1. wear a goddamn mask! not a a chin gaurd, not as a necklace. just cover your mouth and nose so you can survive enough to be stupid for years to come.
2. be kind.this is not a pandemic lesson. this is a lesson for everyday life but more so now. everyone’s anxious. everyone’s on the edge. if there was EVER a time to be kind, this would be it. this isnt the time for anytime except kindness.lend a ear. be there. share the cake.
3. tip everyone, everytime. something as simple as making a conscious effort to tip every service person you come across, could be the best thing about their day. we may not have thousands to donate but we surely can find a ten to add a smile to someone’s day.
4. clothes maketh you sane-th. yoga pants are clothes. it covers my gorgeous bum doesn’t it?! also can we also just pretend bra never existed? yes? thank you.
5. dont forget the kids. it’s truly easy to forget the little ones at home. you’d think it’s their dream come true. a never ending vacation with loads of screen time and just the few hours of online classes. but do consider that they dont get to see their friends, grandparents, dont get to spend time outside, play their favourite games. they miss the movies, parks and takeout, just as much as you if not more.
most importantly they just might not understand what’s happening but they do sense the stress and anxiety vibes that you give out. take the time to talk to them and appease them about the situation. keep an eye out for their mental health too.
6. cook in bulk and make meal prep your best friend. make sambar, curries in bulk and heat up portions. Click HERE for my ground gravy recipe. this is a one-pot gravy that can become a curry, sandwich filling or a varuval in minutes. chop veggies, fruits and whatever else you can whenver you can make time for it. catch up on the new season of your favourite series all while chopping veggies. know how everything stores and for how long.
7. this is NOT the time to antagonize the boss. the virus is transient. no matter how it seems. it is transient. do not. i repeat. DO NOT be insolent to bosses and clients. when the virus goes, you will still need a job. be honest. be polite.
8. deal with the lockdown, however you want to. just because you have sizable savings, a job/company that’s still paying you, doesnt translate to having your shit together all the time. but hey, dysfunctional makes for a bestselling autobiography. so there’s a win somewhere.
9. do the vessels as you cook and delegate the rest. i cannot stress how much this has changed my life. as soon as rice is done, i shift it to eat-now, eat-later serveware/containers and wash the pressure cooker – all while my curry is still cooking. when i walk out of the kitchen after cooking, i make sure the vessels are done and the countertop is wiped clean. this means you only have dined-cutlery to wash which should undeniably be delegated to someone else.
10. opt out of the race. you dont even have to walk out of the whatsapp/facebook group and seem rude. just mute one and all. you do not have to compete against the 5-dishes-per-day moms, i-shower-and-look-runway-ready-everyday colleague, i-bake-everyday moms (though this might be a good thing, depending on what’s a cooking), iam-always-cheerful neighbours, my-kid-is-screenfree mom or the WORST I-lost-5-kgs-this-lockdown “friends”. the virus maybe mild. the pandemic is not. it has affected and will continue to affect us all for some time into the future. so opt out of the race and run at your pace.
11. clean less, clean at night. no one’s visiting. everyone’s home. it’s bound to get messy and worse. make sure to give everyone chores. clean periodically but dont stress about having a messy day. or two. also clean at night. if you clean during the day, it’s bound to get messy by the evening and that’s just going to stress you out. if you know the length of the two sides of your bed. you can calculate how much stuff you can sweep under it.
12. name your stress pimples. when life hands you shit, might as well make em cute.
13. prioritise mental health. you dont have to explain it to anyone. if they dont understand they dont. anxiety happens with and without reason. make sure you do what you have to, for sanity. it could be anything from therapy to just 10 mins on social media with a nice cup of coffee. you do you. oh also doggos work best.
14. let sanity be the side hustle. this is not a contest. this is not able ticking off everything that you have adding to the “will-get-it-done-when-i-have-time” list. if you come of this with a cleaner house, sanity intact and a side hustle that brings you money, good on you! excellent. i can eat an entire cake in under 10 minutes, can you? see! told you we are all different!
15. wine is a great replacement for coffee. you can also substitute it with stronger alcohols. let’s not even pretend to sip em from coffee mugs. if imma lace things or drink something straight up, everyone will know!
go big or go home,right? oh wait….
