on coping with C19 lockdown

[gh]

depending on where you live and how old you are your experience will be different, but I suspect most everybody here is semi-confined to home.

As someone who has been a cyber-commuter for the better part of a decade, and who to boot has lived alone for the last 9 months, allow me to toss out a couple of hints:

1. keep up your normal shower/bath routine, be it daily or every second day (or even just Saturday night, just like the good old days!).

2. get out of your bathrobe and into clothes shortly after you get up.

I think you'll find that both of these things help keep one from sliding into cabin fever.


Anybody else have helpful hints?

[Dave]

I’m recently retired and telecommuted for most of the previous 25 years.

while working, I almost always got a shower before starting my early calls. 5:00am calls being the exception. I was better if I had my first coffee.

Now that I’m retired, I have something of a routine that looks like this:
-get up around 7:30
-exercise
-shower
-make or go out for breakfast.
-do the days activities
-right now, I’m trying to teach myself Portuguese
-walk
-getting better about doing more of the cooking.
-had various social activities which I’m trying to reswizzle given technology and the plague
-read
-household maintenance activities as directed by she who must be obeyed......
-I try to spend time on the boat even if it is limited to reading, listening to music, and general boat maintenance.

[Atticus]

I just wrote an email to a group of my track friends in which I outlined all good things that can come of this, and I'm going to do my damnedest to keep a positive, upbeat perspective in all aspects of my life, including the bunkering down part, which is anathema to me. Life is Good, says the t-shirt, and I buy it.
We are systematically going through all the old movies and TV shows we always liked and enjoying them again. The only time we go out is to visit family and if that takes us out, so be it!
I'm eating less and exercising more.
As you say, we are keeping to a 'normal' routine, getting dressed, making the bed, eating at the same times,

Appreciating what we do have, rather than what has been taken away from us. I guess that's it in a nutshell.

This too shall pass, and life will certainly seem even more glorious than it ever did before. It's not like we're at war; it's not even the Black Plague. Science will finger it out and till it does, be happy. Worrying does nothing.

[/unrant]

[jeremyp]

Thank God for streaming! I read that Netflix had ramped down it's power(?) in Europe. So far so good here. Maybe some more Americans will come to like/love the foreign fare (with those dreaded captions).

[DrJay]

Reminds me of the advice Bruce Denton gave to Quenton Cassidy (and which Denton apparently picked up third hand from Jumbo Elliott) in Again to Carthage: Live like a clock. This after Cassidy returns to Kernsville from winning an Olympic silver in the 1500 and is at loose ends as his running career is over, though entering law school soon. Keep to a good routine a la what a few have said above.

[gm]

I have found it very helpful to have regular Zoom meetings with my church group. We can catch up with each other's days and support each other without having to be in person. Makes a difference to be able to see faces instead of just hearing voices on a phone.

Not a lot has changed in my routine apart from not being able to dine-in at restaurants every day. Takeout is still tasty, but not the same as spending an hour enjoying the food inside the restaurant.

[bad hammy]

I'm used to living in a slightly hermit-like way and have a rural home so parts of this social isolation stuff are not hard for me to deal with. But I'll be talking a lot more with the family and friends who I know will have a hard time being shut in. It's clear that some folks are hungry for a sounding board, kind of like the one provided here . . .

[Trickstat]

Thank God for streaming! I read that Netflix had ramped down it's power(?) in Europe. So far so good here. Maybe some more Americans will come to like/love the foreign fare (with those dreaded captions).

Apparently, in Europe, Netflix has cut its bitrate to cope with increased demand without crashing. Maybe someone more techie than me can confirm if this sounds plausible?

[mcgato]

I have found it very helpful to have regular Zoom meetings with my church group. We can catch up with each other's days and support each other without having to be in person. Makes a difference to be able to see faces instead of just hearing voices on a phone.

My group of about 12 has been working from home for a couple of weeks now, and we have had a few group chats in that time. They are somewhat frustrating for me, as two or three people dominate the talking. Another two or three keep rambling on and can only be stopped by talking over them. We don't do the faces thing, so maybe that would help.

One humorous thing that I read was for households with more than one working from home: invent an imaginary other co-worker in the house. "I can't believe that Karen keeps leaving her dirty dishes in the sink without rinsing them off." It will supposedly reduce friction among the real workers. I chuckled.

[18.99s]

I'm a serious introvert, so my day-to-day life hasn't changed much, except that I've had to become meticulous with the number of squares of toilet paper used per wipe. Beyond that, I am preparing mentally and financially for the possibility of being unemployed.

[user4]

Huge positives:
I finally have learned the habits
1) "social distancing",
2) frequent hand washing,
3) avoiding crowds,

Negatives :
1) Seeing an entire nation and world in a state of hysteria,
2) witnessing such excessive hoarding.

I cant complain though, it is very likely that I would not have learned the positives without the negative. i am determined to go about life cheerful and exuding social graces and kindness as if this never happened.

[lonewolf]

Having lived alone for the last 37 years and eating 99.9% of my meals at home, not much has changed for me.. except no track meets or soccer games..I have extended my afternoon walk/jog a bit.. since there is nothing on TV except virus reports I am catching up on reading... actually missed Jeopardy yesterday.. not on purpose.. my daughter forbids me to go to the grocery store, says she will bring my bananas, the only thing I have that spoils..

[jc203]

Resist the constant temptation to check the current status of the world online or on TV.
On the plus side there is plenty of time to re-organize everything in the house and garden and to sort through back up all those neglected files and folders on your computer memory.
And walking the neighborhood (mindful of social distancing) is delightful... most everyone you encounter is willing to smile and trade pleasant greetings.

[NotDutra5]

For the last year I've worked out of my house and that was an adjustment. I decided to wake up and dress into business clothes as if I was going to work and even get in the car and go get coffee or do a bit of grocery shopping in place of a full commute. I really haven't had much trouble adjusting except now there are people at home all of the time. I still run at the same time except that now I see many more people out in the early evening. I've always also been a bit of a germaphobe so there's only a small adjustment there. I limit my time getting updates on the news as well as being informed is one thing. Being obsessed is another.

[dukehjsteve]

There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover

Tomorrow, just you wait and see