15 days of Productive Lockdown!
Hey guys! This is my first post on Medium. I’m glad to share with you how I spent my lockdown days due to corona containment at home.
Now we know that corona disease is rapidly spreading across different states , it is essential for us to stay at home to contribute to containing the virus.
So here’s how I made most of my lockdown holidays by staying at home during this quarantine and hoping that this fight against the virus ends soon.
1. Learnt 15 dishes in 15days!
So belonging to a middle-class family in India and a female, everyone expects you to know how to cook at least by your 20s. And here I am learning them all from basics to frying stuff.[considering it to be advanced ;) ].
Day 1: Omelette-easiest to start with
Day 2: Snake guard Pakodi-took some help from mom
Day 3: Tomato Rice-My favourite!
Day4: Veg Cutlets-Made it all by myself
Day 5:Idly Sambhar-Only sambhar made by me
Day 6:Dosa-From Idly’s batter…Reuse!
Day 7: Potato fry-yummy!
Day 8: Cauliflower and peas curry-spent longest time in the kitchen making this.
Day 9:Makhana snack-a healthy snack!
Day 10: Fried namkeen
Day 11:Dal fry-yummy!
Day 12:Falooda-absolutely love it!
Day 13:Chapati making- practice to make it round
Day 14: Flattened Rice veg cutlets-without potatoes
Day 15:Kheer-a sweet dish I love coz its easiest to make
And still counting till the lockdown gets over or I get tired of making it. Though earlier I used to feel lazy to do this kitchen stuff, now when I have actually started preparing on my own I feel a sense of achievement and confidence, that at least I’ll be able to feed my tummy when I’m far away from home.
2.Completed a Google Analytics Beginner’s Course
It had been a while I had to take this up but couldn’t find the time. So I did and learnt a lot about how Google helps businesses online reach their audiences and target the right ones so giving insights on changes required in their marketing strategy.
Google Analytics is used to track website activity such as session duration, pages per session, bounce rate etc. of individuals using the site, along with the information on the source of the traffic. It can be integrated with Google Ads, with which users can create and review online campaigns by tracking landing page quality and conversions (goals). Goals might include sales, lead generation, viewing a specific page, or downloading a particular file.
Looking forward to doing the advanced course.
3.Dance workouts in the evening!
I have always been passionate about dancing even though I might not be good in some dance styles like hip hop and western dance forms. But this quarantine time I utilised my time in learning and exercising at the same time a hip hop dance routine by POPSUGAR FITNESS which is just amazing and simple to do. I enjoyed the 25 to 30-minute workout that they have put together which really helped lift my mood. Other than that a Dancercise by my favourite actress Madhuri Dixit is great to do which includes all her signature dance moves.
4. Help mom with household chores!
Since the house help are restrained from coming to work in our home during quarantine time, my mom assigned me a list of chores I had to perform on a daily basis. Each one in the house got allotted a fixed work and most given to me, cause you know I’m the youngest:( [ Just kidding]. As the days went by, I realised that the things I used to think would consume too much of my time and would be boring, it became a matter of daily routine that I wouldn’t hesitate doing and started doing it with responsibility towards my own house I live in. Cleaning the house, drying clothes, washing the utensils sometimes and of course cooking, which I started liking.
I guess, its rightly said, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets you going!”.
5.Connected with a lot of old friends and family
Video calling and chatting, and not to forget the silly challenges on Instagram which were ignored earlier, now seemed a fun thing to do to connect and re-establish the relations with them in some way possible. I, being an ambivert love to talk to people who matter to me the most and care about so connecting with them but from far away was interesting and fun.
6. Not to forget, prime and Netflixing series and movies!
Now comes the interesting part of my day where I chill while watching some series. So, I did watch -The mentalist, young Sheldon, started with The Big Bang Theory, silicon valley which I must say is hilarious. Also watched the movie “Contagion” by Steven Soderbergh on prime which sent a chill through my spines as the story is almost the same as to what is happening around the world with the coronavirus!
7. Read a book too!
Also completed reading a book, which was pending from quite some time “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth. This book gave me a quick reminder of the wrong mindset I was carrying for many years until now. It tells us that an exclusive focus on ability and potential can distract us from Grit,”anti-IQ” as it’s treated. I, personally am a hard worker but had mostly thought that some amount of talent gives an edge over the former. However, after reading it I strongly believe that what is most required is the “Growth mindset” i.e it leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity which leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges that help you make stronger. Growth mindset involves believing that even if you have a road full of bumps i.e even when you are not born talented or a set of capacity for some skills, you believe in learning different skills and time which will give you opportunities in various forms.
To get the encourage this mindset in you,3 things have to be kept in mind:
a. Update your beliefs about intelligence and talent
b. Practice optimistic self-talk
c. Ask for a helping hand
CONCLUSION
This lockdown period has caused some change in my lifestyle. I am more of a socialising person who likes to interact with people around but these 15 days were tough as I stayed home alone doing different things by and for myself. Fortunately, this period has given me time to be myself and love me more. Self-love lesson learned right!