Emily in France 🇫🇷 How Are You Keeping Yourself Sane?

Quarantine routines.

My sister and I were talking on the phone yesterday, and she mentioned that she found it interesting that I'm having as hard a time being confined as I am, seeing as I work from home every day. Another friend of mine said something similar, alluding to the fact that I'm "lucky" that I'm accustomed to being indoors, often for hours (or, let's be real, days) at a time.

But I think that what neither of them realized – and what perhaps I didn't realize myself – is that while I am indeed used to working from home, I am also used to my day being broken up by appointments, by tours, by dinners or drinks with friends. Without these natural stopping points, I'm both a bit aimless and a total workaholic.

I'm trying to change that.

Here in Paris, we are allotted a daily hour in which we are allowed to go outside for exercise. We're also allowed to go out for essential grocery shopping. While I'm not taking my full hour (and I haven't started jogging all of a sudden, the way many fellow Parisians have), I am making sure that I at least step outside first thing in the morning for some fresh air, even if I only take a few steps into the empty street. I do this at 7:30am, before looking at my phone and before I even have my first cup of coffee. I then come back home, immediately take a shower... and enjoy a cup of coffee while reading next to the window.

It's a new routine, but I think it's already making me happier.

1. If you're not listening to the Quarantine Quill, a daily writing prompt podcast from the lovely Anna Polonyi, you should be. Especially today... I'm in it.

2. In the 19th century, people believed that by avoiding bad smells, they could avoid disease. Find out more about miasma in Atlas Obscura.

3. Confinement has one silver lining, at least in India: reduced pollution levels mean that the Himalayas are visible for the first time in 30 years.

4. And in the next 30 years, it may be possible to restore the oceans to their former glory, according to researchers.

5. This adorable dad created a three-star dining experience for his confined kids.

Stay safe, stay INSIDE, and à bientôt !

Emily in France