Project Girl 2 Woman

31+ Things to do during Self-Isolation | Covid Self-Date

Covid has been turning our lives upside down for the past 2 years. With cases rising again during autumn we might end up going into self-isolation yet again. What do you do with all that extra time?  It’s getting exhausting. And also a little boring.

So what to do all day long at home? 

Yeah you could watch Netflix all day. Or stare at the wall. 

You could even work 😉 But today we’ll look at a few fun ideas and activities you can try while you are stuck at home. 

Make sure to let us know in the comments below how you spend your self-isolation time. 

Clear Your Mind With some Meditation

So first I need to mention that I really like to clear my mind -Why?  You want to be at ease when you take time for yourself. No more worrying about work or school, no more overthinking.

The first task is to find an activity to clear your mind from your daily hassles. 

 

And like all the other people out there I just have to recommend meditation. Why? Cause it actually does work. It’s also great for your posture. 

Fun Facts about Meditation

If you are not the meditation kind of person – which I can understand as I struggled with it too – I would recommend you to just take a moment off, lay in bed, put on a nice song and just relax for a while. Breath in breath out. Get your mind off work.

Or take a Bath...

Now if you have a bath tub – which I would envy you for – just take a hot bath and relax. Sing a little. Have fun. Fill in some herbs or a bubble ball (If you don’t have them you don’t have to buy them!) Just relax, turn on some of your favorite music. I know many like to read or sip wine while bathing – If you want to watch netflix while bathing – be careful not to zap yourself!

Bathing is a nice way to relax your body and if you do it in a quiet environment you can connect with your mind and body.

Task: Name 20 things about your body and characteristics you love about yourself!

Here are 5 More Ideas to Reduce Stress During Self-Isolation

You can also do this if you feel kinda stressed at home: 
 
  1. Call with Loved Ones
  2. Work Out you can try our 30 Day Challenges here.
  3. Start a Self-Care Morning Routine or an Evening Routine that’ll help you sleep better. 
  4. Journal. You can use our 64 Coaching Journal Prompts to get started. 
  5. Try gardening. Get your hands dirty. 
  6. Celebrate your achievements !

Now, let's create a Cozy atmosphere!

What does the perfect date look like for you? What do you do when you want to spoil yourself? For me it is the typical, picnic table covered with my favourite foods, next to the beach or in nature. 

Now, I know we cannot go outside but we can do our best to lighten the atmosphere in our four walls with a few hacks:

Nr 1: Light your favorite candles During Self-Isolation.

Candles aren’t just nice to look . If you have a candle with scent you can get rid of any unwanted smell (which is quite nice as we spend a ton of time  in our rooms) , candles can even release stress and give you a calm and relaxed feeling. If you are one of those souls that are stuck in a room with a very sensitive fire alarm: You can still use fake candles with batteries. Good scent alternatives are soft room fragrances.

Nr 2: Let in some fresh air!

Not only will fresh air change the feeling and smell in your rooms but did you know that it can also energize you? According to Liwli.com by increasing your oxygen levels in your lungs you will have more blood pumped into your brain and thereby have more energy.

Nr 3: Soft lights or LEDs

This is also an amazing alternative for candles. Just think about Christmas! LEDs or soft lights make the room more cozy and homey. No more dark shadows on the wall! On the other hand, if you have LEDs which have different settings for lighting, you can actually bring some life into your apartment by letting the lights dance in the corner.

Nr 4: Flowers

Now, I write this post mainly for people who are stuck in their apartment in the city. Why? Because it is completely different if you have a garden and can actually enjoy your time outside in nature or not. During Corona we not only have the problem of not getting enough social interactions we also crave for more nature in our four walls. 

One simple way to help you feel more relaxed and less anxious is to get flowers or petals and spread them all over your place.It will not only brighten your room but also bring a nice flowery scent with it. Another nice alternative – if you want to keep them long term- buy plants! I can assure you that having plants or flowers in your room can make a huge difference when it comes to your mental health and raising a baby plant is adorable and makes us feel less lonely. 

Plan Your Self-Isolation Activities

This is the part where I want you to get really creative. Usually on a date one gets to know the other person better or just enjoys spending time with him/her. As you date yourself I want you to think about activities you like or want to try. Now we are limited too as the activity has to take place inside and with less or no equipment.

1. Do something creative

A very creative and inexpensive idea would be journaling.  If you like drawing or writing you can. You can write about yourself, your troubles, things you want to try out once this pandemic is over or even funny moments you had in life. Of course, you can also draw on paper, embroider your favorite pattern or have a solo karaoke party at home. 

Task: Write down 10 ideas for your date activity!

2. Learn a New Skill

Maybe instead of being creative, you want to learn something new – like photography, cooking, languages, or writing. This is your day – do something that makes you happy and excited! Let’s take a look at some  new skills you might want to learn: 

 

  • Origami
  • Drawing
  • Coding
  • Nutrition
  • Baking

You can find many free courses on OpenLearn. 

Or you can learn sign language free here. 

You can watch TEDTalks here to learn about new topics.

3. Implement small things you love:

This starts from your favorite snack up to pampering yourself. Remember this is not about money! IT doesn’t matter if you use snacks you have already stored at home or buy new ingredients – as long as you enjoy whatever it is and it lifts your mood it is perfect. Personally I love Nutella. (I spoon it :D) 

4. Pamper yourself:

Honestly I could need a few tips in this department – I am not much of a cosmetic product person. Usually I only apply a face mask and then call it a day. But I know that many of you enjoy taking care of your bodies! The main things I found to do was doing your nails, applying a skin mist spray and creams, hair and face masks, plucking eyebrows and bleaching one’s teeth. Please, feel free to add more!

5. Do something you've postponed way too long.

Here are some things you can do during your self-isolation time: 

  1. Sort your photographs. Make an online album. 
  2. Declutter your home. You can start by decluttering your laptop. Here are our top tips 🙂 
  3. Write letters to your friends. 
  4. Decide what to donate to charity. 
  5. Do a deep cleaning. 
  6. Start writing that novel you’ve always wanted to write. 
  7. Write down your grandparent’s childhood stories. 
  8. Create a family tree. 
  9. Start Christmas Gift Shopping early. 😉 

A Love Letter to Yourself

The last small idea I want to mention is something very personal that should help you learn and accept more about yourself and to maybe see where things are right now: I am talking about a love letter to yourself!

Of course you don’t need a paper with hearts and roses but I ask you to do it with honesty and truth.

First I want you to write where you are currently at – everything you like about yourself, life, the people around you. Don’t make nasty remarks. Would you make masty comments if you were to date?

Next write about your past, the things that changed, what you are proud of, miss or even regret. Once again it is okay if it is positive or negative – please write how changes in your past influenced your current life. 

And at the end I want you to write a short forecast of your future, where you want to be in three years, things that changed and how it changed, goals to achieve and people you want to have around you. How your relationship with yourself should evolve. Now in the future part I only want you to write positive words. Avoid writing about toxic people and hardships! The goal of this letter is to open it in two or three years and to see, again, where you are at and what changed!

Wrapping up 31 + Ideas you Can Do in Self-Isolation ...

Let us know if we missed any Ideas 😉

Now I leave it to you to create the perfect self-care date based on your own interests! It would be super cool if you’d share your self-care date experience with us on Instagram by adding #projectg2w  or leave us a message! (You can use the hashtag also for other purposes if you want to share something with us!)

 

If you want to get informed about the latest updates, please subscribe to our newsletter. Last but not least it would be great to see you again. Also, for updates follow us on:

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Love from Germany,

 

Carina and Julia

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How to create an Action Plan + Free Template

Let’s jump right into creating an action plan for your personal goals. 

(Sorry I am not really good at small talk. Ups.)

What is an Action Plan?

An action plan is a must have document for all goal achievers. You can create one in paperform or as a digital plan. It helps you plan all your tasks to achieve your goals. It is a very powerful project management tool.

A Simple Action Plan Definition:

An action plan is a step-by-step guide to help you achieve your goals. A personal plan of action is a simple way to break down what you want to accomplish into small steps. You’ll know exactly where you’re going.

Contents of an Action Plan

  1. A clearly defined goal. 
  2. In-depth actionable tasks relevant to your goal. 
  3. A clear timeline, with milestones and deadlines. 
  4. It needs to show who is responsible for what. 
  5. Which resources do you have/ need? 
  6.  You need to be able to check your progress.

Benefits of a Plan of Action

Especially if you have many tasks on hand and don’t know where to start, it is easy to get overwhelmed and procrastinate. The creation of an action plan helps you cut down your bigger task into smaller tasks: You’ll be able to: 

 

  • work more efficiently
  • overcome procrastination
  • know your exact next steps
  • see how far you’ve come
  • fewer missed deadlines
  • less preassure
3 Questions You need to ask Yourself when Creating an Action Plan:

Who? 

How many people are involved and what are their roles? 

When? 

When does the action plan start and end? And when are specific deadlines?

What? 

What tasks are needed to accomplish your goals?

How to create an Action Plan:

Creating an action plan doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ll show you step by step how you can make your own personal plan.

Step 1: Set a goal

The first step is to set a goal you want to achieve by the end of the term. If you have no goal in mind yet,  I recommend you to make a brain dump and write down everything that comes to your mind. What is the most important one you want to achieve? 

If you already have your goal set, you are ready to get started. Just before we head to the next step I’d like you to rewrite the goal you set.  I want you to adjust it, so that it is a SMART goal if you haven’t done so yet. 

So what are the categories of a SMART goal?

Specific: Is your goal specific? Don’t just say you want to grow your Instagram followers by the next month. Add a number you are striving for! For example you have 500 followers and you want to grow 50% by next month which means you are aiming for 750 followers or additional 250 followers.

Measurable: how do you measure the progress to achieve your objective? Is it the monthly page views of your blog? Or the amount of products sold? Maybe even the chapters learned for your language course? 

Achievable: Is it doable with your resources and the skills you have?  It doesn’t sound achievable if you want to program an app within 3 weeks but have no programming skills or the finances to hire a programmer. Of course, you could still learn programming but you have to set a fitting deadline then.

Realistic: Is it realistic? 1 million youtube subscriptions in a month doesn’t sound realistic! But reaching a significantly lower number is! For example if you take 500 followers instead of 1 million. (Building your dream life can take time: most people are not an overnight success, never give up and one day you will get there!)

Timely: What’s the start and end date? What is the deadline? If you cannot assess how much time you would need to achieve your goal you can always look for experience reports. Not only will they help you estimate a proper time span but they also can help you find changes and tasks required to hit your goals even faster. 

With a smart goal as basis you can create a smart action plan!

Step 2: Divide your goal into small actionable steps

Time to break your smart goal into tiny actionable tasks. Take a paper and brainstorm all tasks neccessary for achieving your goal. 

Don’t worry if you need to do more research or you aren’t sure about certain steps. Write those unclear points down as well. You can tackle them along the way. A plan is always adaptable. 

Step 3: Prioritize and add Deadlines

Having all your top points in front of you, it is time to find the most important/ urgent one and the least important / urgent one.  Which tasks need to be accomplished before you can start the next step? 

 

At the end you should have your steps organized. You can use a Gantt Chart to visualize the timeline or you use our action plan template below. 

Step 4: Add Resources and Budget

Next step is to add resources and the budget needed to fulfill each task. For example, if you plan to create a blog and want it to be hosted you have to pay a specific amount based on your web hosting service company. If you want to create your own furniture, you need materials, knowhow and maybe a mode of transportation. During this step it is useful to look up several alternatives and find the best one fitting to your resources and finances. Enter your choice in the document.

Step 5: Monitor your progress

Once everything is clear and you have completed your document it is time to start taking actions. While you work from one task to another and hit your deadlines, it is also important to monitor your progress. Do you meet the deadlines? Did you do the correct task? Are you still on track? Is there something you have left out and still need to fit in? 

Action Plans for Groups:

If you have more people involved in your action plan it is important to make the plan clear. You need to exactly write down which person does which task  at which point of time. Additionally, you always need a good communication system and give important information to your team members. Miscommunication can make your progress slow down or even completely miss your objective. Also, a lack of communication can cause friction between team members .

Action Plan Template Excel: Click on it to create your own Action Plan!

Last but not least I want to add the 3 criteria for a good action plan by the community tool box: 

 

  1. The plan needs to be complete
  2. Tasks need to be clear
  3. The “action plan needs to reflect the current work”

Now it’s time for you to create your own plan of action. Want us to improve the template? Tell us what you wish we’d include in the comments 🙂 

 Time to achieve your life goals. 

What to read next?

  1. Here is our Ultimate Post on Goal Setting
  2. Need some Focus Tips Cause you are Overwhelmed? 
  3. If you don’t know how to prioritize your tasks check the 80/20 Rule. 
  4. Are you lacking motivation? Here are Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivators you wish you’d tried sooner. 
  5. Struggling with Self-Discipline? Check out our tips. 
  6. Here are some tips if you are a Procrastinator and need a little push. 

If you want to get informed about the latest updates, please subscribe to our newsletter. Last but not least we update every Wednesday and every Saturday. So, it would be great to see you again. Also, for updates follow us on:

 

 

Love from Germany,

 

Carina and Julia

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11 Tips on Dealing with Critical Parents & Loved ones

“Cariiiina …”

One word is all it takes. They say your name in a certain way. The tune already warning you that you won’t like what is about to come. 

Like nails on a chalkboard, it screeches across your soul. 

You take a deep breath. Steeling yourself for what is about to come. 

Criticism. 

Words can cut. And it’s ugly when we feel judged. Especially from loved ones. Like dealing with critical parents, husbands or friends. Yet criticism is inevitable. Even those who seem perfect often receive negative comments. So, how are we supposed to deal with this? How can I not be defensive, hurt, angry, and sensitive? How can I not take it personally.

How to deal with criticism from parents, family, and friends?

Have you ever felt like you can never reach the expectations of your parents? Your loved ones are always pointing out what you are doing “wrong”.  Dealing with critical parents can be … anguishing. Especially when you are young it feels that parents have a constant need to improve and chastise you. Out of love they say. 

 

And when you get older you meet new people, who try to “improve” you. Your partners, your friends, colleagues. 

 

But if someone constantly demeans you, de-values you and shows you you can’t do anything right it’s no longer “feedback” to “help” you it’s destructive and toxic. It makes us feel unloved. 


So what can you do when you are dealing with critical parents, husbands or family members? How can you respond to them:

1. Step Away When you feel Criticised

The funny thing is that reading all the comments from people who also have been criticised has helped me. And vise versa I read also about people who hurt someone with their ciriticism complaining that some people are just too “sensitive”. 

Now truth is I most definitely have ciritcised someone before. Out of love and worries. It does mean that the other person isn’t necessarily a monster, right? Because I am not a monster either.

I had to wonder am I being too sensitive? Why does this criticism hurt me so much?

  • Stepping away gives you a chance. First of all, no one sees your upset crying, or angry face. (Guys love to say we girls are just too sensitive and “hysterical”) 
  • Second, you can calm down and look at the incident more objectively. Was the comment meant to hurt you or not? 
  • Breathe a few times. Take a walk. Get away from the scene. If they don’t want to let you go tell them you need time to process what they have just said. Leave with as much dignity as possible.
  • Sometimes we feel like there is some truth to what was said and that hurts. Figure out what is true and what isn’t. And why did that truth hurt you? 
  • Ask questions to clarify what was said after you’ve calmed down enough. And replay the event in your head after you’ve got all the information.

2. Learn to take comments From Critical Parents and loved ones less personally

This is really hard. And the more you value someone’s opinion the harder it gets. In the end you need to be fine with your strengths and weaknesses. 

 

You yourself have to judge is that critique or feedback anything worth. Is it honest? Does it come from a place of love? Or is the person who critized you just unhappy, critical or jealous.  

 

They aren’t in your shoes. It is your life to live. You take the useful feedback and you throw the useless and destructive criticism.

3. Rant it all out

You know what also really helped? Writing about how unfair it is that I am being criticized for something that didn’t even happen that way. Seriously I think we all need a rant book to let all those stuffy feelings out.

 

(I mean we can hardly scream at our significant other all the time). They might get too scared, to be honest with us. And after we’ve cooled down we might realize there was some truth in what they said. I don’t want anyone to be worried about voicing their opinions. Feel free to use the comments below 😉

4. Try not to be Defensive

It is natural to feel defensive when faced with criticism. After all, we want to be seen as good people. So, when someone criticizes us, it feels like they are attacking us personally. This makes us feel bad and causes us to lash back. A fight starts and you know how that usually turns out.

5. Try not to point out their Failures

Aka you are the worst parent. First of all we never know when it’s the last time we see someone and we might regret our last words being naughty and second it just causes more resentment and pain instead of solving the issue. I know easier said than done.

6. Don’t let Critical Parents and Loved ones Discourage you

If someone tries to discourage you, ignore them. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and trying to achieve something great. Instead of letting others discourage you, focus on your goal and work hard towards achieving it.

7. Ask them: How would you feel if questions…

Honestly this didn’t work for me but it was recommended on Reddit, so maybe it’s useful for someone. Ask them how they would feel if you critizised them in XZY manner in front of XYZ. Sometimes they will rethink what and how they’ve said it.

8. Don't take personal criticism too seriously.

It’s human nature to want to please others, but this doesn’t mean we should let ourselves be taken advantage of. When someone criticizes us, they aren’t trying to hurt us; they want us to change our behavior. So instead of getting upset, try to understand what they’re saying. And why they want you to change. (How would your change of behavior improve their life?) It’s probably got less to do with you and more to do with them. 

9. Practice having difficult conversations

Difficult conversations are inevitable in life. They happen at work, home, school, and everywhere else. We face them everyday whether we want to or not. Sometimes they are uncomfortable but we need to learn how to have them. Try regular one-on-ones, talk about serious topics, to get less sensitive.

10. Build your Self-Esteem

Self esteem is the confidence you have in yourself. It’s the level of respect you have for yourself. When you have low self esteem, you tend to doubt yourself and question whether you deserve respect and whether what you do is right. So the more self-esteem you have the less you’ll be bothered by criticism.

11. Surprise them and say thank you for the Feedback

If you want to improve, then you’ll need to accept criticism. Throw your loved ones a curve-ball and say thank you. They’ll be shocked. However, this doesn’t mean you should lie or pretend to agree with everything they said. Instead, tell them honestly what you think and where you agree and where you disagree. This helps you understand where they’re coming from and allows you to learn from their perspective.

Why are they so critical?

Here are some reasons why they might be critical: 

  • They want to be heard. They have continuously told you to put your socks away because it is making their day harder and you haven’t listened. 
  • All they want is to do is help you improve and have a better life in the future. 
  • They might be angry with you. Maybe they want to show you that they are upset. 
  • They are projecting their own shortcomings onto you. 
  • A life lesson is what they want to teach you.
  • Sometimes they just want to make fun of you to feel better. Because they are unhappy and dissatisfied with their life. 
  • Attention.
  • They are just telling you their experiences. It’s completely objective. And your low self-esteem and past experiences are warping the words.
  • Feeling right is their goal. 
  • They want to feel superior. This person wants to show off his knowledge. He thinks he knows everything.

How do you ignore someone's criticism?

Are they in “that mood” again? It’s like a switch has been turned on and suddenly they criticize whatever you do? Learn to tune it out or avoid them altogether. Don’t talk back. Don’t offer them more ground to attack. 

 

In the end, you only have to be satisfied with yourself.

Pros and Cons of Criticism

Criticism can be feedback that helps us improve. However, sometimes criticism has negative effects that  can be hurtful and damaging. Decide carefully if and how you want to mention criticism. The timing also matters.

How do you criticize your family in a nice way without being rude?

Don’t say: You are doing it all wrong. This is how it works. Why are you doing it that way? 

Try saying: 

Thank you for XYZ. I am worried if you do it that way you might hurt yourself or I know of a better way. Do you want me to show you? 

This way the other person stays in control. You don’t judge them and you’ll be a teacher. 

Why do I cry when I get criticized?

Why am I so sensitive and upset when I get criticized? Because you accept something of what was said as truth. And truth often hurts. Or what we perceive as the truth. Sometimes we feel: 

 

  • Unloved
  • Judged
  • Embarrassed
  • Misunderstood
  • Guilty

Emotions are normal. And sometimes stuff like negative comments pile up. Don’t worry too much about tears. Take deep breaths calm your emotions and don’t let them control you. Unless you are a mess don’t worry about being hypersensitive or easily offended. 

Wrapping it Up: dealing with Critical Parents and Loved Ones

Dealing with criticism is hard. Figuring out what’s constructive and what’s just toxic in the moment of being criticized is even harder. Let us know how you deal with someone who constantly criticizes you and how you handle critical parents.

What to Read Next

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