I’m not one of those people who thinks that we all need to be super productive while we’re all at home – I think we all need to get through this time in whatever way best works for us. I’ve mentioned that I spent my first few weeks watching a lot of TV and trying to settle into some sort of new normal. And once I started to settle in, I found myself wanting to fill my time with a few other things. It helped create the sense of normalcy for me, and helped me feel like something good was coming out of all of this; some new habits that I could build that will hopefully continue far beyond the pandemic.

It’s been fun, and a bit of a silver lining, to have the time and opportunity for things that I’ve been wanting to do, but maybe hadn’t gotten around to. Or some things that I had never thought about before but have become a new part of my routine. They give some order to my day, and give me something to look forward to. So here are the new “habits” that I’ve picked up in the last few months.

I’ve mentioned this in a few posts, but it’s become such a pivotal part of my new routine that I need to specifically mention it again. Listening to Headspace right before I fall asleep has been the most peaceful way to doze off that I actually look forward to it! In addition to the wind downs, I’ve also been enjoying their sleepcasts, which are longer and more story-like, with a wind down built in.

This is something that I’ve been trying to get into the habit of for a few years, but seems like it may have finally stuck. At first, I felt like I was spending a lot of time mindlessly watching TV, so setting a 10 minute goal was a good way to train my brain back into the habit of actually focusing on a book again. But since I actually do love to read, I usually end up reading more than 10 minutes. Either way, it reminds me that I can be just as engrossed by whatever I’m reading as I am by TV.

Since we’re all connecting so much virtually right now, I decided to go old-school and start sending more snail mail. I’ve loved taking the time to take pen to paper, and write a short and sweet note to friends and family members. I’ve already written more notes during quarantine than I have probably in the last year, combined! Having gorgeous, personalized stationary definitely makes me more excited to write more notes, too (see this post here for my stationary).

I took Spanish throughout high school and even into college, but have let it slide since then. I’ve had Duolingo on my phone for forever (their headquarters are in Pittsburgh and their founder is a fellow CMU alum!), but never really stuck with it. I now have over a 40 day streak, and the competitive side of me is now totally unwilling to let that streak end. I’ve really been having fun practicing my “español” each day!