This Quarantine Life: FashionFiles Editor Anna Marevska on Juggling Work, Family & Finding Time for Self-Care

Welcome to our newest series, This Quarantine Life, which will bring you an inside look into the everyday lives of people we love. Think of it as a “day in the life,” but in isolation. What do people do? How do they cope with being quarantined? How do they practice self-care? What shows are they binging?  The series is meant to remind everyone that we are all in this together. And don’t forget, staying home saves lives. Happy reading!

We have lined up quite a roster of super cool people so let’s kick things off with a peek inside the life of our very own editor, Anna Marevska, who is not only handling content for FashionFiles but also has a full-time corporate job and a three-and-a-half year old at home.

6:00 A.M.

I wake up with the sun,  as I have been doing most days in quarantine. It is the only quiet time of the day I get, all by myself, and I love it. I make a strong cup of espresso (sugar, no milk) and sit quietly in the living room enjoying the brew and the sunrise.  It takes me at least half an hour to fully wake up, so at around 6:45 a.m. I start checking my emails for FashionFiles and scrolling through social media. I also take my daily CBD pill by Equilibria, the most amazing Chicago-based company that produces CBD products for women. It has truly helped with my anxiety, sleep, stress levels and mood. I have a monthly subscription and I highly recommend it (use code anna_marevska for $10 off.) I also take a daily multi, a probiotic, and turmeric, along with a bunch of power greens in my morning smoothie.

7:30 A.M.

I start work at my full time job. I work for a large media tech company where I am a senior manager of a team of media researchers and content creators, and my job involves a lot of writing and communicating with clients. I am so thankful to have this job. Nothing has changed much in quarantine when it comes to my duties, except the fact that I also juggle my pre-schooler and her schedule. So all day it is a balancing act between emails for work, Zoom meetings, emails for FashionFiles, circle time for pre-school, storytelling for pre-school, food prep around the clock :/, picking up after my daughter, and  more emails. My husband, who is also working full-time from home, and I try to organize the schedule of who will do what with our daughter, the previous day. I often think about single parents and how they manage. I cannot even imagine how difficult it might be. Around 10:30 a.m. either me or my husband sit with Vivian for some of her daily school activities.

NOON

I prep lunch for the fam and go for a run. My husband may tag along with our daughter and they will walk around the neighborhood until I finish my run (usually 30 min) One of the best things I have done for myself in quarantine is continue my workout regiment. It took me a minute to get used to running outside, but now I really love it. I run about three miles, three to four times a week. And the rest of the time I do this yoga sculpt, this 30 min full body workout, and a mish-mash of exercises I have learned over the years. Exercising truly keeps me sane and my anxiety levels at bay. Another self-care decision I made after week two in quarantine was to stop reading the news and everything about COVID-19. It has helped my anxiety exponentially.  I only read the daily updates from the Chicago Tribune just to keep in the know about the situation in Illinois. I come back from my run around 12:45 p.m., take a quick shower, and go back to work.

1 P.M.

We put our daughter for a nap, which means we have about an hour-and-a-half of cranking out as much work as possible without interruptions. More emails, Zoom, food prep, repeat. Vivian wakes up around 2:30 p.m. and we unfortunately plop her in front of the TV for a about an hour until I finish work at 4 p.m. Sometimes this trick doesn’t work because she needs our attention and this is when things become really challenging in juggling a job and a small child. I have had several instances of me being on a Zoom call and her having a complete meltdown in the other room. Not gonna lie, it sucks. At this point, she just joins the Zoom calls.

4 P.M.

I am off work and try to take Viv for a walk or at the very least on our rooftop so she can get some fresh air and walk a bit. We’ve been struggling to get her outside lately; she’s bored on our walks because there’s really not much to see at this point. You can see the neighborhood flowers and bunnies so many times. She misses playing with kids so much.

6 P.M.

Dinner prep and eat. At this point I am completely cooked OUT. I have made so many meals since early March that when this thing is over all I want to do is eat takeout. We have not ordered anything from outside and have been very good of not wasting food, but man, am I over cooking for a while. We are planning a huge sushi take out for my husband’s birthday in mid-May and I am too excited.

7 P.M.

I do some FashionFiles work while my husband plays with our daughter. I also drink a lot of wine, although as of late we have been in a whisky and/or tequila mood.

9 P.M.

Winding down the day with Viv going to bed and maybe another glass of wine. This is when I find time to watch something on Netflix  or catch up on the Real Housewives. Another self-care act I have been doing every day is create a good skincare routine. I also recently purchased the Nuface micro-current facial device which helps lift and tighten your face, so I do that before I slather all the creams and potions on my face. I don’t believe in injectables but gosh do I love a good anti-aging tool.  I take my Equilibria CBD oil and am asleep by 11:00 p.m.

Shows I am binging:

“Succession.” MUST-WATCH, trust. “Parks & Rec” because it makes me happy. “The Last Dance” because I love basketball and it’s one of the best docu-series to date. “Outlander” because I am a huge sucker for romance.  And yes, I got on the “Tiger King” bandwagon and oh.my.god.

Self-care routine:

Exercise  five times per week; daily Equilibria CBD gels and oil; solid skincare routine (Biossance Lactic Acid Serum twice a week; Paula’s Choice 1% Retinol every other day, The Ordinary Cold-Pressed Rosehip Oil daily, Dr. Dennis Ross Vitamin C + Collagen daily  + Nuface daily;) not reading the news.

My quarantined style is…

Relaxed and messy. I am in yoga pants, sweatshirts, and jogger sets. I have not worn jeans in 5 weeks.  In the beginning it was liberating to stop worrying about what to wear every day. But, I am starting to really miss getting dressed up and dolled up.

What have I learned about myself while in quarantine?

That I need way less to live a quality life.