quarantine

5 things you DON'T have to do once the quarantine is over

After spending an average of 2 months at home while the world is finding a new balance, our everyday life is slowly gonna merge into a new normal.

This unusual experience has been the best opportunity to reflect on what you have, what you want, and who you do things for. You don't have to stop this journey now to jump back into what you used to do.

A new routine is on the verge of emerging and with it comes a new opportunity: making it yours.

 
Ariana-banner-boudoir-toronto-scandaleuse-photography.jpg
 

Here are 7 things you do NOT have to do once the quarantine is fully over:

1) Go on a diet

If you didn't jump on the train of “LET'S WORK OUT EVERYDAY NOW THAT WE HAVE TIME WOOHOOO” and feel like you got a little cushy: so be it. Don’t beat yourself up, don't put pressure on yourself to lose weight and get fit now that you have to go back to the real world. Everything will rebalance itself with time and that's A-OKAY.

2) Wear uncomfortable clothing (and bras)

We see people joking about having to put jeans back on. What if you didn't? We live in a great era when you can find professional looking clothing that is still comfortable, take advantage of it! And ladies, if your bras are uncomfortable as hell and you ditched them during your time at home: leave them in the drawer. Keep your no-bra habit or replace them with comfortable bralettes. It's about damn time the world stops getting shocked by a slightly showing nipples.

3) Planning on staying at the job you don’t like.

Sometimes, you are so caught-up in your routine that you don’t stop and think if this is really for you. You go to your job because you have to, not because you want to. You ignore your inner voice to get the hell out. But with the quarantine, you ended up with a much bigger amount of time to think. If the thought of going back to work makes you feel sick, it is time to plan your exit strategy and act on it.

4) Buying excessively

Stores were closed, toilet paper was missing for a while, we had to focus on what was essential in our lives. Maybe you even Marie Kondo-d the crap out of your home. Don’t jump back on the intense shopping spree to buy things you don't need. You will help yourself by keeping your space and mind clear and help our planet by decreasing waste at the same time.

5) Wear makeup, Wax, Microblade, do your Nails, get Extensions of anything

Ask yourself: who were you doing all these things for? If the answer is because it makes you feel good: knock yourself out. But if you were dreading those times to begin with only to follow some outside expectations: just stop. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. You just have to do good by YOU.

On the contrary, here are some things you should do once you are back out there:

 
scandaleuse-photography-boudoir-toronto.jpg
 

1) Implement those great self-care habits you put in place

You started yoga everyday and it makes you feel so good? Make time for it in your schedule. You found yourself a new passion for baking or cooking? Fit it in there too. Those are happy habits and they need to stay for your own wellbeing.

2) Make time to connect with your loved ones

Did you take your family and close friends for granted while living your busy life? (don't feel bad, we all do at some point in our lives) Well, everyone was pretty much away from everyone during the lockdown. Time to give some lovin' to the relationships you care about.

3) don't beat yourself up if you got caught up again in the life tornado.

If you find yourself thinking “I don't have time for that anymore/ what if I can’t make time for this?/I messed up.” take a deeeeeep breath and re-center. You don’t have to have a perfect record. Just develop your ability to take a step back and re-adjust your life.

You have spent so much time with yourself, your desires and wishes, it's not to forget it once we all go back to “normal". Treat yourself and others with kindness, focus on what you want for YOU. And if you need a little help, our Limitless Program is right here for you.

Subscribe to our mailing list & get our feel good gift!



Boredom is a state of mind

We are in a stage of the quarantine that is getting harder and harder on people's spirit. I see that through social media and the conversations I have with friends and family: it is pretty easy to feel trapped and see our home as a cage. Most of us are bored and staying home is getting on our nerves.

Can you guess what happens when we feel this way?

 
scandaleuse-photography-toronto-boudoir-women-empowerment-sensuality-scandaleuse photography-toronto boudoir-canada-ontario-photographer-mindset-positive mindset-coaching-coaching toronto-woman-life-quarantine-covid 19-bored-boredom
 

We leash out, get easily angry (and hungry but that is another story!) and are in search for drama. We look for people to put the blame on and we let our frustration and anger control our behaviour. We focus on how the situation is affecting us and forget that we all are in this together. This is how most of the little “online wars” are created, sometimes with the worst intention, sometimes just to make people laugh:

  • Pressure is put on people when saying we have to take this quarantine as an opportunity to learn something new.

  • Jokes on getting fat from staying home are created without thinking it can hurt people who might be in this situation.

  • Critics are done on women who decide to show their body on social media, because this is their way to feel better about themselves (actually, my bad, this happens all the time!).

We are in a fragile and unstable time, we can easily go from fighting this all together as a community, to becoming selfish and creating a civil war.

So what if, instead of letting our emotions control our actions, we focus on passing time in an healthier way?

But I'm so bored!

Hey pssst, come closer, we have a secret to share…

Boredom is a state of mind.

It is difficult to believe there is nothing for us to learn, create or share. Let's be honest here, most of us can easily find some suff to do! We are lucky to live in an era where technology is 100% part of our life, so unless you don't have access to internet, many activities are accessible online. If internet, for X reasons, isn't an option for you, there are still books you can read, creative activities you can start and games you can play (remember when we were kids and used to have fun with almost everything?).

By the way, sometimes it feels good to not do anything. If you just feel like sitting on a chair and contemplate life through your window with a cup of hot coffee or a glass of wine, then you should do it. Never blame yourself and feel guilty for doing something simple. As long as it makes you happy (and you are not hurting anyone) this is the most important!

The problem isn't related to inaccessible activities, it is just a lack of motivation!

 
scandaleuse-photography-toronto-boudoir-women-empowerment-sensuality-scandaleuse photography-toronto boudoir-canada-ontario-photographer-mindset-positive mindset-coaching-coaching toronto-woman-life-quarantine-covid 19-bored-boredom
 

Mindset, one more time, is the key.

If nothing around you motivates you, it's probably because there is something going on with your emotions: maybe you feel lonely, maybe you are frustrated or sad... It might be a good idea then to dig deeper and figure out why you feel the way you feel at that moment.

It is normal and totally ok to not feel awesome 100% of the time. Negative feelings are actually a way to realign with ourselves to get closer to the person we wanna be. They are here to tell us that something in our life isn't right for us and needs to be improved. But it is also important to not let those feelings completely absorb our light and positivity, neither to let them drag us down. This why it is essential to understand where they come from, so we can “fix” the problem and bring back happiness. The goal is simply to feel better.

We assure you that if you feel happy, you will find something YOU WANT TO DO!

Don't forget to have fun!

Movement is a great way to help being motivated… So we have one word for you: MUSIC. Yeah you got it right, put some tunes on and dance! Music is an universal language, everybody react to it. Even some animals have the ability to understand and move on the waves when certain types of melody are played. There is a great show on Netflix called “Explained”, one episode talks about that and it's super interesting!

 
 

Alright! Now that the motivation is back, here is a list of different activities you can do at home:

  • Build a card castle or a fort… Or a fort made out of cards!

  • Parkour! with your furniture (don't get too crazy there though, you don't wanna end up at the hospital).

  • Try the OH NA NA NA challenge if you don't live alone.

  • Redecorate your home.

  • Practice handstands.

  • Organize a short balcony party with your neighbours like those crazy Italian people (those guys are awesome!).

  • Grow new veggies from veggies you bought at the supermarket.

  • And of course the classics such as cooking, reading, learning, working out, meditate or watching everything Netflix has to offer.

You will always find something to do that makes you happy as long as you feel at peace with yourself.

Be patient, we will all go through this experience even stronger than we were before. But we have to stick together and be more mindful of others. If this situation is too hard on your mental, don't hesitate to talk and share how you feel with people who love you.

You are not alone!

Subscribe to our mailing list & get our feel good gift!