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| Hang On Tight |
South Africa is now in Lock-Down (26/03/2020) due to Covid 19. For us, as outdoor loving citizens, this is indeed punishment to be endured for the safety of all. It will soon become the new "norm" and hopefully all will abide by the stringent regulations set by our President Cyril Ramaphosa. So hold on tight!
Explore some of the tips outlined below, courtesy of Andre.
The Reset Guide to Self-Isolation Sanity
By Andre
Wednesday, March 25th, 2020
With the whole world facing the unprecedented challenge of Coronavirus
and Covid-19, many things are unclear. It’s easy to spiral into fear and
anxiety, especially as we isolate and distance ourselves more.
We’re working from home now, and one thing has become very clear. Mental
fortitude will be essential for us to pull through. There are a few simple
measures we can all implement to make life easier during this time. We have
compiled a basic guide to strike a healthy balance for body, mind and soul,
during our time at home.
1. Routine and Structure
Firstly, an overarching principle, if we are all set to spend much more time at home, good routine will be essential. It will prevent our time from simply sprawling and form the basis of our other beneficial measures and steps.
Firstly, an overarching principle, if we are all set to spend much more time at home, good routine will be essential. It will prevent our time from simply sprawling and form the basis of our other beneficial measures and steps.
The simple repetition of routine can be a great comfort in uncertain
times. It can provide stability and helps us get back on track.
A simple way to start building your routine is with pen and paper. List
the daily activities you wish to do. When you are satisfied with the list,
allocate times to fit them into your day.
Remember, managing your routine and time should become one of your daily
tasks. Doing his helps to reinforce your plan and to adapt and grow it as you
go. From there, plan your week and add different activities for each day for further
variety and balance.
A ‘not to do list’ is a good idea during this time. Things like
compulsive snacking while we spend more time at home can creep into our
routine. A key behaviour we must avoid now is spiralling into negative news and
speculation.
This time is an opportunity to be more intentional in our activities and
to work on our personal growth.
Routine ideas and resources:
·
Make a ‘not-to-do’ list of behaviours to
avoid
·
Plan standard tasks for every day
·
Plan unique tasks for different days of the
week
·
Keep to treating weekdays and weekends
differently
2. Social Contact
Naturally, our key concern in this time of self-isolation is loneliness.
This is an issue we increasingly deal with regardless of the current pandemic –
and the current situation will exacerbate this.
There is no substitute for face to face contact. In our current
circumstances, virtual contact is still a great source of comfort. Speaking to
friends or loved ones regularly is essential.
Structure contact with your friends and loved ones by making it a point
to check in daily. Perhaps schedule recurring calls or video calls. This can
remain and become one of the positive legacy elements of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Socialising ideas:
·
Cook together either with your co-habitants
or on a video call
·
Get the kids to do a play or recital on a
video call
·
Reach out to old friends – check if they are
ok
3. Unplugging
Just as we have to ensure we spend time with friends and loved ones, we
have to ensure we have time away from the virus. The overwhelming media and
news coverage will likely grow louder.
The pandemic seems to touch every aspect of life, and it can be hard to
ignore for even a minute. We’ll actively need to remove ourselves from its
grip.
Key to this is not to allow ourselves open-ended media access. Schedule
news downtime or even better schedule limited news time. Switch off your tv and
phone for proper peace and repurpose this time.
Unplugging ideas and resources:
·
Set a daily window for news
·
Limit the amount of open-ended time spent on
phones and tablets
4. Movement and Exercise
As we self-isolate and distance ourselves from others the space, we have
to move in shrinks. A degree of atrophy seems inevitable. Exercise is not only
important for our morale but good for health and immunity.
Those that have access to uncrowded outdoor space, can take advantage of
this for fresh air or walks. However, many others are more homebound. Either
way, we should gear our minds to get good exercise during this time.
There are many great resources for home exercise, even without any
equipment. Yoga, stretching, Tai chi and bodyweight training are all great
options.
Exercise resources:
·
We love the Downdog Yoga app and they have a bunch of
other exercise apps too. They have made these free for the next few weeks
5. Staying Productive
We have all been stunned a bit by the sudden change in circumstances.
There’s also a torrent of new information constantly coming at us. Naturally,
we would lose momentum on productivity.
If one considers the damage to the economy and savings, it makes sense
that we try to stimulate as much productivity during this time as possible.
Those who have been freelancers or consultants will likely have a good
idea of what they could do now. Others will need to be resourceful to find paid
opportunities.
Paid productivity is ideal, but many unpaid forms of productivity will
have significant benefit too, especially as we need to be more self-reliant
during this time. The cooking, cleaning, maintenance and repair of our homes
and their contents mostly fall on us now.
Productivity resources:
·
Identify one meaningful project or key work
stream to undertake during this time
·
Explore what skills you have that can be
delivered remotely. Explore the gig platforms like Upwork
and Fiverr
·
Take over some the tasks you normally outsource,
like cooking and cleaning
·
Take on home maintenance or repair projects –
most of us have a string of things we’ve meaning to get fixed
6. Air and Breathing
Spending more time indoors can leave us feeling boxed in and depressed.
Good air and breathing is a proven health benefit. One can get air by simply
getting out (if that’s safe to do) or try enhanced breathing exercises or even
meditation and mindfulness.
Breathing resources:
·
Try mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace,
not only for breathing but general relaxation and improved sleep too
7. Self-improvement
One benefit we have during this time is… time. Wouldn’t it be great to
come out on the other side of this with new skills and knowledge?
Now is a great time for reading and learning online. This could be
through courses like Masterclass or just YouTube, where one can learn almost
anything these days by searching the topic.
Self-improvement resources:
·
Read! Revisit some of the books you have at
home.
·
Read classics and other books in the public
domain – download these as free ebooks from libraries like Project Gutenberg
·
Masterclass
offers many great courses by some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from
various fields.
8. Entertainment and Armchair Exploration
Rather than grazing a mix of entertainment and news, be intentional and
take in great quality entertainment and information. We can take the time to
really listen to music as an activity in and of itself. This is a powerful way
to improve mood.
All the regular entertainment channels are available along with many new
ones that are being made free during this time. For example, the Metropolitan
Opera cannot host live productions now, so they are streaming recorded operas
for free. See the link below.
The internet allows us to explore many wonderful things from our homes!
Google Arts and Culture offers virtual tours of many of the world’s best
museums. And Google Earth has virtual tours we can take too.
Entertainment and armchair exploration resources:
·
You can listen to just about any song you
have ever heard on streaming platforms like Spotify
or Apple Music
·
Treat your home like a cinema and block off
time to watch great movies and series
·
Acclaimed chef Massimo Bottura has started a
free cooking show called “Kitchen
Quarantine” on Instagram
9. Familiar Comforts
Many of our familiar comforts lie outside our homes. However, we can
still find comfort in the ones that are homebound. Listening to music
favourites, reminiscing with old photo albums or eating some of our favourite
treats can all help us feel more at ease during this time.
Familiar comfort resources:
·
Relive vacations or other milestones by
browsing through photos and share them with loved ones
·
Fix a time for your favourite warm drink
10. Playfulness
So much of what we’re currently contemplating is very serious. It’s
important that we grant ourselves moments of levity.
Let’s encourage playfulness. Kids should build forts. Adults should
share jokes. Pet’s should be given attention.
Playfulness resources:
·
Make silly videos to cheer up loved ones
·
Use the good china. Drink the single malt you
have been saving for a special occasion
11. Get Creative
The confines of our homes are only as small as our imaginations.
Creativity can be a wonderful outlet and a way to take our minds places. An
absorbing creative activity can put us in an ultra-satisfying flow state for
hours.
Creativity resources:
12. Sleep
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| Sleeping Seal - Kalk Bay Cape Town |
More and more research suggests that we cannot overestimate the value of sleep. When it comes to our health and general well-being – even strengthening our immune systems, sleep is essential.
Without as many rigid and early appointments currently, we should
maximize our nightly sleep and even work in some naps.
Sleep resources:
·
Cut off the disruptive white light of phones
and tablets a few hours before bedtime.
·
Listen to audiobooks rather than look at
screens in bed
13. Smile
These are tough times and fear can bring out the worst in people. If you
find yourself in an abrasive social situation, remember that many people are
just scared at the moment. Being patient and spreading kindness will help
maintain our greatest asset, our social fabric.
Many of us will spend much more time with our partners and co-habitants
in this time. Normally we can take time apart to cool off tension. Without that
option, we must be more considerate.
Research shows that smiling can make us happier whether we like it or
not. And it’s contagious too.
Let’s all be as kind as possible.
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