Surviving Self Isolation

This hasn’t exactly been a year anyone expected, with us all becoming masters at virtual video calls and bulk-buying toilet roll, we certainly aren’t going to forget it any time soon. As we continue to live through a worldwide pandemic, many of us have had to adapt our way of living. A few weeks ago, I had to do my part and self-isolate for 14 days after coming into contact with someone with COVID-19. Looking back, the time flew by, but at the time, it seemed as if the world had stood still, so I had to get creative with what activities were going to occupy my time. If you happen to get that text from a friend, colleague or track and trace and you need to self-isolate, I have created a list of activities that helped me and will hopefully help you get through it.

Online classes

I found that whilst I was self-isolating, it was my lack of purpose and progression which weighed heavily on my mind. A great way to keep yourself intellectually stimulated is online courses. They can be completed at you own speed and can help provide structure to what seem like never ending days. The great thing about online courses is that there are so many which are completely free! If you want to find out more about this, try looking on the Open University website.

Reading

If online courses aren’t your thing, why not try reading? I love reading a variety of books which allow me to escape the realities of today and emerge myself in a new world (yes, I have read Twilight about 10 times). Other great books are self-improvement books such as, Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King. This allows you to look at everyday events from different perspectives and self-realisation can be made. You don’t need to wait ‘til they arrive in the post for you to dive in, investing in ebooks allows you to have them with you all the time whether that is on your phone, laptop or kindle (and you are helping the environment by going paperless).

Practice Gratitude

Now, when you are self-isolating, it can be quite easy to slip into a less positive mindset. Whether you live by yourself or with family, it can affect everyone to varying degrees and can happen at any time. By practicing gratitude, it can help you to keep in mind what you are grateful for, even if at that time it doesn’t seem like there could be anything. I usually practice this on my walk to work, but during isolation, I set aside 10 minutes every morning to just sit (with my coffee) and think about what I have and what I sometimes take for granted such as my health and having a place to live. It placed me in a calm and positive mindset which helped me through the rest of the day.

Working out

Some people may be thinking that self-isolation is a great excuse to veg out on the sofa, with all the chocolate and sweets that your (very kind) friends included in your food delivery, whilst pretending you’ve never heard of exercise and all the benefits it has. The thought of putting on a home workout can hurt your soul (I know, I have that feeling), but knowing that I will feel amazing afterwards always spurs me on! Motivation truly does come after action.  (If you want to know more, head to my previous blog about motivation), and all it takes is moving around for about 20 minutes a day. Compared to the 24 hours you have, this really isn’t much to ask for. And what makes it better is that they are so accessible! Whether it is YouTube, Instagram or free apps, you have so many to choose from. You don’t need all the dumbbells and resistance bands either, bodyweight workouts are highly effective and can happen wherever and whenever you feel comfortable.

Self-care

I never truly appreciated how important this was until I began incorporating it into my everyday routine. The way you speak to yourself is so important, especially if you are having limited interactions with other people and spending time with yourself 24/7. Some days, I really wasn’t motivated to do anything, and it took me a while to figure out that it is ok to have days like that, whether you are self-isolating or not. However, it is important to not let that one day slip into two, which then slips into a week and so on. One way of improving my state of mind (and helped me to feel a sense of achievement) in isolation was to focus on myself. Whether that means I indulged in facemasks or hot chocolates with whipped cream and a good rom com, I ensured that this time was spent with no guilt or pressures to do other tasks.

Netflix

From watching The Crown to tuning into Friends for the hundredth time, Netflix is a great way to experience drama and comedy from the comfort of your sofa. However, it is important that this doesn’t become the predominant activity for the day. Staying still for that long can gradually cause health problems as well as negatively impacting your own mood and state of mind. Though I love a good binging of my favourite show, I like to limit myself this time to an hour at a time with at least two hours doing something different before I indulge in another episode.

Cooking/baking

One way to prevent a full day of binge watching Netflix could be to become the next Great British Bake Off star, and begin creating some masterpieces which are bound to be Instagram worthy. I never use to cook or bake before the pandemic, but now I am creating massive salad bowls with egg white omelettes, fruit yogurt bowls and have even baked my own protein flapjacks. At least that is something positive to come out of this year!

Checking in

Self-isolation can be a great time to take a second to think about those friends and family members who you have slightly lost touch with during 2020: sending them a message or giving them a call to ask them how they are, can be beneficial for both you and that person. With the dominance social media holds in society, it can be easy to forget the struggles of everyday life that everyone faces even though they are smiling in that selfie they have just posted. Reaching out and making sure your loved ones are ok can have a greater impact than you may ever know, and it might be after you have put the phone down that you realise how much you needed to share and talk to that someone.

Aim for small successes

I believe it is easy to forget that we are living through a pandemic and what was once an achievable goal, might not be so attainable now. When I was about 10 days into my self-isolation, I was starting to beat myself up for not progressing or having anything to show for the 14 days I had been huddled in my house. I had to remind myself that this year has not been a normal way of living and that I should be easier on myself in terms of what I am achieving each day. On those days where motivation couldn’t be found, I took success in the little things such as; making my bed, showering, cleaning and plaiting my hair. Those tasks which seem so insignificant sometimes need to be given a little more recognition when they have been successfully carried out.

As we welcome the end of the year with open arms and take comfort in the glimmer of hope of vaccines being distributed all around the world, it is so important that we continue to follow the government guidelines and practice social distancing and wearing masks.

I hope that this list of tips for surviving isolation helps you during such an unusual and unpredictable time, and if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Hope you have a great day!

Soph. 

---