My Ten: Things That Kept Me Afloat During The Pandemic

A friend of mine invited me to participate in a My Ten project, inspired by the NY Times series where celebrities, experts and other influencers from all walks of life share their list of ten things relating to a specific theme. In this case, we were all going to write about 10 things we did during the pandemic to keep us sane, and then my friend would collate all responses into an e-book in time for Thanksgiving.

Even though I already write a lot, I jumped into this because I figured my friend’s project was going to be amazing. (She’s a modern-day Renaissance genius – a financial marketing executive who also penned a non-fiction history book that sits in the UN library and recently won a prestigious creative writing fellowship in Sicily.)

Unfortunately, her My Ten project was aborted. However, I had already submitted My Ten, so here it is:

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As a consultant, I already worked from home and mostly on Zoom. So while my friends were going stir crazy or getting Zoomed out, to me it still felt like a regular day at the office. That said, everything but work didn’t feel regular at all. For example, I don’t normally read breaking news, but found myself visiting various news sites multiple times a day.

Luckily, that habit has somewhat dissipated (though still not as much as I would like), and I found other activities to absorb the time I wish I could have spent traveling, watching live shows or hanging out with friends and family:

1 – Social Zooms

My use of Zoom exploded but happily not because of work.

I wanted to check in on people during the pandemic, as it was a trying time all around, and since many people were home, it was easier to get in touch. The first few weeks were filled with lots of social Zoom calls, some of which continue even now – I have a standing weekly call with one of my college classmates from over 25 years ago!

2 – Fun movies

I have always loved movies, and I usually gravitate to horror or sci fi.

But there has been enough terror in real-life. No need to add Anaconda to my Netflix queue, when an actual 19-foot python is found right here in Florida, or to watch the latest sequel in the Tremors series of killer underground monsters, when an everyday guy falls into a pit of rats just walking down the street.

Instead, I opted for quirky, clearly fictional movies – my recent favorites include Hunt For The Wilder People and East Side Sushi.

3 – Walks on the beach

Where I live in Florida, there are enough beaches that you can easily socially distance, making walks on the beach my go-to activity, not just for the pandemic, but especially suited to the pandemic.

I have seen the sun rise and the moon rise over the water. I have seen dolphins, rainbows and every variation of cloud…

4 – Rocket (my favorite beach sighting)

But my favorite beach sighting is Rocket, a poky dachshund who I see pretty regularly when I can get out to the beach in time for sunrise.

5 – Jazzercise

Yes, I do mean the dance exercise craze from the 1980’s.

There is a studio 10 minutes from my apartment, which means three times a week, I can party like it’s 1989. They do update the music, though, so my tango step, chasses, step-ball-change and other moves are done to BTS, Dua Lipa, etc.

6 – Afternoon naps

I wish I were just dancing and walking, and therefore losing some of the weight gain coming from increased intake of comfort foods. But, alas, another habit I have adopted is napping.

I never used to like naps because I found them to disrupt my night-time sleep. Now, my night-time sleep seems to be disrupted anyway, and I enjoy having a break in the middle of the day.

7 – Mindfulness resources

Another way I have found to relax is with various mindful resources.

I like the Abraham Hicks videos on YouTube (this one on Doing Nothing is particularly timely).

Deepak Chorpa’s new book, Total Meditation, was great.

I also enjoyed Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions For Spiritual Evolution by yogi Jennie Lee and Sanjay Gupta’s Keep Sharp, his upcoming book on brain health.

8 – Finding rice substitutes

Like most other people, I have been cooking a lot. I don’t like following recipes, so I cook the same things over and over (Filipino comfort food mainly). But I have been experimenting with grains I can use as a side dish in lieu of white rice (which seems to cause me to gain weight just by looking at it).

So far, I have discovered that millet is a very close substitute to white rice, and quinoa goes surprisingly well with Filipino soups and stews. Bulgur, farro, barley, grits and buckwheat have also been added to the rotation.

I have been cooking so much with grains that I finally realized that buckwheat and kasha are not the same thing (kasha is roasted buckwheat – who knew?).

9 – Taking inventory

In the early days of stockpiling toilet paper and bleach, I also stockpiled canned goods and other non-perishables. I created an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I had, and I found that to be incredibly helpful.

I have since created spreadsheets to itemize the contents of various memento boxes, my costume jewelry, bags, scarves, even my unused journals (which made me realize I have enough to last for 10 more years).

I have run out of things to inventory, and my shopping is radically reduced so I will likely not have more to inventory anytime soon.

10 – Not doing things

Not doing things, like taking inventory, is actually a choice (theoretically I could have started taking inventory of my husband’s things). In the last few months, I have gotten much better at not doing things – reading less, posting less, working less. Sometimes I just sit on my favorite settee, and while I keep my journal close by, many times, I don’t write anything.

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What is Your Ten things that kept you sane during the pandemic?