In a recent Re!gnite Africa survey, some participants requested to hear our ideas of how one can make use of their time while at home for COVID-19 quarantine. We share some tips below:
1. Spend time with loved ones: When the lock down is lifted, everyone will probably go back to being busy; setting new targets, completing all pending work lists, etc. Trust us, it will be busy for most people. Therefore, make use of the moment to check-in with a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. If you are privileged to be with family now, bond and create new memories.
2. Pursue online learning: You’ve probably seen everyone dishing out that ”free online courses at Havard…blah, blah”. If you can afford internet for 2-3 hours every week, I encourage you to enroll for some of these courses. You can access free online courses on platforms such as;
We highly recommend Coursera and Edx because we’ve taken courses on these platforms before and they were great. If you can afford, pay for a certificate at the end of your course to beef up your professional qualifications portfolio.
3. Do a social media detox and use the time to focus on your mental well-being: Social media is a fun and entertaining place. It is also a place that many of us go to for knowledge sharing or consumption on different perspectives of life. However, some of the content we consume on social media can be damaging to our mental health; the news could create anxiety and panic, and that friend always posting ”quarantine bragging” updates lately might actually be stressing you out. We advise you to take a break from social media for reasonable periods of time (a few days off, a week’s break, etc., depending on what your mind and body needs). It is okay to start with a small goal of say, one day off social media, and then you can graduate to bigger goals as time goes on.
4. How many of us are exercising during this season? Great if you are, and its not too late if you haven’t started. You can start with walks within your home compound and then graduate to push-ups such as your grandfather’s 🙂 (we mean, President Museveni’s). If you can’t do those, try going back to traditional children’s games such as rope skipping and Kwepena. You won’t regret it, we promise. Challenge yourself to do at least two forms of exercise each week.
5. Scenario map and plan the second-half of professional growth of 2020: We know! We know! You are probably thinking we are kidding by advising you to plan for the rest of year with a future uncertain. However, what you forget is the first part of the point; 
”Scenario map!”. We challenge you to create scenarios based on three cases; ”Best case, 50/50 case, and Worst case” scenarios. For example, in a best case of scenarios, what if things work out as you had envisioned and planned for the year despite this ‘pause’ we are experiencing? Are you ready for that? If you are not, what do you need in preparation? Now, adjust those questions to the other two scenarios.
6. Survive!!: It is absolutely OKAY to sit in your feelings about everything happening; 
anxiety, depression, fear, etc. Don’t be pressured to be productive if your body and mind are failing to respond accordingly. Take time off to sit in that uncomfortable pain, process your thoughts and feelings about it, and seek help if you need to. It is okay to just survive and let the terrible feelings pass if all you need is time. Better days are coming. For further assistance in regards to psycho-social support, contact @RocketHealthUganda. See flyers for details.