Positivity Posts – Momo's Musings

Staying at Home and Staying Productive!

Posted on March 31, 2020July 20, 2025 by Moumita Dutta

Here’s a sunset picture for happy vibes! Photo Credit: Moumita Dutta

I hope all of you reading this are healthy and well! It’s a hard time for everybody as people face different challenges, but remember to take care of yourself and keep the health of others in mind as well!

As society continues to self isolate, many people are beginning to feel the consequences first hand. Quite a few people must work from home, and schools and universities have closed for many all around the world. Don’t forget to reach out for help with close family and friends, trusted adults, or phone help lines if needed! Your health (mental and physical) must come first before everything else.

We’re all trying to find a new rhythm in our daily lives, and I especially see that it’s also hard to stay motivated. Staying cooped up at home and not being able to meet up with friends is making a lot of people feel down. So, it is important to take some time to relax and bring out some longtime hobbies, such as knitting, reading, and drawing! As of now, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer also said that it’s okay to go out for walks if you stay 2 meters away from others and you aren’t showing symptoms, so get some fresh air!

But what must we be cautious of? In this era of instant entertainment and information at the tip of our fingers, it is easy to spend days without doing anything productive. The worst part? At the end of it, most do not feel any happier. Instead, they feel agitated and anxious about their lack of productivity. So how do we stay happy and motivated during these challenging times?

Set out time for work (and also for fun!): Just as you had routines in the workplace and educational centres, you can make your very own one at home! I like to work for an hour and a half and take a fifteen minute break routinely until I finish all my tasks for the day.
And to help with that, remember to ignore distracting apps on your phone and/or other devices! Keeping it away out of sight is a good plan, as well as keeping it on silent mode. I personally use an app called Forest to remind me to stay focused whenever I pick up my phone!
Finally, remember to not get distracted by your surroundings, and try to find a quite place to work. Time will fly by, and then you’ll feel great once you get some work done. Then you can enjoy your free time! I have a post about focus right here.

We can take this challenge and get through it together! I greatly admire all of the healthcare professionals, researchers, and others who are constantly risking their lives and giving it their all to help the world recover from this predicament. And all students, stay strong! It may be confusing and stressful, but hopefully soon, everything will clear up and we can get back to classes.

Stay happy, and stay healthy! : )

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Happiness: Traffic on the Highways, and How to Utilize that Time

Posted on October 10, 2019October 10, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

Now, before everyone comes at me, traffic on the highways does not make me happy. It’s more about the time I get to myself during my commute.

If you’re like me, you have a very long commute from home to downtown for one of two things: work or education. I live in a city where the highways get super congested — it actually ranks as one of the most traffic-congested cities in Canada. I recently found out that long commutes are a signature of North America, even though there are other places in Asia where it is common. It’s even becoming a part of European lifestyle for some.

I’m writing this in the morning while I’m on the road. I have my earbuds in, listening to my favourite music, and doing one of my most favourite things – blogging! I either sleep or do my homework on the bus. On rare occasions when I don’t have much work to get done, I read, write or draw. I understand the aggravation that people feel inching along beside the other cars; I feel it sometimes too. But instead of complaining about the long way and that being the only thing on your mind, do something productive instead!

Things to do on the highway:

Finish your homework! (You’ll thank yourself when you get home)
Self study to gain knowledge (Again, you’ll thank yourself in the future)
Read a novel (gain vocabulary and be sucked into another world!)
Draw (it may be bumpy, but I somehow manage)
Write (let your creativity flow!)
Watching Videos? (watch tv at home, and educational vids on the highway)
Meditate (relaxing is important!)
Self-reflect (make plans, solve personal problems, etc.)
Listen to music or a podcast
Sleep 🙂

I can do a lot of my favourite activities in the car because a) I don’t drive and b) I don’t get car sick (I used to, but I forced myself not to, if that makes any sense). But if you are driving, you can still do important things. How often is it that you get to self reflect? Plan out your day in silence? Listen to your music out loud without worrying about anybody’s opinions?

Great ideas always come when you least expect it. And how can you get them when you’re always busy and your mind is cluttered with stress? The early morning traffic jam is the best time to get yourself together and mentally or physically jot down a few notes regarding your future plans or a new story.

Long story short, use your time wisely. A long commute is one of the only times that you have completely to yourself. Utilise that time to better yourself.

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

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Happiness: Nursery Rhymes

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

Photo Credit: *Not on the High Street, the Home of Thoughtful Gifts*

Wow, what a busy start to the school year, am I right?

This isn’t one of my conventional positivity posts. Nonetheless, I think that it deserves to be in this section of my blog — some songs that had us laughing and clapping as toddlers are the same ones that we can smile back on now. However, we have some thinking to do about them as well.

First thing first. When was the last time you heard a nursery rhyme? Maybe it wasn’t too long ago, and you heard it on TV. Or you have a younger cousin, for who you dug out some child friendly songs from the back of your mind and sang to. Or maybe the last time you heard one seems like eons ago, long ago days where you yourself were still sucking your thumb and needed a lullaby every night to be put to sleep.

When I think of lullabies, I fondly remember times of the past — I used to love lullabies for bedtime. When I got a little older, I ran around playing Ring Around the Rosies and London Bridge.

But when nursery rhymes came to my mind a few days ago, I was taken away by a sharp realization… why are so many about them about passing away? It’s Raining It’s Pouring, Humpty Dumpty, Ring Around the Rosies, and London Bridge all have an underlying theme of death in they’re songs. The old man hit his head and couldn’t get up again, Humpty Dumpty’s pieces weren’t put back together again, rings around a rose shape on the body are a sign of the Black Death, and the London Bridge would’ve seen fire during the great London Fire. Unknowingly, children sing about these issues during playtime. At a young age, kids don’t know what they’re about, but as they grow up, those lyrics become a segway into difficult topics.

Now that I have that thought out of the way, there are other lullabies that actually teach us important parts of life before we even know that we’re being taught them. For example, when we were babies, it is possible that lullabies helped our memories and promoted language learning skills. Even today, some people find that singing a few facts or rhyming their notes help them memorize better. Songs also support creativity. Finally, classical music also supports memory and concentration.

Other children’s songs are also pretty poetic, if you ask me. Row, Row, Row your Boat has a line that says ‘life is but a dream’. Another one is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Really, when you think about it, some of the rhymes are as poetic as the ballads of today.

And don’t get me started on the songs of other cultures and languages. That’s a whole different post entirely!

Here’s some soft music that you can listen to to remember the power of lullabies:

This is an orchestral piece that can help you sleep and/or study.

Disney songs are always great! Listen to these tunes while trying to concentrate on work!

Finally, some classical music!

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

P.S. For more of my positivity posts, check out that section of my blog! These posts help me live a happier life, and I hope they can help you too!

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Happiness: Cats and Kitties Chasing Butterflies

Posted on September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

I love dogs, but I also looove cats. During the winter, I don’t see cats outside much, but they love to prowl around by themselves in the summer.

There are a few cats in the neighborhood, and they all have different personalities. One is really shy, and another hisses at me whenever it sees me. But another one just loves to come up to me and rub against my legs — how cute!

But all of these cats love to chase butterflies. They’ll run from lawn to lawn to get at them! First, they crouch like a tiger stalking they’re prey — they are felines, after all — and then they’ll sit there for as much as five minutes before making a move. And then they pounce. Rwar!

Of course, the butterflies always get away, but I like watching the cats enjoy themselves under the sun.

Do you guys have any pets or little neighborhood friends that make you smile?

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

Home, Positivity Posts, Study Corner

Happiness: Great Teachers

Posted on August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

When I met my kindergarten teacher for the first time, I didn’t ever want to leave the school — I still distinctly remember that fond memory.

As time passed, I met new people and became a new person. But one of the biggest factors to my development (emotionally, mentally, physically, and academically) has been my teachers. I feel like I was always super lucky — blessed, even — to have the best teachers for all my different stages of life. I was just thinking about how thankful I was to every one of them. They are a source of my happiness and improvement.

I have had many, many teachers. They were all unique in their own way. I still have connections with some of them, but with others regretfully not. I’ve lived in a few cities and had to adjust to various school environments. But I had help along the way.

One thing that I loved was that instead of just teaching us academically, all of my teachers taught my class and I proper behavior, responsibility, patience, and kindness. They were exceptional role models. My teachers loved their job very much, and through that, they infused in me a quality that I still have to this very day — my love for learning. I cannot express how important I believe it is to have a teacher invested in their job, nurturing and encouraging children to reach new heights, explore new topics, and overcome their fears.

I was able to perform two Shakespeare plays in elementary school (an unabridged version of Hamlet and and abridged version of Romeo and Juliet), thanks to two very dedicated teachers. I’m sure that it was difficult to organize us. But through that, I learned Shakespearean language, literature, and the lifestyle of the time.

In grade 8, I had a teacher that I felt was just as happy as us to go to school everyday. She constantly searched for enrichment opportunities — helping out other classes, helping the office, and letting us take the lead for fundraisers. She celebrated all of our birthdays, so we celebrated hers as well. In between our lessons, tiring (but fun) gym classes, and quiet work periods on fabulous projects, she would take pictures and videos of us. Over time, she printed out those pictures and we put them up on our classroom door. By the end of the year, it was full. And on top of that, she put together a video longer than an hour of our pictures and videos as a goodbye present.

And that was one of the years that I truly felt my love for biology — we had to work in partners and take one of each of the body systems to give a full presentation about it — anatomy, physiology, and pathology! Not to mention a full body sized diagram (it took quite a while drawing all those veins and arteries). And we also had to write a report on cells, exploring every part of them (in the end, I wrote 40 pages because I had so much fun learning about them).

Looks like I went on a tangent there. I wish I could write about all my teachers, but then you’d all be here reading about them for at least five hours! (That wasn’t even half of what I wanted to say about my grade 8 teacher.)

Anyways, I hope you all read this and wonderful memories of childhood pop into your head. Do you all have a teacher (or teachers) that hold a special place in your heart?

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

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Happiness: Vacations

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

I feel like this is an especially important topic, even more so now because it is summer.

I recently came back from a vacation, and it was really nice. I toured much of the U.S. and got to see some big cities like New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. I think my favourite part was visiting the capital, because I like visiting old monuments and museums (which there are a lot of in D.C.)

But sometimes, vacations don’t always work out they way you want them to. This is mostly because a lot of people don’t actually ‘leave’ their work lives behind. They bring their work with them physically — or they are always thinking about it. They keep on remembering the pile of work they have to do at home and consequently do not enjoy the vacation.

Another reason is having a full ‘vacation schedule’. I love to go see new things. But I would rather see five new things in one day rather than twenty. Sometimes we keep the schedule so full with our to-do list that it just starts to feel like another checklist in your everyday life. Taking time off to just relax during the vacation is just as important. Stay in bed, watch TV, or wander around the beach. Weave through gift shops and neighborhood stores aimlessly.

This isn’t to say that you can’t have a full schedule. Some people like that more than not planning their day. And that’s totally okay! I couldn’t have seen all the things in the U.S. if I hadn’t gotten up early in the morning and went out. But we get tired driving hours upon hours to the next town, and walking to different sites. In the future, I would like to have at least one day where I can go out and just explore with no time restraints.

So, for a fulfilling vacation, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Try and live in the moment. Don’t think about your work or the other things you have to do when you get home. You’ll get to that when the time comes.
If you absolutely have to work during the vacation, don’t stress about it all day. Rather, set a specific time frame where you will work, and enjoy your vacation without stressing for the rest of the day.
Know how much travelling in one day is best for you. Every person has their own needs, and some days are better than others. Don’t push yourself too hard to see 20 things in one day. Sometimes you just have to take back a step and enjoy your immediate surroundings for a day (for example, don’t try and tour all of Toronto and Ottawa in one day if your body isn’t up to it).

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

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Happiness: Rain

Posted on July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

Rain usually makes me feel happy, but it’s always related to sad things. Sometimes, I just don’t understand why. When I was a kid, rain meant jumping in puddles and using my favourite umbrella. But as I grew up, I saw rain getting more frequently used as a symbol for sadness, depression, anger, death, etc. Where did all of the rain lovers go?

As a writer, I’m guilty of portraying rain as a sign of bad events. I’ve related it to death as well, and it always seems to…fit. Maybe its because of the blockage of the sun and a lack of light, but its a great metaphor. But I haven’t come to terms with how I perceive rain yet.

Perhaps rain is both good and bad — just like how the same person, or event, can make you feel happy and sad. I’ve realized that I can’t remain as the kid in the yellow rain jacket jumping in puddles — I have to learn to look at how to improve things in my life as well.

Coming back to rain: if you’re someone that despises rain, and have a good reason for it, that’s fine! But if you want to try something new, try taking a walk in the rain. Maybe jump in some puddles! Rain calms me, and the sound of it falling helps me focus (it’s a kind of natural ambient sound). Plus, nature and walking are both good things for your body.

This little analogy helped me sort out a few ideas that I usually keep at the back of my mind… I hope that it helped you a bit too!

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

This helps me study and sleep!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz-If3A7OD0

Some soft music + rain = a great way to relax and study

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Happiness: Prologue

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Moumita Dutta

Happiness. Something we all long for, but something that many of us feel they cannot achieve. Yet, to become truly happy is the goal of a healthy life. So I thought that it was appropriate to start off this section with my Happiness series. Here, I will be writing about positive things I see everyday and ways you can make yourself feel at peace.

I called it the prologue for a reason…each of my posts is going to be a chapter. It will help me as much as I hope it helps you! I would love to document things that put a smile on people’s faces.

Something like a child eating his ice-cream, or a girl dancing without a care in the roads. Perhaps like a dog slowly becoming friends with their owner’s other pets. Whatever the case, I want to share something like that with the world, because there’s too much negativity out there. Maybe I’ll write a short piece on it or take a picture. It could also inspire me to share a way to manifest your own joy.

Stay tuned, and stay happy! 🙂

“If you want to be happy, be.”
– Leo Tolstoy