March 30, 2020
I’m going on Week 3 of staying home and I’ve checked-off a lot of to-dos on my list but eventually I will have organized allllll the spaces in my home and I’ll be looking for new ways to stay entertained, educated and healthy. I’m not telling you to feel guilty if you are enjoying some much needed Netflix-binging or baby-cuddling on the couch during this quarantine, but if you need some fresh ideas to keep your morale up, here’s a list of my favorite resources that I already love or are on my hit list for the next…. month+!?!
Self-Improvement
Take a Masterclass!! I’m super excited by the idea of getting better and learning from the BEST, and that’s the exact premise of Masterclass. They have everything from learning how to perfect a sport to making pasta to being better at doing your makeup…and each class is taught by people world-renowned for that specific thing. So. Freaking. Cool.
Udemy-Online education classes to keep your brain stimulated!
Mindset Reset–A mindset-changing, daily gratitude challenge that sounds super cool.
Discover Your Enneagram-These have been soooo popular lately, and are essentially like a horoscope+your Meyers Briggs (remember those 4 little letters?! ENFJ over hereeeee) combined and with real psychological science behind it. I’m personally ready to understand all the enneagram memes more once I take it!
Yale’s Happiness Class–This insanely popular class from Yale (yup, that Yale) is FREE right now, and is all about the “science of happiness.” Um, yes.
Skill Share– This is such a cool and innovative site with TONS of classes to learn new skills…might as well do some personal development during this time, right?!
Small Business Course–Five Mary’s Farm is an AMAZING account I follow and love on Instagram, and she’s now offering a course to build your small business from scratch!! It contains three modules, and they’re each jam packed with tons of tips and inspiration for starting, growing, branding and building a successful small business.
Jenna Kutcher’s Online Courses–Even though this is business-related, personal development and professional development are SUPER intertwined at times in my opinion, and Jenna Kutcher does an amazing job of creating courses that develop you as a whole, and not just as an entrepreneur/professional.
Books, books, and more books!!
“The Next You” is my good friend Stef Banda’s new book and I just finished it and loved it. It’s all about crushing your insecurities and being true to who you are at your core. It’s a major confidence boost right now when it would be easier to wallow.
Taking Aim– Because, duh, I loved writing this book and I find it even more relevant now than ever. This is the perfect time to start forging your own path–and that’s exactly what I want you to feel when reading my book.
Jack Carr’s Newest Book, “Savage Son”-I just pre-ordered the third and FINAL book in the Jack Carr “Terminal List” series, and I am SUPER pumped. It will be available April 14th, so that’s something exciting to look forward to for sure!
Where the Crawdads Sing-This is a heavy read but a super important, quality one. I love a little bit of history and this book based in North Carolina in the 1960’s was everythinggggg.
Whiskey in a Teacup– Reese Witherspoon is SO cute and hilarious and encouraging. I felt like I was reading something a good friend wrote the whole time…doesn’t everyone kind of want to be BFFs with her?!
Health & Fitness Sites & Apps
If you follow my IG stories, you’ll see me on my Peloton at least a few times a week and right now, Peloton is offering a free 90-day trial of their app that doesn’t require any of their workout equipment, and includes yoga, cardio, and more. Even if you don’t have a Peloton bike, this is worth checking out!
SWEAT with Kayla– Kayla is LEGIT. If you’re looking to start a new fitness routine or with a fitness guru, look. no. further.
Youtube: Free resources for workouts like Yoga (Lululemon yoga sessions are my favorite) and full-body workouts from PopSugar Fitness.
Fitness Blender–Another FREE resource for virtual workouts!! They have tons of options to choose from, with little to no equipment required.
Sydney Cummings–This YouTube fitness guru is the real deal; she’s certified, is a Women’s Health magazine “action hero,” and owns her own fitness and nutrition company.
Nike Fitness Club-This is an app made by Nike that allows you to choose from tons of no-equipment workouts; it’s completely FREE and the workouts are designed by real life trainers.
Prayer & Meditation
There are definitely lots of good physical devotional bibles out there (I love the Jesus Calling book/app) and I can’t recommend starting a devotional or series enough at a time like this. If the idea of a devotional isn’t quite your thing, meditating and finding some serenity in your day might be!! I also actually love the Calm app; it has soothing sounds, music, and it even has bedtime stories for adults if you have trouble sleeping (the one by Matthew McConaughey both cracked me up and put me to sleep in like 7 minutes…thank you, MTN OPS Slumber and Mr. McConaughey, ha!).
More devotionals:
Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God Is Holding You Close – A friend of mine recommended this one and I’m so excited to start once I’m done with my current devotional!!
Find Rest: A Women’s Devotional For Lasting Peace In A Busy Life –Being a mama and wife presents their own challenges and prayer requests, doesn’t it?! I have found this one to be great because it’s so specific to us!
Thirty One Days of Prayer for the Dreamer and Doer– Nothing resonates with me more than this title!! *Clicks add to cart.*
Recipes to Try
I personally LOVE cooking and find it so cathartic. I can spend hours flipping through cookbooks or getting inspired by recipes on Pinterest or on my Traeger App. Here are some of my personal favorites that I’ve been loving lately:
My favorite protein iced coffee using my Eva Shockey MTN OPS line!
Blueberry protein muffins that I’m switching up the berries in and even toying with chocolate chips/nuts/etc.
This 15-minute salmon dinner recipe that I LOVE, but I’m definitely looking at mixing it up a bit.
This wild game chili recipe that’s as quick to prepare as it is GOOOOOD.
My game meatloaf recipe which is a Shockey-Brent family classic and always a hit!
If you’re looking for an app for recipe inspo, definitely download the Traeger App on your phone! You can filter by meal/ingredient/skill level and find the BEST recipes and although I highly recommend using a Traeger (because they’re awesome), you could definitely get away with using a normal grill/smoker or even an oven for the majority of the recipes if you need to.
I also LOVE these sites for healthy, delicious recipes to try:
I don’t know about y’all, but I know there will come a time during this social distancing/self-quarantining situation when we realize that some GOOD has come from an otherwise bad situation. I’d love for this season to end as much as the next person, but I truly believe there’s a bigger lesson and purpose here. We are being taught to appreciate the small things, be grateful for our health and loved ones, feel compassion for those who need it the most along with so many other lessons that we never would’ve listened to until the entire world was forced into a moment (or month…) of pause and we have no choice but to slow down and reflect inwards.
A healthy dose of any of this plus getting to be with my family more, reading for leisure, and just enjoying springtime has me feeling more positive and confident than before. Which of the activities listed above are you going to try?! Which do you love already? Let me know in the comments below!!
Happy social distancing, and see you back soon (sign up for my newsletter so you know when the newest blog drops!) with more of the content YOU want!!
-Eva
Keep everyone in the loop by sharing this post:
Design by Raise Your Words Design. Photography by Brynn Gross Photography. Designed with Showit.
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
So grateful for the ES team! Getting us all through quarantine days by just being real and spreading positivity 🙂
Reading your Bible ????????
My pastor has been doing Quarantine Bible School everyday at noon (cst).
http://www.dentonbible.org
God Bless!
Dido exactly what Emmalee Says!!! Thankful for your inspiration!!!
You are wonderful! ???? ty for being you!
All of this!!!! Thank you, Eva. Keep sharing your positivity. The world definitely needs more of it.
Thanks Eva! Great list to check out! Stay safe everyone!
This is a great post! Thank you for sharing your life. You are such an upbeat, positive, loves life, loves God person and it shines through in what you do. Thank you for being an influencer for good. Hugs for you.
Eva Shockey… wow! your best post yet! Clever girl…
Great guide! I really like this article so much and found very helpful. Thanks for the great ideas.
This blog is great check it out