If you’re following anyone on social media, you know how excited everyone is that spring break has been changed to a series of “recovery days” on different days throughout the semester.
With all of this new time scattered throughout the semester, surely you’re wondering how you’re going to fill your recovery day!
Here are the top ten ways to spend the days as they come:
- Finish the assignment that you got only because you had an extra day to work on it
Good news! There will be a strict NO HOMEWORK DUE policy on your recovery days. But you had an extra day to work on that one assignment, so it will be graded just a little bit harder. So, you know. Get on it.
- Yoga!
Ah, feel that? Yoga is a great way to get some exercise in while staying indoors. It’s also often used as a tool for meditation. You’re already only wearing sweats and leggings, anyway. This spring, you’ll likely want to learn the new stretch most commonly known as the Total Breakdown. It’s performed by lying on your side, pulling your knees up to your chest and wrapping your forearms around your legs. Breathe in deeply and let out a nice, long, agonizing scream from the depths of your soul. Much better.
- Light a candle and just watch it burn
Inexpensive scented candles are a great budget-friendly way to provide you with a new sensory experience at home. Lighting one of those suckers up will bring you restoration as you watch the wax just slowly melt away for hours. Before you know it, your break is over. Recovery!
- Learn a new hobby
Starting a new craft, picking up an instrument, writing a book, learning to cook — all of these things take too much time. Personal development and recovery from long, difficult times isolated and quarantined only needs to take 24 hours. You can always just scroll through Instagram and watch other people pretend to be happy. That’s a hobby in itself.
- Spend the whole day before excited about a break, then spend the whole day thinking about schoolwork
This one requires a little bit of prep work: as you’re dragging through the numbness of everyday life on a screen, get pumped: tomorrow’s a recovery day! Sure, you didn’t have class on Friday anyway, but this one is special! Then, on the day of, think about schoolwork so much that it feels like a physical weight on your chest. It doesn’t sound like much fun, but honestly, what were you going to do anyway?
- Give into your depression and just lay in bed all day*
It’s okay.
*Humor is how I cope – in all seriousness, sometimes it’s okay to just lie in bed.
- Feel guilty about giving into your depression and lying in bed all day*
It was going to happen anyway.
- Virtual hangout with friends!
Together for life! Virtual happy hours and game nights are sweeping the nation. Fun idea: get your friends together and see who joins with the funniest Zoom background. Have a drink (if you’re of legal age!), play some games and learn how to awaken an ancient spirit to haunt the building where your spring break was taken away from you.
- Just stare at the ceiling and spiral
It is what it is.
- Recover!
In all sincerity, it’s a recovery day whether you have class or not. Don’t expect perfection from yourself or others.
Ask for help if you need it. Stay social with people, send a message to someone even if you haven’t talked to them in a while (don’t get it twisted, this is not a sign to text your ex. Or maybe it is?).
Please don’t go to a party and risk getting an infection. Even if you’re not in an at-risk group for death, it can be a really nasty sickness that could have long-term effects that we don’t even know of.
Also, you should care about other people.
Economic Crisis Response Team
ecrt@sdsu.edu
