 Did I go too hard with the purple eyeshadow this morning? You tell me. Good morning my beautiful internet friends. Welcome back to my channel Thanks for joining me here today. It is a crazy time in our country and in our world at the moment There's a lot of uncertainty a lot of fear and a lot of changes One of the biggest changes is this idea of social distancing or in some places quarantine or orders to shelter in place It's getting a little more intense every day and something that a lot of people are facing is what to do when you're stuck Home for days on end generally we have some kind of schedule where we can go out and do things We might meet friends for coffee once a week or go downtown. I don't know if you're cool like that I'm not I know from personal experience that a change of routine a change of the things that we're used to can really add to Uncertainty and fear and just feeling really uncomfortable So I have a few suggestions of what to do to stay sane and these are all free if there are any paid options here I will call them out So you know I know that a lot of people have had to spend money on Supplies like we have and there isn't necessarily a ton of extra cash So these are things that are completely free if you have a computer or a phone if you live in a house or an apartment Or anywhere that is a building these are all things that you can do quick backstory if you're new to my channel I have stayed at home in place pretty much on this couch for months on end I've had many surgeries most recently in the last two years I've had a leg amputation and then a revision where they had to amputate more of my leg And I spent a lot of time indoors looking at these four walls trying not to lose my mind So though I've not gone through this type of period in our country before where everyone is being ordered to do the same things I have been basically stuck on home for weeks on end with the only respite being going to a doctor's appointment And it can it can take a lot not to lose your mind So here are a few tips and tricks that I have learned that helped me through that Okay, so this first recommendation is in super sexy or glamorous We'll get to the fun stuff in just a second But this is actually one thing that I think is the most powerful thing for keeping your mind during a time like this And it's really really focusing on the things that you can control Even when I was stuck at home and had nothing to do no one to see I would still get up in the morning I'd still wash my face I would change clothes and I'd read a page every day out of a book called The Daily Stoic It was just something I did to start my day that little bit of Routine in a time when everything was upside down was really really good for Stabilizing my mind and reminding me that I'm still the person I still have a schedule I can still get through this really focusing on what is in your power in a time when everything is spinning out of control Outside of you is really important. So that could look like journaling every morning That could look like still doing your makeup Even if you're not leaving the house that could look like fill in the blank Whatever that is for you having some kind of start and end to the day is really important because that's something That's completely in your control. A lot of people have suggested Video calling people to stay in touch when you can't see your friends in person and that I would highly recommend However, there's an app that I used all throughout my recovery that I would highly recommend I am not affiliated with this company in any way. It's called Marco Polo. Many of you guys might know it It's basically like sending video text messages back and forth I use it with my friend John pretty much constantly in my recovery and it was a lifesaver because I was talking to someone But it was on my own time. I could see their face We would have full conversations, but it wasn't real time. So check it out I'll leave a link in the description down below brain development apps now I don't know how much science there is behind these are not but it is something that's really fun There's an app called Elevate. It's a free version. You don't have to pay for it I think there are things you can pay for within it, but it's basically brain training apps from math to language to anything in between It's really fun to kind of stretch your mind, but it keeps you alert It keeps you awake It gives you a reason to expand your mind a little bit and I would highly recommend it This is one I actually just learned about I have not tried this myself just yet But EDX or edX is a site where you can actually take courses from major colleges and universities for free You can audit them so you can learn the information you can go through the program, but you don't have to pay for it It's a great way to get some really really good learning really good education for free If you would normally be going out and doing stuff and let's say you have five hours in the evening Where if you're just stuck at home, maybe spend three of those watching Netflix as many of us do and the other two learning something new Okay, I know that this one might sound a little woo-woo, but stick with me on it Create a vision board of some kind. This isn't just a girly weird thing as I used to think it was I started having vision board planning parties once a year with my friends and it's actually been really helpful If you don't know what a vision board is, I'll put some links down below But it's a good way to envision the future and think about what you're really shooting for in your life It's an easy and fun way to refer back to that and focus on it And I think that things like this are really important, especially in a time when everything is so uncertain Focusing on what you want for your life really clarifying that and coming up with some idea of how you want to get there Can be really helpful at least for me It helps remind me that today is not everything that this is temporary That eventually life will look different than it does now and it helped me. Yes, pretty much everyone has said this But exercise of some kind I know that people watching this are all different ages all different exercise levels and activity types something I would really recommend is yoga by Adrienne. It's a totally free YouTube channel There are a ton of yoga workouts and yoga flows on it. I've used it myself I really like how she presents things and it's totally free So if you have 10 minutes a day and you want to do a little bit of stretching a little bit of yoga Check it out. It's a good way. It's a healthy thing It's good to keep our bodies healthy in a time with so much disease and virus going around is virus a disease I'm an idiot. I'm not sure there are a ton of different ways to exercise and keep your body healthy But this is one that I really like appreciate and have used I'm ashamed to say that I honestly forgot to do this sometimes But get fresh air of some variety whether that's sitting in your backyard if you have a backyard Or standing outside your front door for a few minutes stay away from people as recommended But being outside is still safe being stuck at home for a long time I almost stopped thinking about the outside world But eventually I started going in my backyard for a few minutes a day to sit and read and drink some coffee And I found that it really really helped my mind stay in a better place actually Feeling fresh air actually looking at nature around me and Realizing that my four walls are not the only thing that still exists fresh air is really healthy for you too So give that a shot as long as it's safe where you are this one I have not tried personally yet But I have friends who have showed me it rave about it and absolutely love it Learn a new language and there are some cool free apps to do that duo lingo is one I have not personally tried but again, I've seen it. It's pretty cool You can kind of compete with your friends on how quickly you're going through exercises and learning things So it's kind of like a game, but you're also learning a new language, which is really flipping cool I always wanted to get better at Spanish because in college I took a couple years in high school I took a couple years and I don't really remember anything I think it'd be a good and a fun idea to expand my mind and learn new language So I'm going to be giving that a shot and let me know if you are going to try it as well They have a ton of different languages and again, it's totally free How cool would it be if after all this quarantine and social distancing you could talk to someone at least a few You know conversations in a different language. I think that'd be pretty awesome This one only works if you have stamps or if you're going to the grocery store to get supplies You can get stamps at most grocery stores But send an actual written piece of mail to someone you like or care about I occasionally do send written letters or cards and it's a really interesting I don't know. It's nice to sit down and actually put a pen to paper And who doesn't like receiving personal mail in the mail because all I ever get is bills or advertisements and that's annoying So actually getting something handwritten from someone who cares about you can be a really great way to encourage someone Who you care about and at least currently the mail is still running. So fingers crossed that that continues I know you guys have heard me talk about this before but audio books and before you tune out and think I don't have money to pay for audible. There are actually other options Audio books, uh, which I will link down below is an app that you can listen to classics on meaning that there Isn't any licensing meaning you don't have to pay for it. It's a great way to listen to some classics I've done it before I used to work for a cleaning company Where I use this app to listen to history books and classics language might not be particularly modern on some of them But they're great books and great stories and great ways to learn things anyways Also, if you have a library card, Libby is an app that allows you to listen to free audio books from your library How cool is that you do need a library card? So if you don't have one, unfortunately, this will not apply to you But if you do have one, check it out. It's actually really cool. I saw this going around on a few articles You can take a virtual museum tour. That's actually really awesome. Occasionally Brian and I will go up to the Museum of art in Denver. It's a really cool place But there's a lot of walking missing a leg that wasn't always the easiest thing for me to do So virtual museum tour sounds really cool. You can learn about, you know, different places different civilizations different people Who you never knew about art history, whatever's your jam. That sounded really awkward. Do people say whatever your jam is anymore? I don't think they do. I think I'm the one holdout still saying that phrase But go to a museum safely now that we have all this extra time on our hands and a lot of us are experiencing anxiety And uncertainty made me now is a great time to try meditation Headspace and calm are two apps that are free. I think they have paid versions But they are free that you can learn basic meditation whether it's 10 minutes a day or 20 minutes a day It's really challenging for me. Meditation is something I really struggle with but I think most people struggle with it And it's a great practice pretty much everyone who knows anything about it agrees And it's a really healthy thing for your mind and your body So if you want give it a try and those are two apps I'd recommend as I have tried them myself Now if you are going to sit down and watch some television shows as I definitely have and will continue to do There were a couple that I'd recommend. This is just me personally. I really like the show Chuck I think it's really funny. You can watch it with kids for the most part older kids. I'm not sure find out for yourself I don't have kids. I don't know. It's a it's a really sweet little show If you're into documentaries my favorite documentary of all time I'd recommend that absolutely anyone watches it is called a fear of 13. It's not a scary show It is pretty serious. It's the story of someone who was on death row Wrongfully for his entire life and he is one of the most incredible people I've ever heard speak New girl is a fantastic show if you haven't watched it. I believe that there are seven seasons. It's one of my favorites I love how the series ends and I would recommend you check it out. It's for girls or guys It doesn't matter if you've been on youtube any amount of time. I know that you've heard of this company I've talked about it before they've sponsored previous videos Skillshare is a learning platform where you can learn all different kinds of things from Photoshop to video editing to photography. It is really really cool. I've used it myself Like I said, I've been sponsored by them before I'm gonna leave a link in the description It is an affiliate link meaning that if you click it if you sign up I will get some of that revenue But there are two months that you can get totally free as in you have to put in your credit card information But if you cancel before that two months, there is absolutely no charge So if you want to learn some new things for free for two months, give it a shot Starting to write again is something that I've been trying to do I struggle with it and so I took a course on creative writing which I will link down below along with the Skillshare link because this is something I am personally calling myself out for There are always projects around the house that I'm like I should really do that on a Saturday And then Saturday comes around and I don't do it for me. It is organizing the closet in my office Everything just accumulates there. I think we all have spaces like that So if you can set aside a few hours in an evening or morning or on a weekend Where you're not doing anything else to actually tackle the projects that you've been telling yourself You should really really do you should really clean that thing or organize that thing Now is the perfect time to do it as you probably know already But I thought I would mention it anyways because I need a reminder to do those things every once in a while Try drawing something and you may think hey Joe. I'm not an artist. So that's not my jam I just said it again, but here's the thing. I wasn't an artist for most of my life I picked up a book called drawing from the right side of your brain And suddenly something kind of unlocked for me and I've been working on art ever since so Maybe if you don't consider yourself an artist or maybe if you used to be and you haven't done it in a really long time It doesn't matter if you have art supplies or not if you have a pencil or a pen and a piece of paper You can start trying things out if you want to check out that book I will link it down below that book unfortunately is not free However, it is something I would highly recommend reading if you are interested in art or improving your artistic expertise If you don't do this already journaling is something that can be really really beneficial to a lot of people It has been for me in my own life. I did a journal reading a few videos ago I will link it up above and down below But I have personally found that journaling is a great way to just stop for a second Especially when I feel out of control or if you're nervous or like things are imploding or exploding around me It's a great way to nurture self-awareness And it's also awesome to have a record of your thoughts and your feelings at different points in your life If you've thought about journaling and you've just never done it now could be a great time to pick it up I have been slowly getting back into it through the writing that I've been doing and through actually taking a pen And writing down on pages what I've been thinking and feeling so I'd highly recommend giving a shot You don't need to have an actual physical hard journal to do this in you can always just type in a word document Or find some pages around the house and give it a shot All right, so that is my exhaustive list of things I'd recommend trying I hope some of these are things you haven't thought of or heard before that might be a little bit interesting to you Let me know which ones you have tried or would like to try down below I personally am going to be downloading Duolingo today and picking a language Probably Spanish like I said to try to get a little bit better at I heard a statistic once that most people in the world can speak two languages And it makes me feel like a very dumb american that I only know english So I'm gonna try to expand myself a little bit that way I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions down below of what you're doing indoors while we're stuck in this weird time I know that it can be really uncomfortable. I know what cap and fever feels like it is a real thing I used to kind of think it's a joke. It's easy to get a little stir crazy being in the same place for the majority of the time But there is a way through it. There is another side to this It's really important to adhere to what your county or state or country is recommending to keep everyone safe Stay healthy sane and stay inside guys. Thanks to my patrons who make these videos possible I truly appreciate your support, especially in this tumultuous time Thank you for all you do for me. If you're curious what patreon is I will leave a link up on screen But thank you for spending a few minutes out of your day watching this video here with me I truly appreciate you could be anywhere in the world doing anything and you chose to spend a bit of your time With me. I really appreciate that. I love you guys. I'm thinking about you and I will see you in the next video From the sky