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  • Hello lovely people,

  • And some other people who aren't lovely right now because you've been locked up

  • in your houses for a while and it's starting to make you want to throttle cushions.

  • I hope this video will be helpful for those of us isolating due to the coronavirus but

  • also, once it's gone, to those who need tips on working from home or spending time

  • at home whilst ill or recovering

  • Here in the UK the government has said that no one, aside from key workers, should be

  • leaving their home for any reason other than to buy food, medicine or take one daily form

  • of exercise. Thus we've been in isolation lockdown for almost three weeks now and many

  • disabled, chronically ill and elderly people have been 'shielding' for longer than

  • that.

  • - shielding is a measure to protect people who are clinically vulnerable by minimising

  • all interactions with others, including staying at home for 12 weeks and avoiding all face-to-face

  • contact. [beat] except for with your carers and family members who apparently do not need

  • to isolate, according to the government.

  • Which makes no sense. Since they could very clearly come into contact withand then

  • come back to you and

  • Anyway! For those of you who have lived extremely healthy lives up until this point, social

  • distancing, and indeed isolating if you think you have symptoms, is probably pretty weird.

  • You're probably not used to the number of times a day you leave the house being restricted

  • or something stopping you from hanging out with your friends. And you're probably facing

  • extreme boredom, anxiety, aimlessness and a little thing we like to call 'cabin fever'.

  • But don't worry, Don't panic, as a chronically ill person who has spent pretty much the last

  • decade isolating: I've got you.

  • Even before COVID-19 hit, I probably left the house 4 times a week and two of those

  • were for a gentle stroll around the local park with the dogs.

  • - don't worry, they did have other walks, just not by me.

  • I saw only a few faces every week and I worked largely from my home office or my bed.

  • Other than not being able to go for a weekly dinner at my sister-in-law's house or step

  • inside a supermarket-

  • - who knew I could miss supermarkets this much?!

  • My life doesn't feel that different despite being locked in my house because I've already

  • learnt the coping strategies to keep me sane. I am a social isolating pro and I'm here

  • to help you cope by sharing the tips and tricks I've learnt:

  • - In descending order!

  • Because I like the way that builds excitement.

  • Disclaimer: these may not all apply in all countries because lockdown laws obviously

  • will differ.

  • 14. GET DRESSED

  • If you have experience of working from home or being ill you'll already know this but

  • it's all too easy to let your days become, essentially, slush. They just merge into one

  • another and it's difficult at that stage to pick them apart or get motivated. My solution

  • is to get dressed.

  • - Even if I'm too ill to get out of bed and that 'dressed' is just into a different

  • pair of pyjamas.

  • The daily routine of changing your clothes, washing your face and brushing your teeth

  • helps to wake up your brain and put it to sleep again at night.

  • Whether you're trying to get work done or you're using this time to learn a new skill,

  • it's important to distinguish between different times of the day and flip the switch that

  • gets you started.

  • 13. DON'T WRITE A TIMED SCHEDULE

  • If you've clicked on this video abouthow to isolate and not lose your darn mind

  • you've probably also read some other articles or seen some other videos about how to stay

  • productive whilst spending time at home. They've likely all told you that a schedule is important,

  • and it is but:

  • - prepare for the important bit

  • Don't put times on your timetable!

  • This is something that I've learnt from being ill. Some things are going to take longer

  • than you expect, some things will surprise you by taking less time and if you give yourself

  • a timed schedule all you're going to feel is failure and anxiety. You'll be constantly

  • watching the clock, making sure you're running to time and then of course you won't be

  • because working from home is very different to working in an office just like being at

  • home when well is very different to being at home when ill.

  • Write a list of things you'd like to do in the order you would like to get them done.

  • Work through your list, including lunch (which happens at a flexible time when working from

  • home because now you'll be cooking rather than just grabbing a sandwich), and you'll

  • feel a sense of achievement as each thing is ticked off.

  • The one timed thing you should clearly set is the end of your day. You can do that in

  • terms of 'x' number of hours after you started work (thus giving you more flexibility

  • in the morning) or at a specific time. Make sure that you wake up and go to bed at healthy

  • times to ensure you get enough sleep and if you're focused on productivity then make

  • sure to give yourself 'evening' time when you don't need to berate yourself to be

  • productive.

  • Equallyalthough in the short term it can feel nice to be lazy, in the long term it

  • isn't good for your mental wellbeing.

  • So planning out activities and setting goals can really help you to feel motivated and

  • stop you from feeling down. But don't let those same goals beat you over the head if

  • you take longer than expected.

  • 12. WORK IN BURSTS

  • When you go to school or work outside the house your day is broken up by many little

  • things. At school you move from classroom to classroom, often seeing different people

  • in the hallways, and the subject changes between rooms. In an office you might move between

  • different meetings, chat with a friend as you make tea or head to the toilet and take

  • a break for lunch. All of these things help keep you motivated and fresh.

  • When you're sat at home however, with no face-to-face interaction, long stretches of

  • time make your brain run down low. You need those little bursts with breaks. Every 45

  • to 60 minutes take a moment to shake yourself off. Walk between every room of your house

  • or change the topic you're working on. And, I know, you don't want to seem like you're

  • a slacker who isn't doing enough or working hard enough but my god, these are exceptional

  • times, and if you can't give yourself a little breathing space now, when are you going

  • to?

  • It's advice I can sometimes find hard to follow, wanting to just eek out my last little

  • bit of concentrationbut that's never a good idea as my work at that point is pretty

  • shoddy. Take a break and when you come back you'll be better.

  • Even five minutes on the craft project you're working on in a different room can give you

  • a fresh perspective on what you're currently doing.

  • This applies to fun stuff too. Playing your favourite computer game for hours on end?

  • Starting to see a decrease in your ability? Take a break!

  • Having a nice, chill time on your sofa? You deserve a break too!

  • - Blow the cobwebs out of your brain and everything is more fun.

  • 11. GO FOR RIDES IN THE CAR

  • I struggle a lot with chronic fatigue so sometimes moving is a big effort. Yes, all movement.

  • Getting dressed feels like too much, getting out of bed feels like too much

  • But my god if I have to stare at my bedroom ceiling anymore I will certainly lose my darn

  • mind!

  • When you're getting cabin fever-y and the world just feels too small, a really lovely

  • thing to do is to get into the car and drive.

  • - not you, ill person, you're the fancy Lady Penelope in this situation.

  • I love looking out of the window of the car and seeing rolling hills or people in town

  • and knowing that life is continuing (even if I'm in my pyjamas).

  • For me, because I'm shielding and can't go into shops or any building other than my

  • own house, I like being taken around in the car and just drinking in any views I can't

  • see from a window of my house.

  • That's my fun daily expedition! And I still stay within my safety bubble.

  • 10. STAND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR FRONT DOOR

  • - Just the other side. Maybe two centimeters out. Preferably when you can't see another

  • human.

  • Smell the air outside, let rain fall on your face, crunch gravel under your feet. Do whatever

  • you can to give your brain different sensory experiences to those in your house and thus

  • keep your mind active and your mood up.

  • The world is so much larger than the house or flat you are currently trapped in.

  • Remind yourself of that in a positive way, not with facts and figures about illness across

  • the globe, but with small sensory moments with nature.

  • 9. BE REALISTIC WITH YOURSELF

  • Right now there is a global pandemic. You may feel grief. You may feel anxious. You

  • might be contending with a heavy brain fog that you've never felt before. Maybe you're

  • dealing with illness and you just can't make your brain work the way it used to...

  • Stop beating yourself up about things taking a little longer than expected. It's completely

  • understandable.

  • A wide open day of working from home can feel like it should be full of possibilities, like

  • you should be able to get all 120 things on your to-do list done but being overambitious

  • just leads to feeling overwhelmed.

  • Set realistic goals (or even lower goals than you know you can manage) and you'll feel

  • satisfied rather than disappointed at the end of the day.

  • When I'm really ill sometimes my daily goal is 'sleep for more than 30 minutes'.

  • - Tricky but possible.

  • Try and get the majority of things done before lunch because you'll inevitably slow down

  • mid-afternoon but knowing that there is only a little bit of your list left to do will

  • give you the momentum to push through to the end.

  • 8. STREAMLINE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

  • Messy space, messy mind.

  • Not only does tidying help you to focus on your work but it also gives you something

  • to do!

  • If you're currently finding the lack of shopping opportunities difficult then tidying

  • is also the chance to discover old things you've not worn for a while at the back

  • of your wardrobe!

  • Working from home is really tough at first when all you're seeing are distractions

  • so work in bursts and use the breaks to do house things like putting the dishwasher on

  • or hanging up the washing. Equally, when you're at home because you're ill, too much clutter

  • can feel completely overwhelming, especially when you know you don't have the energy

  • to deal with it. Ask for help where possible and if that's not possiblechuck everything

  • into a box and then hide it.

  • Don't you feel better now it's out of sight?

  • 7. STRETCH OUT YOUR BINGE WATCHING

  • This is a continuation of the structure we talked about earlier.

  • Normally when I'm on bedrest due to migraines I can't have the TV on or my computer playing

  • something because it makes the migraine so much worse. That means I have to invent shows

  • in my head to keep me occupied. When I was a teenager I spent two whole years in that

  • state and I think the only way I stayed sane was to make sure I had some structure to my

  • life, even though my life was internal. So I would only play these TV shows I was inventing

  • on certain days. Like real TV at the time. If it's not Monday you don't get to watch

  • the next episode.