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 with… and 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 about “how 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.

Equally… although 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 concentration… but 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 possible… chuck 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.

BUt now we have Netflix and we're all spoiled.

Trust me, when you're spending an extended amount of time at home, it's really helpful

to watch shows one or two episodes at a time but only on certain days of the week. It gives

you something to look forward to AND creates a schedule that's easy for you to keep.

6. EXERCISE AS MUCH AS YOU ARE ABLE

Whether it's wiggling your fingers or benching 100 pounds, just do as much as you're able

to do.

- is 100 pounds a lot? Did I use 'benching' right?

20 minutes of exercise a day can boost your mood. No matter what kind of exercise. Take

it at your own pace, do what makes you feel good. Even if you just bob around to some

of your favourite music. Our physical health and our mental health are linked so by taking

care of one you can help take care of the other.

5. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR CONTENT CONSUMPTION

Look, all personalities are different. Some thrive on the feeling of catharsis after watching

a disaster movie (which, by the way, generally always ends with our heroes still alive and

thriving) but for some the mere idea of watching such a film is stress inducing.

For most of us we're desperate to find out as much as possible about COVID-19 to the

extent that we're walking around gued to Twitter Updates and the news app. The digital

world is set up in such a way that there is always addictively more to see and more to

read, even if the core message itself is nothing new. Do we know what will cure the virus yet?

No. If I read 15 more articles will I eventually get to the one that gives me the answer? Maybe.

As such, I've taken to only checking the news and twitter when I go to the toilet.

That way I know that once I've left the bathroom I can't obsessively check headlines.

I should probably add that I go to the bathroom about once an hour so I'm always quite up

to date. Apparently this is not 'normal' and some people only go to the bathroom once

in the working day… I am baffled by that.