’d be out of work for a few weeks or so, but here I am writing this now over a month out of work. I’ve had to apply for unemployment for the first time ever. I have always been a hard worker, my first job at 16 working for a catering company all while going to school and working in the restaurant industry.
It didn’t really register at first, to be honest. I think my physiology has literally always been in fight or flight mode, busy day in and out. Catching up with emails, organizing catering orders, making phone calls and managing reservations at a very high volume restaurant was my daily routine full time. That’s all I really ever knew was busy mode and I had gotten quite comfortable with that.
So to be home and to actually slow down almost felt wrong, like I should be doing something! So to help with that overwhelming sense of freedom and time, I decided to start writing. In fact, the first week being home I wrote my own autobiography. I started writing a blog about Martin and I and our travels in Chile while promoting our book, Bless the Nest. I am also watching YouTube videos on how to effectively grow in marketing/strategy and promoting your business with social media.
These two contained useful information and gave me tips and insight on how to grow our blog and understand the basics of Instagram:
We have to grow and expand our minds in every faucet, especially in times like these when we are in quarantine from the world and have plenty of free time. It was hard enough dealing with unemployment and the uncertainty that that carries not to mention the world-wide deadly pandemic we are dealing with currently.
Mental health right now is and should be everyone’s top priority and we should all be practicing self-improvement and self-care. Not only does that mean expanding in your career path and learning daily, but also reading books and resting at night instead of staring at the iPhone and reading the news which at times can be quite toxic.
That was something Martin and I started practicing more than ever, good self-discipline. We’ve always been very self-disciplined, like not drinking during the week only on weekends, working out and reading daily, and eating nutrient-dense foods while committing to our values and goals. So not too much has changed for us, just the fact that I am home now during the day and so is Martin as he works from home anyways. Living in a studio and being home while we both work, we make a regime and structure is a must. It is one of the most important things because it’s so easy to get distracted and too comfortable in your home environment. Martin and I have a rule, no naps, at least not till after five pm and definitely no day television. We only take breaks for breakfast and lunch and then get right back to work.
Our diet and nutrition have always been optimal, except of course over the weekend for the occasional piece of key lime pie and red wine of course. We became a little more calculated with smaller dinner portions and trying to eat a little earlier when possible and adding much more vitamin c to our diets. We are eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables every day and getting twenty to thirty minutes of sunshine mid-day for adequate vitamin d to boost our immune system health. I’ve made a vow to walk and run three days a week in addition to our night workout for a little extra sweat. It feels amazing after a run and releasing all those toxins and impurities out of the body. Also, being in quarantine and our gym being closed, we miss our favorite class doing kickboxing, so we had to adapt. There is no excuse, no gym no problem.
Luckily we used to work out all the time outside and research different HIIT (High-intensity interval training), Tabata (high-intensity interval training that consists of eight sets of fast-paced exercises each performed for 20 seconds/a brief rest of 10 seconds). Martin researched the workouts from various people like BJ Gaddour and other cool Youtube people. He literally draws them out so we don't forget the movements, puts them in a plastic bag (because we sweat a lot, especially Martin), and an old fashion stopwatch so you don't get distracted using your smartphone (people text or alerts—it's distracting). Also, we just love working out outside with fresh air and sunshine it is invigorating and healing. If you don't know any workouts punch up in your Youtube —20 min workouts or 40 min Tabata workouts — and you will see all kinds of bodyweight-only workouts. We even found some cool yoga ones on Youtube. A tip we used on the yoga videos was we brought our little Bluetooth speaker so we can hear the instructor better, it helps big time. To step it up another notch with minimal weights or rubber bands we LOVE athleenx and we signed up for his online classes and they are fantastic; full daily workouts for months on end and video instructions on every move it's awesome. Most of all, is we both hold each other accountable and keep one another motivated —always. Your body and mind are your temples so feed it wisely.
Journaling is also a great way to take care of your mental health and gratitude. Martin and I both journal in the morning when we first wake up and take a moment to write down what we are grateful for and what goals we are working on, this really sets the tone for the day. It’s also a helpful resource to write down how you’re feeling and any worries or anxieties that you might have. It was very helpful for me when the pandemic first came out and my worries of financial stability and humanity as a whole. Not being able to see our family and give them a hug is the worst part, and writing about that feeling helped and it gave me hope that this to shall pass and we’ll all embrace soon enough.
Till next time,
Keep your Nest Blessed.
#blessthenest #quarantinedays #quarantinerituals #staymotivated #workouts #journaling #relationships #workingfromhome #couplesworkingtogether #love #smallspaces #nutrition
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