It doesn’t take an expert to know that all of us are feeling somewhat gray all throughout this pandemic, going back and forth between extreme emotions of excitement and depression with everything happening around us. One of the heaviest things to take in internally these past few months is the lack of anything to look forward to. No vacation to plan, no weekend hangout with friends to relax, and no spontaneous adventures to sprinkle a little bit more excitement in our day.

With this prolonged lockdown and the fear of contacting the virus whenever we go outside, the future has been reduced to nothing but a big blob of questions. And as the situation here in the Philippines gets worse and shows no signs of getting better any time soon, the blob has naturally grown and seeped into our daily mindset.

After all, what is there to be excited about when you’re in the same spot everyday, and you have no idea when you can even move to a different spot outside your home?

But the thing we must all try very hard to remember is that there are still some things within our control. And although tackling mental health is different for everybody, and some people with diagnosed mental illnesses might need more than just a few exercises to help with their issues, it’s still worth a try.

With all that being said, here’s a quick list of self-care exercises that could hopefully wake you up from that haze and inject some bit of sunlight into your day:

1. Meditate for a few minutes before you start your day, or after going through the daily grind.
2. Take a day (or several days) off social media.
3. Make art or create crafts with your hands (even if you suck).
4. Take a walk around your own village/barangay. Don’t forget to bring your face mask and hand sanitizer with you!
5. Lie in bed and just listen to music.
6. Declutter your closet with things that don’t spark joy anymore.
7. Donate those old clothes and trinkets to people who might need them.
8. Build your dream life on Pinterest.
9. List things you’re grateful for.
10. Do a different workout routine.
11. Try a K-Pop dance workout! It’ll make you feel pumped up and absolutely exhausted at the same time.
12. Listen to a podcast about inspiring people’s lives from all over the world, or just random kwentuhan sessions between friends.
13. Build a jigsaw puzzle by yourself, or with loved ones.
14. Spend a few minutes just looking up at the sky.
15. Have a listening party with your friends of throwback playlists that you can all sing along to.
16. Go for a photo walk (even if you don’t know the first thing about photography).
17. Lose track of time over a coloring book.
18. Learn how to cook a new meal.
19. Write in a journal ANYTHING that pops into your head. Don’t overthink it!
20. Blast music and dance in your room.
21. Do those viral YouTube challenges with your siblings. Chubby bunny, anyone?
22. Move stuff around your room so it feels brand new.
23. Watch full concerts online. YouTube has a lot!
24. Venture out of your preferred music genre.
25. Make plans for where you want to be, five years from now!

Even if it doesn’t work for you at all, at least you did something new that day to shake up your daily routine and disturb your hibernating spirit. Maybe the mere act of doing something new could be your daily dose of excitement, curiosity, and anticipation. It sure beats feeling lifeless all the time.