Our #MetroMostStylish2020 Ladies On How To Make The Most Of Your Time At Home

For these career women, who are part of our #MetroMostStylish2020 campaign, living under the circumstances set for the coronavirus (COVID-19) community quarantine can be worthwhile. For many, it's the perfect opportunity to start anew, in hopes that when all this is over, we all emerge from the experience as better people who are more mindful, responsible, kindhearted, generous, and empathetic.

Now that they're at home all day everyday, they're also rediscovering the meaning of work-life balance, devoting some time to be productive with work-related matters as well as focusing on connecting with their loved ones on a deeper level.   

During this time, self-care must also not be neglected. You need to take care of yourself in order to take care of your family. 

Making the most of this time is also all about the mindset. Echoing the words of Canadian historian and author Michael Bliss, "From the moment you wake up, to the moment you rest your head at night, everything is up to you. Your emotions, your thoughts, your perceptions, your reactions. Every moment." 

Even in these times of uncertainty, there are still lots of reasons to smile and, more importantly, be others' source of strength and courage.

Below, read what our Metro Most Stylish ladies are doing or planning to do to maximize this time at home with their loved ones:

Camille Co

"It’s easy to fall into a rut when you’re just at home in your pajamas all day so to break it, act like you’re not at home! Wake up, fix yourself a little, make a schedule of what you should accomplish for the day."

Tessie Singson

"Let's use this time to be productive. So, it's a good time to do that general house cleaning that you have always been planning to do. [It's] always a good idea to have a clean space since we will be mostly spending our time at home with our loved ones in the next weeks. It's also the best time to do a closet-cleaning and smartly edit your wardrobe. You can either resell it via Instagram or Facebook or perhaps donate them. This is a sustainable way of extending their lifespan and avoid wastage. And lastly, use this precious time to reconnect with your loved ones and friends."

Charmaine Lagman

"First is to set goals and targets. Check what's around your home that needs attention and probably  have been neglected because of your busy schedule. My target for the first week is to re-organize, redecorate and spring-clean per room including cabinets and closets. This would take about 2-3 days per room depending on the size. My next goal is my kitchen. I need to re-label and bring out all the items per cabinet and cupboard. This would take a few days too. Lastly, going back to my apron! I will try to research and create new healthy recipes that I can experiment on, and share to friends and family. I have started sharing my no carb cauliflower pizza crust weeks ago and wish to share more healthy recipes."

Marga Nograles

"I feel like I have been so busy the past few days trying to set up work online and trying to figure out how best to keep my kids productive. But the most important thing I realized is to not panic. Breathe and trust during this time when prayers and actions are urgent. And while my husband Karlo, along with other government officials, is at the frontline untiringly finding the best solutions to address the COVID-19 challenge, my first action is to organize my home. From here, I was able to put together a schedule that I feel will continue to keep my family busy, happy, and proactive. My top three favorites are:

"1. Mornings with my children, when they have their breakfast and I have my black coffee. During this time, we plan our day—what we will eat, what workout we will do, what movie to watch next, what art activity to try. I also give them COVID-19 news courtesy of their father; they are always interested and want to be updated.

"2. 12:15 p.m. online mass with my children. I am happy that my kids are now able to hear mass with me everyday. Today was inspiring. After mass, my daughter said, 'We should really not fear anything, Mama, because Jesus is with us always.' I look forward to tomorrow. And I believe that if we all come together in prayer, nothing is impossible.

"3. Working from home and meeting my team online teach me how to be more organized. It is also giving us the opportunity to set up this online store that we have been putting on hold for a long time now.

"There are many more activities we do, try to do, and schedules we try to follow. I guess what is vital is that we build a home that is conducive to creativity, learning, and love.

"Ultimately, I guess it is important to stay positive and look at this not as a lockdown but really as a special time given to us to reflect, re-assess, and remember what is truly most essential. The rest is up to God. Let us pray for our government and applaud all our healthcare professionals. Salamat Kaayo to our true heroes."

Rosanna Ocampo

"1. We’ve decided to stick to our normal routine as much as possible. Being in house clothes practically all day the first few days  made us all feel lethargic. Now, we wake up the same time, take a bath and get dressed as we would under normal circumstances. Thankfully, the schools have been sending activities for the kids and we spend the morning doing that. Pinterest has been a good source for ideas of 'funexperiments' to do at home as well.

"2. I finally have time to set half an hour a day to teach my kids Italian.  

"3. The spring cleaning of our closets can be done in a more unhurried manner as well as de-cluttering the rest of the house.

"4. Hello YouTube Zumba classes!

"5. I will work on the children’s albums which I haven’t done in years.

"6. I have 2 books that I’ve been meaning to read and a few series I’ve been wanting to  watch but never really had the time to do as work has been so busy. Clearly, this is about slowing down, too. 

"7. Meditation and daily family prayer time together. These are tough times and we would like to show our children that we will always be a solid, God-centered unit.

"8. Video group calls with friends for some comic relief !"