What to do, what to do, what to do.

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My heart and love goes out to everyone affected by Covid-19. The families who have had loved ones pass away, people who have been diagnosed with the virus, the workers with reduced or no pay, businesses and companies currently facing huge economic loss, and the people struggling with loneliness by staying at home. But you are NOT alone! We are all in this together. It's ok to ask for help. It's so important to stay connected online and keep contact with loved ones, friends and family at this time. Staying healthy, eating well, exercising and keeping hygienic is so incredibly important. Now more than ever.

Please Please Please STAY AT HOME. By doing that, as my brother says "you're being a superhero!"  You're saving lives! You're protecting humanity!

I also want to take the time to say THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who is in emergency services or an essential worker. You are amazing. You are incredible and this virus has really shown me how much you do for us all. We all rely on you so thank you. As Jacinda Adern says "Be kind. Stay home. Save lives."

In this post, I just want to outline five things that we can do in self-isolation. (I am a student living with younger siblings so it may be partly from my perspective)



1. The first thing I did when Isolation began was having a thorough clean. This involved emptying all of my old cupboards, sorting through those "bits and bods" draws, hoovering, mopping, polishing, washing the windows and mirrors and then rearranging rooms and changing bedsheets and doctor. I also removed items of clothing from my wardrobe to give to a charity op-shop when they return which also helped to declutter. It also gives you a fresh start when doing into isolation as its new and stage times for all of us.



2. The second thing I did when Isolation began was setting my intentions with what I aim to do over the time in isolation but also set small goals that you can do daily or weekly. By making a to-do list, mindmap or schedule for what you have to do and what you would like to do is a great way to organise your time.

  • trying a new indoor exercise like yoga, kickboxing or Thai chi (CosmicKids is also a great youtube account with many fun and adventurous yoga activities for children)
  • learning a new song on a musical instrument that you have
  •  an online class or crash course that you'd like to familiarise yourself with
  • trying a new form of art like pottery, watercolour, drawing, DIY crafts, photography
  • dedicate time to relax binge-watch tv shows, watch movies, read and make your own popcorn too. 
Also setting a morning and evening routine will help you stay in the rhythm of getting dressed and getting up at the usual time in the morning which will help limit the drasticity of getting back to normal.



3. The third thing to do is based around family and doing things within your own bubble. For my family, we made our own board game on top of an old wooden play table but playing board games like Monopoly, Pictionary, Cludo, Cardgames, Uno, and Headbandz are all classic favourites. Baking is also a great way to contribute and show care for your family with some homecooked meals, cakes and cookies that you can all share together. Its a really fun and yummy way to make use of your time and the whole family will appreciate it. This also allows you to use up food which may not last for long and use homegrown local produce too. We also made home-crafted pocket dolls for my younger siblings and jewellery out of pasta is also another classic. We also have been doing a weekly themed photo competition where we chose the best photo taken within the family and use it to compete with other friends families. 



4. The fourth thing I'm suggesting to do is to spend time outside if you can. Whether this is cleaning and doing some weeding, doing daily exercise, walk pets, an exercise routine in the garden. I have two rabbits, Penelope and Dorothy, so teaching them little tricks and cleaning up after them too and making treats for them is what I like to do. Also growing and vegetables like radishes, tomatoes and strawberries keep us sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint slightly. It also helps protect our bees, keeps us happy and healthy and also allows destressing minerals from the soil to calm anxiety too.



5. And finally, be productive. This can include checking emails, catching up with assessments, doing revision for future exams, getting on top of work, watch documentaries (my all-time favourites are ones by BBC Earth with Sir David Attenborough), Signing up for volunteering events like World Vision's 40Hr famine or apply for things like the Hagar Youth Abolishionist programs, Zonta, Scholarships and offer to volunteer after isolation by doing things like planting trees, visiting elderly homes, become hospital volunteers or anything that you can do to help others. It's a great way to get involved and give back to the community and you can meet plenty of people whilst helping others too.