Like many of you, I’m at home. My day job has switched from an office to working from home. It has been a challenge, but is also quite nice. I’ve survived a week of this so far, and thought I’d share my Top 5 Ways to Thrive during this challenging time. In no particular order:

Read. The stress we feel during this crisis is real. We need to find a way to relax and, I don’t know about you, but there’s only so many hours I can spend streaming Tiger King on Netflix. Take advantage of this time at home to open up a book and escape into a new world. (shameless self-promotion: my entire western series – The Diamond J Collection – is available in a box set for only $2.99 for a limited time!) BTW – now is a great time to dip your toe into the e-reader world if you haven’t done that yet. I recently upgraded to the Kindle Fire HD 10″, which I use as a tablet as well as an ereader. Meditate. You don’t need anything special to do this. Simply find a comfortable position, sit quietly and focus on breathing. Either set a timer, or simply let yourself go as long as you want. Let your thoughts float away.Reconnect. Pick up the phone and call someone you care about. Not a text, not a message – a real, honest-to-goodness phone call. This would also be a good time to pick up a pen and write a letter to someone. Remember how excited we used to get when we received an envelope in the mail, the promise and surprise of it? Journal. This is a unique experience. If someone had told me three months ago that I would be self-quarantined under a stay-at-home order, I would’ve laughed. This situation is surreal. Write down your thoughts, make note of what is going on in the world around you, record how this is affecting your life. You can get fancy with a beautiful journal (like this Star Trek one, which is one of my personal favorites (are you surprised? I didn’t think so.).Exercise. You don’t need anything special – just you. If you need ideas, there are lots of resources on Pinterest, lots of videos on YouTube (my personal favorite is Leslie Sansone – who knew you could sweat so much walking in place?!). My hubs and I decided to convert a room in our shop to a home gym. I splurged and bought myself an Everlast speed bag to help me stay in shape.

Take a few minutes and let me know what you’re doing to thrive during this time. Let me know what books you recommend. And I’d LOVE to know if you have a favorite journal that I should consider.

Take care of yourself!