9 Ways to Make Your Time in Isolation More Meaningful
By: Noah Ifergan
Tags: Habits, Lifestyle, Happiness, Isolation, Improvement

9 Ways to Make Your Time in Isolation More Meaningful

As fourth year students, university has come to an abrupt ending for me and my peers. We may not have graduated from all of our classes just yet, but we’ve graduated from the amazing experiences that we’ve had the privilege of enjoying these last 4 years. The endless sleepover with our closest friends, the nights out that made for the most hilarious stories, the hours-long chilling on the couches. Gone, out of nowhere. It’s a tough reality to accept.

Many of us have returned home too. That’s never an easy adjustment, and it’s even less easy when it’s completely unexpected and with an aura of situational unease. The future is uncertain for sure. One thing we all do know is that each of us has a responsibility to keep to ourselves as much as we can in the wake of this strange reality. We will be living in a form of isolation for the foreseeable future.

So how can we make our days more interesting? How can we wake up with a sense of purpose? How can we keep a healthy mindset? Here are my tips to making our time in isolation more meaningful.

1. Make Your Bed and Get Dressed

The simplest acts can inspire the greatest confidence. If you lounge around in your PJ’s all day in a messy room, there will be no sense of order or purpose in your life. You won’t feel the need to do anything of importance because your environment will bring you down. If you want to start your day on an encouraging footing, simply tidy your sheets and put some clean clothes on. I will share with you an inspiring quote from retired US Navy admiral William H. McRaven:

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed, will have turned into many tasks completed.

2. Go For a Walk

Getting your legs moving and breathing some fresh air is a remarkably invigorating activity, especially when the sun is out and the birds are chirping. It is a healthy undertaking, both for the mind and body, and exposes you to a feeling of normalcy. It can remind you that life continues to exist beyond the confines of your home. If you are physically capable and the weather cooperates, I implore you to go for a walk for at least 30 minutes every day. Your mood will vastly improve.

While you’re walking, it’s a great idea to call a friend or listen to music. You can also make it a social activity. Going for a walk with a friend or family member who is nearby can inspire some great conversation (but remember to follow the health guidelines provided to us).

Photo by Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash

3. Read a Book

Although for some reading books is a practice lost during the transformation of the digital age, it remains immensely more engaging, rewarding, and stimulating than the majority of activities that you can do on your phone. In a time where the mind has little incentive to be stretched, reading is the best way to inspire the imagination. All you have to do is pick up a book, sit down for 10 minutes, and read. If it’s a good book, 10 minutes can turn into an hour and soon your mind will be wandering in a different world full of fresh ideas.

If you’re reading this post, then you too can read a book. Let your mind explore!

4. Avoid All Day Netflix Binging

It’s a natural feeling to want to binge your favourite TV show. It feels almost like you’re accomplishing something — as if making it through the next 3 seasons to the finale is a goal worth achieving with this free time. And maybe so. Maybe watching the shows you otherwise could not is spending your free time the way you normally do.

But what makes TV especially nice is that it can relax the mind when it’s been bent. It’s a form of meditation after a day of work. It should not be the sole focus of your days when there is no work to be done. What I can almost guarantee you is that spending 6–8 hours a day watching TV for a week will become mentally exhausting. The consistent lack of stimulation will allow your mind to waste away to complacency.

I am not saying don’t watch TV. It is actually a great activity to do, especially with your family. I’m just saying limit it to reasonable levels. Don’t let a screen be the reason you wake up in the morning.

5. Exercise

It is no secret that your physical health has a major impact on your mental health. If you remain immobile for the entirety of your days, you simply will not feel good. Getting the exercise we need will have a major influence on our sanity during this uneasy period.

Just because the gyms are closed, doesn’t mean you can’t stay in shape. There are a ton of exercising strategies that you can use that are accomodating of our current situation. Go for a run around the neighbourhood, do some bodyweight exercises (pushups, situps, etc.), or even do yoga. The point is to get moving.

PS. There are a ton of isolation exercise plans online that can get you started. Here’s one of them: DAREBEE Workouts

Photo by kike vega on Unsplash

6. Be Respectful of Your Isolation-Mates

A lot of us are returning home to living with people we’re not used to living with — in most cases family. It can be a difficult adustment to live under the same roof with these fresh faces for the majority of your waking hours. Stepping on each other’s toes in some capacity is an inevitability.

To cope, I recommend a few things. Firstly, spend time with each other doing things. Play games, solve puzzles, watch a movie. Don’t just sit around. This will help create a vibrant atmosphere. Secondly, don’t spend all your time together. It’s important to maintain a healthy distance so that the moments together still feel special. Finally, be patient. Everyone is reacting to this situation differently and we must be tolerant of each other’s moods.

7. Practice Good Eating Habits

With a fridge just a walk away at all times, hunger is an everpresent sensation begging to be satisfied. And so easily too. All you have to do is open that friendly door and gaze out at those stocked shelves that we find ourselves blessed with when we return home. If the fridge offers no luck, then the pantry is still right around the corner. It’s the perfect storm.

Fight it! Relentless snacking will not help you in any way during this sticky situation. We must eat when we’re supposed to eat — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — with only restricted and nourishing snacking in between. It’s impossible to be perfect considering the circumstances. But we have to try.

8. Designate Areas for Different Activities

It’s easy to sleep, chill, eat, and work all in your room. It’s comfortable too. You can shut the door and focus on the task at hand without any distractions. However, staying in your room all day can also greatly intensify the feeling of isolation. My suggestion is to designate different rooms in your living space for different activities. Perhaps there is another room in your house where you can do your work — maybe the living room. In addition, you might be able to find a particular spot for reading and another for exercising or hanging out. The purpose of this is to diversify your environment to reduce the feeling of isolation. It is a healthy step towards a normal life.

9. Call Your Friends and Family

Staying connected to the important people in your life is always important. Now, it’s more important than ever. Being isolated for an extended period of time is mentally taxing for all of us. You never know which one of your friends or family members may be having a truly tough time dealing with it.

We have to be conscious of this. Every time a friend pops into your head, shoot them a text. Make a list of 5 people outside your home that are most important to you and call them once every few days. Even further, use this as an opportunity to reach out to friends who you haven’t spoken to in awhile and check in with them. Fostering togetherness is so important during times of separation.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

This is an unprecedented circumstance for all of us. We are all human and when faced with wildly uncharted territory like this, we all react differently. It’s normal to feel unmotivated and even anxious about what’s happening in the world right now. My message here: don’t get discouraged — there are ways that we can make our time in isolation better for both ourselves and the people around us. It is about introducing structure and good habits into this new form of life. We’re in this together.