The unfortunate thing about the recent lockdown is that many people are alone with little or no interaction. Even for the most obstinate introverts this may be proving quite difficult. But fear not! View this weird little moment in our collective existence to catch up on those beautiful little things that usually get pushed aside by all the more pressing proceedings of everyday life. Here’s a little list to help you healthily pass the time until we can all go outside again:
I’m personally massively guilty of this one and I’m sure a lot of you reading this are too – but that’s okay. It’s very easy to become so entangled in our routines that we forget to check in with even our very best friends in the whole wide world. Now is the time to make up for lost time. And if you can, why not try and make it a regular thing when you transition back into normal life?
In the age of Netflix, and Disney+, and Amazon Prime, and HBO Max (you get the picture), we are drowning in new content designed to perpetually hold our gaze. But you can’t quite beat Sunset Boulevard or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. As a prolific watcher of films, I’ve been trying to catch up on some classics and it’s been incredibly rewarding to look back on a completely different era of cinema. They really don’t make ‘em like they used to!
Being creative is great for the mind. Doing some painting, writing a short story or some poetry, maybe even going as far as to take up a new hobby like knitting, allows us to slip out of the stiff perfectionism of our working lives (which makes even more sense for those of us not currently working). Embracing the messiness of lockdown with some imperfect creativity will help to relax your mindset and make all of this just that bit more bearable.
Marie Kondo doesn’t have a Netflix series for nothing. I am a moderate hoarder and when I do occasionally clean out my house, I feel so much better for it. Having a clean, organised living/working space will improve your state of mind and make you feel like you have more control over your current situation. It’s also a great opportunity to get rid of some old possessions that you don’t use any more too. With old clothes and furnishings, try donating them – there are a lot of people, especially right now, who can do with all the help they can get. Help yourself and help others.
With loads of ways to still see our friends and family through our screens, this opens up myriad ways to hang out and have fun. You could all agree on a film to watch and then discuss it afterwards or start a book club. Hold a weekly quiz, with a different member of your friend group or family playing quizmaster every week. Dua Lipa, Childish Gambino, and The Weeknd have all released albums in the last month – why not have a listening party? Or you could just chat like the old times.
Not only another great way to be creative and engage with others, an open, honest blog is a great way to explore what we’re dealing with currently. This is obviously a very unique scenario that we’re unlikely to encounter again which makes your account of the current state of the world very interesting. Maybe one day your kids might be interested in what occurred during the lockdown and you’ll have this neat little blog to rediscover. Additionally, you can treat it like a journal which in turn is a very healthy way to manage any feelings of sadness or anxiety.
And if all of that fails…
Learn a dance on TikTok. If you can’t beat the kids, join ‘em.
