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The Art of Staying at Home Coping with the COVID19 Lockdowns or 2020 and 2021 We're all indoors for the foreseeable future, and a lot of us are getting very bored, very quickly - perhaps getting on the nerves of other members of our household, but there are plenty of things to keep us all going as well as fun ways to pass the time. Rather than see a home isolation as being an annoyance, look at it as an opportunity to take some time to improve our lifestyle, and bring households, family and friends together even when we maybe all apart, and learn new skills. The trick is not to sit at home stewing, but to see this time as an opportunity Rest and get some good decent nights' sleep. As organisations close and events cancelled, day-to-day responsibilities can become less. There are a lot less reasons to get up early in the morning Keep in contact with family and friends. Present conditions are a great excuse to reconnect with people you have neglected, e.g. "Just thought I would drop you line to see if you are coping with all this drama ... " Keep up your exercise, or start doing some exercise The market may seem like it is in freefall, but this is the time when it is important to keep track of your finances and portfolio. People love checking their portfolio when the maket is up, but shy away when the market is down. When it is down, active management of your finances can mean the difference between ruin or coming out of a down-turn financially bruised but still afloat. Anyway, everyone is in the same boat, it is only money, and the most important thing is your health. Play analog board games with your family: e.g. Monopoly, chess, etc. Get a pack of cards and start a family card tournament Learn a new skill: Learn to play a musical instrument Learn a language Become a good digital photographer Try cooking a few new recipes Watch YouTube to learn Tai Chai, Yoga, or meditation Master a new piece of computer software to give you a new skill, for example, spreadsheeting, movie making, photo editing, scanning images Randwick Nurses during 1919 Influenza Epidemic Get your family's photograph collection in order. Involve your family by having them identify people and events pictured. Write you family history. This will also give you a good excuse to ring long lost relatives and renew ties with relatives Declutter your home. But don't become obsessive about it and upset your mental equilibrium. Maybe just do one room, or even just one shelf a day. I've set a goal to throw out 10 things each day (big or small) - it makes the task manageable. Restart a long forgotten hobby. When was the last time you had a look at that collection you used to have to concentrate on? You maybe have some time to clear out you email inbox, or arrange the files on your computer hard drive. Time to back up vital files. Get a few house renovations and repairs underway. It may be difficult to get to department or hardward stores to buy materials, so it may be a good opportunity to use up what you have stored in your shed. Now that you have done your panic shopping and have 32 cans of baked beans, it is a perfect time to go through and sort out pantry. You might find that 20 year old tin of pineapple rings in the back of the cupboard is still good enough to eat! (The Smithsonian reported that a 2015 expedition to the interior of Greenland came across a sixty year old cache of tinned food left behind by an earlier expedition. Tins of jam, meat and crackers hidden in Greenland's Arctic desert made for a delicious surprise meal for the expeditioners). Take up some arts and crafts. It does not necessarily need to be paint on canvas but could also include mixed media, found objects, print making, carpentry, cake decorating Do some creative writing. If you are ambitious you might try a full novel. Or it can be a short story, a blog about your covid19 experience, or some poetry. Start up an online or telephone book club with your friends Take one substantial novel, a great literary work, and concentrate on examining that work fully during your lockdown. Becoming an expert on one work is a great intellectual and learning experience Start up a YouTube channel Do a giant jig-saw puzzle