I recently updated my Joy List. What is a joy list? Simple! It's a list of things that always bring me joy! Looking that list I noticed there were quite a few things on the list that I couldn't do during this time of self isolation/quarantine/social distancing (whichever term you're using). A lot of the things that bring me joy require leaving my home (or ordering take out, which is my food group I gave up for #Next90Days), so I made it my mission to find 10 things from that list that I can do at the drop of a hat right now if I needed to turn my mood around. This list has 10 of my favorite things to do to turn my mood around that you can try too!

1. Listen to some good music. Seems simple enough! I LOVE music! Always have, always will. I'm the type of person who can pull up a Spotify playlist or throw a record on my turntable and just sit and listen to music. It instantly lifts my mood.

2. Curl up in bed with a good book. I am a huge fan of reading. I learned to read early (as in chapter books at the end of Kindergarten early) so by the time I reached 5th grade, I was reading at a High School to College level. I love books and it is so easy for me to get so lost in a story that I forget the world around me. My quarantine TBR has about 70 books on it right now and I am currently reading book 16 (The First Time by Colton Underwood - I'm almost done with it and it is NOT GOOD). I'm sure by the time we return to normal (whatever that is) I will have read about 100 books, and that makes me so so so happy!

3. Bake something! I love to be in the kitchen! I love baking and cooking so having the time to cook all three of my meals is a real gift of being home. But nothing beats baking something sweet. I love the smell of a cake in the oven, or my (slightly modified from the recipe passed down from my great-grandmother) famous lemon bars. Baking is a science and an art, which is the perfect recipe to calm me down and bring me joy. Plus, you get to eat something delicious at the end, which also brings me joy!

4. Learn something new. I am a firm believer that if you aren't learning, you aren't growing and if you aren't growing, you aren't living. Self-improvement is a huge passion of mine. I love learning and so sometimes the best way to turn my mood around is to start to learn a new skill or watch an informational video or read a new self-improvement book. Remember, learning = growth and growth = living.

5. Binge your favorite TV show. To be honest, I have only binged one TV show during this time ("Future Man" on HULU - highly recommend if you love raunchy comedy!), but sometimes you just need to turn your brain off for a day and throw on your favorite show you've seen a million times before. I think "Gilmore Girls" is up next for me!

6. Pour yourself a nice glass of wine. I was that weirdo in college that drank dry red wines while everyone else was drinking sickeningly sweet Moscato and Rose. I LOVE wine. My whole life I've gone to wineries with my family, listened to their thoughts on wine and learned before I could drink. When I turned 21 I went straight for the Merlots and Cab Sauvs and have become even more of a wine snob since. Wine is calming for me and definitely brings me joy. (Just a glass or two, we're enjoying, not numbing.)

7. Throw a dance party! I fully understand this one may not be for everyone, but I have no shame so it's one of my favorites. I will blast my music and dance around my room all by myself for as long as my heart desires. It gets you moving and makes you feel a little goofy, double whammy!

8. Talk to your students/friends/coworkers/family/ANYONE! One of my favorite things right now is doing Instagram lives with my theatre students. I think it is so important that everyone stay connected right now but especially important that those of us who work with kids stay connected to those kids right now. They have been torn away from all of significant people in their lives other than their parents and siblings. It brings me so much joy to hear updates on their lives and play trivia games and see them interact with each other. It's not the same has being in rehearsal or class together, but at least it is something!

9. Put on some comfy clothes. I'll admit it, I'm living in sweatpants right now. I talked a big game at the start of working from home. I was convinced I would get up and put effort into my appearance as if I were going to work EVERY DAY. Ya that lasted two days! And I'm okay with that! Being in comfy clothes brings me joy, so I'm going to do it! I'll see my cute clothes on the other end of this pandemic!

10. "Go to the movies." Ummmm Kayla.... we can't go to the movies, the theaters are closed and we can't leave the house... I know. But going to the movies is one of my favorite activities so I have brought the feeling of it back home. I turn off my lights, close my blinds, grab a snack and drink, curl up on the couch or in bed and watch a movie at a volume maybe little too loud for being in my house. It's not quite the same, but it still brings me a lot of joy!

This is just my short list. I'm discovering new things that bring me joy while staying home every day. I'd love to hear some of the things you are doing to find joy in this new world of being home all the time! Leave a comment below with what your favorite tips for joy are!

xo,

Kayla