What to Do While In Lockdown
Once again, it looks like the United Kingdom will be headed towards a new lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. During the first lockdown (March to June), we already had the chance to experience the boredom of being confined at home.
I struggled to hang alone around the flat. I already went through a lockdown and a self-isolation and, week after week, I found a few activities that made this period far more enjoyable. I am sharing with you these activities so that you don’t need to spend days before figuring out a way to have fun while self-isolate at home.
1. Go through old pictures.
Self-isolating will give you plenty of free time to do things that you always wanted to do, but never found the right time. For example, this includes small pleasant memories seeking, aka looking at old pictures. In the 21st century, we take selfies of the cutest moments in our lives and beautiful sunsets, but we never sit down to look at them and remember all the emotions we felt.
Now we do have some time to go through these pictures. Open your photos folder on your phone or laptop and scroll the endless column of photographs you took over the years. Dedicate a good couple of hours going over all the adventures you almost forgot about. Look at all the friends you made over highschool, all the places you have been…
Getting carried away by memories is my favourite feeling.
2. Grow a plant
Even if some of us can’t have friends and family around while self-isolating, it doesn’t mean we can’t have other living beings around us. Having a plant around will give you a great company. You can tell your plant stories, use it to brighten up your room and even take it to dance on your favourite beats.
You can get a plant from most shops that do online deliveries (such as Sainsbury and ASDA).
I would recommend getting a plant that requires much attention because it will keep you more active during the quarantine. For example, a plant that needs to be sprinkled every day, or that needs fresh air and exposure to sunlight.
My suggestions would be to get a plant like a bonsai, a cactus, a snake plant or a succulent.
3. Read about Scotland
I live in Aberdeen, Scotland. I have been here for over 3 years and there are still so many places to visit on my bucket list. In the past 3 years, I have been so busy with my studies and work that I was grateful to have 2 hours a week where to read about historical places to visit. I find Scotland extremely fascinating: there are unique traditions, a rich history and landmarks to see.
Lockdown/quarantine is the perfect time to plan the next big trip for you and your friends. Do you have any idea of the castles, national parks, coasts, highlands, islands, fauna you can find around here? It is time to find out.There are many ways to do it. You can find great information on the internet, but you can also read books from local authors. Check out free ebooks by Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Scott or Arthur Conan Doyle, for example.
Wherever you live, study or work there are marvelous places that traditionally you must have visited to say that you have lived there.
4. Socialise
Being physically distant doesn’t mean being socially distant. To keep up your moral, you need to interact with your friends. Living in the internet era, you can communicate with anybody at any time, then you can use this to your advantage. After having gone through your old pictures, text your friends and set up a video call.
FaceTime, Zoom, Messenger Video Call, Google Teams are all simple-to-use software to help you run your first from-home catchup party with your friends. Some ideas for games you can play are Pictionary, the initial letter game, Kahoot quizzes or just chatting.
Calling your friends and family is very valuable. Feeling alone can compromise our mental health, but a simple call can prevent that. Even if this doesn’t affect you and you feel fine, think about the people that actually might need to talk during this challenging moment.
5. Attend an online course
Even if you are stuck at home, you can still follow a productive routine. If you can’t work at the moment, you can still register to attend online courses.
FutureLearn offers online university courses made by the top institutions in the US and UK that last 2–6 weeks. CodeCamp can teach you the basics of programming in less than 2 weeks, and Udemy provides over 130,000 online video courses.
During the lockdown, I followed an online yoga class on YouTube and a nutrition course on FutureLearn.
Fitness sessions online will boost your energy and lift your mood. While having limited access to outdoor activities, you need to find alternative ways to keep your body in shape. Subscribing to an online fitness class can be a suitable way to stay motivated as other participants will be exercising with you.
If you prefer spending time in the kitchen, baking classes might be your thing. Choosing to eat healthy, learn about dieting and take pictures of delicious pies can be beneficial to your mental and physical health.
6. Listen to a different genre of music
I am sure that while home self-isolating you will be spending some time listening to your favourite artists. Before you do that, I wanted to tell you about what happened to one of my previous favourite albums. Last year, I was very addicted to Red Hot Chilli Peppers music and, I was listening to the album Californication almost every day. I listened to it so much that now it is nauseating, I did not listen to that album for the next 6 months. So do not turn your favourite artist in your worst.
If you enjoy switching off for a bit here are albums I can recommend:
Beautiful Imperfections, Asa, from around the world
De l’accordéoniste à Milord, Edith Piaf, cabaret
NEW, Paul McCartney, rock
Four Seasons, Vivaldi, classical
7. Read the blog I write
In case you did not find yet something suited for you, I have another suggestion: read all the Healthy Freddy articles.
Well, I have just recently picked up writing on this online blog. I mostly discuss health, nutrition and fitness and publish once a week. Perhaps, if you have some spare time you could read them and give me some feedback, it would be very appreciated.
Things NOT to do while in lockdown
1. Eating junk food
While self-isolating, it is fundamental to protect your health and eating junk food is not the way to do it. The reason why fast-food shops exist is to offer people the opportunity of eating on the go when they have no time. Now that you are home with time to kill, there is no reason why you wouldn’t prepare your meals.
A study carried by the Metropolitan University of Manchester Bioscience Research Centre shows that inadequate dieting can correlate to depression. The institution claimed that eating food high in saturated fats and cholesterol can increase the risk of depression by over 40%. So avoid junk food, learn new recipes and try eating more fruit and vegetables.
2. Laying in bed
Laying in bed all day is the main reason why your routine falls apart. Even if your schedule doesn’t have any immediate deadline, you should find how to keep yourself busy, as shown earlier. Do not lay in bed if it is not necessary because this is a waste of time and you will regret it at the end of the day.
To reduce the time you lay around, you can certainly set up an alarm for 9 am every morning and decide that you will get up no later than that. Get dressed up, water your plant, follow an online course and bake a spinach pie for lunch.
3. Watching Netflix
Do not watch Netflix, ever again. I got you… Just kidding.
Of course, it’s ok to watch Netflix while confined. A movie or a few episodes of a tv show will help you relax. However, you need to limit the time you spend on your screen. Establish a new rule about screen-time that you can follow. For instance, I allow myself to watch Netflix/YouTube only past 6 pm to reward myself at the end of the day.
Reducing the time you spend on the screens will help you fall into a more profound sleep phase and manage headache and stress. By controlling the time you spend on your phone and laptop, you will feel rested and happier.
Conclusion
I genuinely hope that reading this you found something useful that you can try at home while self-isolating. Share in the comments what you are going to do tomorrow.
