By Velena Nikolova
With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the increasing number of cases in the UK, people have been advised to self-isolate if possible, to prevent a further spread of the virus.
Self-isolation is not an ideal situation but is necessary to keep you healthy and safe.
What if there were certain things you could do to make it feel like a holiday?
Here are our 7 things to do while stuck at home:
1. Yoga/Exercise
The virus might have stopped you from going to the gym, but home exercises are as effective as attending a fitness class if done right. For good routines and instructions visit YouTube – just type in what type of work-out you are looking for (legs, tums, cardio etc). This is also a good time for yoga, which is proven to be stress relieving and improves your strength. It is very important to have a healthy body especially now while COVID-19 is still out there.
2. Clean/Organise
This is something that most people do not enjoy doing but keeping your living space clean during self-isolation is necessary. Getting rid of dust and other allergens keeps your immune system healthy and reduce the chances of being ill. However, if you enjoy cleaning and this is not enough for you, now is the time to organise the messy cupboard where you keep all kinds of things. No excuses!
3. Call family and friends
Now you’ve got all the time in the world so you can call your family members who you don’t see very often and old friends with whom you’ve lost connection. Use this time of self-isolation to reflect on what’s important in your life and do not forget to tell your close ones that you appreciate them.
4. Sing and dance
Be like the Italians! During the lockdown in Italy, the population there came up with lots of ways to entertain themselves, which include a lot of singing, dancing and clapping.
Italian entrepreneur Dragos Nistor, 29, who lives in London and is also a student at Greenwich University, said: “People back home have one very simple saying that they live by – ‘Carpe Diem’, or translated in English – ‘Seize the day’. Singing and dancing on their balconies makes them feel united as a nation and brings joy to their mundane daily routine during self-isolation.”
5. Watch movies/ read
For the movie enthusiasts out there, now you can binge-watch your favourite TV shows and not feel guilty. For people who have never seen the classic movies that are a “must”, now is your time. Amazon offers something called “Movie bucket list”. This is a scratch map of the best movies ever made and scratching one movie a day is also an exciting thing to do. For the people who do not enjoy TV, you can fulfil your time with reading.
6. Play board games
If you happened to be self-isolated with your housemates and you all are competitive and like games, congratulations! You can now enjoy playing chess, Monopoly or any board game you find at home. If you do not own any games, you can also play “Quiz”. This is a game in which each of you takes a turn to ask one general knowledge question – whoever answers more questions right at the end wins. Be creative! You might also want to try Truth or Dare…
7. Hobbies
There is something very special about having to stay at home and this is – time. Time is the most precious thing and that we often take for granted. Now you can use your time to go back to an old hobby that you had to abandon because you didn’t have time for it. Hobbies are great stress relief because you’re engaged with something that gives you joy – whether it’s painting, stamp-collecting or embroidery. Hobbies also make you more patient, which is important during self-isolation.
Now you’ve got your programme filled with fun activities and self-isolation will be like a mini holiday. And like the great philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard once said: “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
Stay inspired! Stay safe!
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