In 2017, I went through my denim period. 2018 was my flashy shirt period — and now I’m entering the quarantine period of my life. Yep, life has taken a dramatic twist that none of us saw coming.
It’s kinda weird for me because I literally said at the start of 2020 that this year is going to be the “year of no drama” for me. Yeah, that worked out well, didn’t it. I feel like I’ve been thrust into a disaster movie.
As though overnight, the world has suddenly become a bit scarier. For many of us, our lives are going to change drastically for at least the next few months. Social contact will be reduced, and a great percentage of us will be living under enforced quarantine.
For those who aren’t used to staying indoors for even one day at a time, the idea of a forced quarantine can sound really scary — and tragically boring. It means no contact with friends, no spontaneous trips to the pubs — and no holidays. Yikes.
There is an obvious bad side to all this, but on a brighter note, most of us will make it through to the other side. When we get there, we can rejoice at sharing a drink with our best friends again, seeing our families, and planning awesome trips abroad. There is hope!
The key at this point is to make sure we don’t go crazy whilst under quarantine in the meantime. If you’re not sure how you’re going to get through this without trying to escape, join NatureHub as we take a look at another 7 fun things to do while you’re in lockdown.
Meditate
Before I get started with all the other stuff, I’d like to begin by recommending meditation.
More and more people around the world are meditating, and for a good reason. Among other things, meditation keeps us calm, focused, refreshed — and happy. All of this is important during quarantine. Moreover, meditation helps to give our day a bit of a routine, something which is so vital at the moment for many of us if we’re to stay sane.
Meditation is super easy to do, too, and here’s a guide that will help you to get started. Meditation doesn’t need to take up much of your time — just 20 minutes (or less) a day will do.
Oh, and many meditation apps are giving away free access during the quarantine, so you might as well want to take advantage of that!
Start a quarantine journal
Last Christmas, my mum bought my dad a book called Samuel Pepys: The Diaries.
Samuel Pepys was an English Member of Parliament who lived between 1633 and 1703. Most days, he wrote in his diary, and his topics included the Great Fire of London and the Plague.
It really is fascinating to read his eyewitness, highly personal account of what was happening during times of great struggle (and quarantine) back then. And that’s what your journal could do: it could provide a fascinating insight into the everyday of a self-quarantine that will make for absorbing reading in the years to come, not just for yourself but for anyone else you choose to share your experiences with.
After all, this is an unprecedented time for humanity. What greater gift to give future generations than your own personal account of what it was like to live under a quarantine?
But more than that, a journal can help you to cope with the anxieties of the everyday, and it can help you to make sense of what’s going on. A journal is also a great way to take your mind off things, and it can help to give structure to your day. For example, you could make it a point to write in your journal at the beginning and/or the end of each day.
Make sure to buy an eco-friendly journal first, of course!
P.S.: My dad is a typical dad who read the first two pages of the book and hasn’t touched it since.
Do an online course
I think it’s really important that our brains stay active and engaged during extreme situations, such as a self-quarantine. Otherwise, we could become listless and terribly bored!
Worse still, our minds might start to wander — and that’s where the fear gets to us.
A great way to take your mind off things while engaging your brain, then, is to do an online course. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to learn but never had the time, now might be your chance to develop your skillset. Again, a lot of platforms started offering free access for the self-quarantined folks now.
Start writing letters to people
I often hear people telling me they “love to write letters.” And yet they never do.
Of course, I get it. We live in the digital age, where it’s so much easier to send direct messages via What’s App and Messenger.
Now that many countries are under lockdown and travel bans have been enforced, what better time to write letters to your friends from abroad? You could tell them all about your unique quarantine experiences.
Naturally, this is all dependent on the airlines being able to fly mail overseas, and many of them have been suspended. You can still write letters, take pictures of them, and email the pictures to your pen pals. So 2020.
Draw the quarantine version of yourself
It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are at art, this one is just for fun. Take a selfie of yourself with your best ‘quarantine face’ on. Then, grab a pencil, a sheet of paper — and draw your self-portrait!
A few years from now, you’ll be able to look back at your drawing and remember fondly (or not very fondly) how you felt during your quarantine days. It’s existential, maaaaaan.
Start planning your next goals
I know we’re living in uncertain times, but we will get through this strange period in our lives. To help keep us going, why don’t we set some new goals?
And, no, “escape from quarantine” can’t be a goal.
Have a think about what you’d like to do when you come out of quarantine. Maybe being put into quarantine has caused you to rethink the way you do things, and as such, maybe your life will be different when you’re back among real people again. Maybe it will create a new you!
Or maybe you’ll just go straight to the pizza parlor. One never knows.
Learn how to prep greener meals
Now that you’ve been banished from civilization, you might want to have a crack at something many of us are trying hard to accomplish: going greener.
When we’re busy working 5 days a week and getting home at gone 7, it’s really hard to maintain a healthy diet, and it’s also difficult to prep our meals. We’re just so tired that we don’t feel like cooking.
Now represents the perfect opportunity to spend time getting used to new foods and learning how to prep your meals. In fact, we wrote a guide on how to go greener that you can help get you started with this one.
Conclusion
The main thing with quarantine is that we must stay active, busy, and fun-focused if we’re to get through this without going mad. Hopefully, the tips in this article have given you a few ideas, but we’d love to hear YOUR original ideas, too! Feel free to leave ‘em in the comments section below.
Now, excuse me while I get back to digging my tunnel…
We updated NatureHub with essential tips to help you prepare and cope with Covid-19 outbreak. Find local discussions, quarantine tips, recipes, DIYs, and news in your NatureHub app.