Make Quarantine Work for You

TJ Simmons

Not too long ago, I was a student missionary teacher in Palau. As an SM teacher, there isn’t a lot of free time. There’s always something that can be done. Grading, lesson planning, making presentations, attending student events like sports, keeping a classroom clean, and many other tasks made me feel like there weren’t enough hours in the day. Then I had to leave Palau. I came back to a strange version of America where everyone was stuck at home.

I also came back unemployed. With no job and not being enrolled in classes, I found myself with an unhealthy amount of free time, jet lag, and a winding road that without intervention would lead to depression. To not reach that outcome, I created some initiatives that you may find useful in and out of quarantine.

1.) Earn your shower at the end of the day. The human body was not made to sit in one place all day. We were given amazing bodies (even if you don’t see yours that way). You should never be able to reach a point where you think, “I didn’t really do anything today. I’ll skip my shower.” That’s both nasty and lazy. Earn your shower every day. Go outside and get some sun. Get a little exercise that makes you sweat a little. Just don’t sit all day on your phone.

2.) Learn a new skill or develop the ones you already have. I spent my first two years of college in the dorm, so I had no kitchen. I enjoy baking but haven’t had the opportunity to do it regularly since junior year of high school. Being stuck in the house all day has given me the chance to try out a bunch of recipes. Use this time to start a new skill or develop ones that you haven’t had the time to add to.

3.) Spend more time with God.  How often have you looked at your relationship with God and thought things like, “Wow I wish I had more time for a real devotional,” or “I just read something in the Bible I don’t understand. I’ll research it when I have more time”? We used to run around all day working, going to class, spending time with friends, etc. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having responsibilities and things you want to do, but it’s easy to be distracted. You have an opportunity to have virtually uninterrupted time with God every day. Seek Him first and see how your life changes.

Being stuck at home isn’t great, but don’t look back on this season and think about how you wasted your time. Make the extra quarantine time work for you.

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