How To Make Staying at Home During Quarantines More Tolerable
Home alone.
Tim Walker, Self-Portrait with Eighty Cakes, 2008.
You’ve been given the go ahead to stay home, and luckily, you are able to work there. At first the euphoria of not having to make the commute is sweet—but then the realization that your weekend will also be spent at home, sets in. While everything is indeed very serious, understanding how to take care of yourself in the absence of certain social activities or stress relieving escapades is also important.
House plants make everything better.
Little friends on the sill, reaching for the sun. Everything is better with houseplants, and caring for them can be a great way to take your mind off of humans for a while.
The internet, of course!
With all of the online communities that exist, are introverts even introverts anymore? Of course, the internet can do harm to mental health with the house-of-mirrors effect and panic stoking. But if you’re reading this article you probably know all about that. Keep in touch with your family, video chat, watch your shows, the Internet is literal connectivity.
Douglas Coupland, Canada Picture No. 3 (Wolf), 2001, inkjet print. From the collection of Kevin Louie.
Dig into your to do list.
Remember that list your friend made you write after you expressed concerned about where your life was going? Me too, though I don’t know where I put it. Find it, start on that novel or collage—or start a new list. Creative productivity can make what may feel like perdition seem more like growth.
Learn how to make tasty drinks.
You miss your favourite bar, the gusto of the bartender and the warmth of the company. Try making some cocktails yourself in the laboratory of your home. Your friends will love your new skill, once they’re allowed to come over again.
Read, Read, Read.
History is happening, all the time. It may seem ridiculous to say this, but sometimes people feel like what is happening to them has never happened before. That is why we have books, to remember and learn from the past.
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