The gifts of self isolation should not be minimized, and could even be a blessing in disguise!
Whether you’re at home with your thoughts and fears, or with loved ones, all we can do is be proactive, positive and appreciate every minute here on earth. How?
Here are some of my own suggestions and advice about how we can deal with this challenge together.
Home alone!
Things I love to do when I’m home alone or with others:
Why not see this time of self isolation as a gift or a reminder of what life is really about? Here are some of my favorite things; some are for health, for fun or even for keeping the mind stimulated or sane!
- No binge watching allowed: Cap the amount of hours you’ll watch TV, and stick to it. Unless it is…
- Online Courses and PodCasts of interest to you – this is the perfect time to
- Food, Glorious Food: Cook more creatively, with love and a sense of adventure. My family and I have been enjoying the home-made hummus which is miles better than the store bought. Let the internet or your cookbooks inspire you. Rediscover your taste buds and creativity.
– Do you prefer to bake? Then make the variations of nutritional foods you/the family like and then enjoy the fruits of your baking labours. I’ve been relishing having my freshly baked gluten-free bread which I baked in my new bread maker. I also finally created a delicious chocolate brownies recipe (gluten and dairy-free) which I can have guilt or side effect free. - Busy Hands and Minds: Make a list of hobbies you’ve been meaning to return to once you ‘have more time’ on your hands. That time is here, clearly marked as plenty of hours in days (or weeks/months) right now!
- Listen to audiobooks while taking care of household chores, walking or lying in your sunroom or garden.
- Read more. Enough said.
- Add to the above list further hobbies or past-times you have been meaning to learn or start. Have you ever wanted to learn a musical instrument, or other creative outlet and form of self-expression? No time like the present.
How do cope with self isolation?
What are YOU doing that you’re enjoying or rediscovering while you’re at home with this extra time? I’d love to hear from you, just respond to this email and I’ll be glad to read about your own ways of coping, or making the most of life.
Here I share part of my own list:
- Knitting: Start learning from YouTube how to knit or crochet. Knit more colourful scarves and blankets to keep or gift to loved ones.
- Photographs/Videos: Organize all those packs of photographs into year or subject (furniture, homes, décor, family photos, older generations or present; countries lived in, holidays or other adventures.)
- Enjoy reminiscing over said photographs with children. Tell stories of their grandparents, etc.
- Watch home videos of when children were babies/toddlers/growing up.
- Watch your wedding videos with your family
- Dig out those old scrapbooks… Now’s the perfect time to reminisce and jump back into adding to them
- Art: Create your own drawings or paintings, or colour in calming or stimulating colour books. Buy them online and enjoy!
- Finish the 500piece jigsaw puzzle or create your own from a piece of your favorite artwork – how about those old calendars or magazine images?
Benefitting from self isolation
- Musical self-expression: Learn a new instrument and enjoy the journey of self discovery
- Somewhat sporty: Dust off those tennis rackets or badminton sets and enjoy your garden or local open public land. Even fifteen minutes will get some good oxygen pumping into your lungs.
- Play mind games – board or fun games, not the Gas-light suspenseful mind manipulation kind! That’s a completely different article in itself!
- Get Organized: Rearrange or organize wardrobes/cabinets. Purge items no longer working or useful:
- Bedroom: bag those old or out of shape clothes you’ve been meaning to give away. Or repair them. Be honest with yourself about the likelihood of you wearing them again.
- Office: update files and/or the layout of your desk or cabinets.
- Bathroom: purge, organize like with like, and prettify all those items that have grown in piles over the years.
- Kitchen: clean out, purge all items that have expired or are no longer in your cooking or baking repertoire. Those old out of date spices, herbs, crockery and silverware, snacks, bags of old flour, oils, saucepans or bakeware are taking precious space. Once they are gone you’ll be able to locate everything you need so much easier that cooking and baking will once again be enjoyable.
- Basement: My basement is still in need of complete organization as half the things meant to be housed in my new ‘art studio’ in the basement are still in open boxes. In addition to the decorating tools and materials, my easels, art supplies and canvases, we also store spare household stuff like lightbulbs, packs of paper towel rolls; my sewing machine and fabrics; bar fridge and large chest freezer; and in the furnace room we have the old washer and dryer. And many art pieces from the previous house.
- Garage: If you store other items than just car/s, then this is a great opportunity to empty those storage boxes of car related items, and while you’re at it, clean out, or spring refresh, the interior of your car, too.
- Shed: Now’s the time to organize all those garden tools onto the organizing drawers and wall shelves. Get ready for the new season and get inspired by looking through all those garden magazines (or Pinterest pictures and YouTube videos) to spring into nature.
I would be glad to hear from you, with your own ideas in the comments. They may also help other visitors to this site.
Stay Safe and Positive and enjoy the gifts of self isolation!
Tanya Freedman,
Author, Artist, Editor, Designer
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