10 Tips for Beating Isolation Boredom
During these uncertain times we have all been warned to stay at home to slow the spread of Covid-19, and let the NHS save lives. During all of this sudden time at home, many of us find ourselves in, we are struggling to find ways of entertaining ourselves. Many are struggling to find the motivation to work from home. If you stay tuned, we will be posting a blog next week with tips on how to keep motivated when working from home. Today we are looking at beating the boredom. I have found myself moving furniture around out of boredom and just to make my house look like a different place! So, here are our No5a top tips to beat boredom collated by our No5a colleagues.
1. Make a List/keep a diary
Are there lots of things you’ve always wanted to try, like learning how to paint, or learning how to play that guitar you bought years ago with the best intentions? Perhaps there is some work around the garden or house you’ve always wanted to finish. This quarantine has suddenly given us all the time int he world to finally get round to thinking about these kinds of things again. So one of our best tips in beating isolation boredom is to make a list of goals. Give yourself something to aim for and achieve. Furthermore, you could then keep a diary log to track your progress and review your work.
2. Make a Daily Schedule
One of the best ways to beat the boredom is to try and get into a routine in order to keep things as normal as possible whilst we are staying at home. So make a daily schedule of chores, working from home timetables or even schedule in some time to learn something new/develop a new skill/self-reflect. Don’t forget to include breaks and days off in your scheduling too!
3. Video call
As humans, we are social creatures and not being able to socialise makes many of us feel like we’re just existing and not living. Well luckily for us we live in a time of advanced technology and although we cannot hug or be with all of the ones we love and care about, they’re only a phone-call away! There are many apps now that can enable you to see and video call your loved ones, such as Skype, Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Facetime, HouseParty and more. Furthermore, many of these apps have facilities for you to play games and pub quizzes. So why don’t you have a little bit of fun and create a themed quiz night for you to enjoy with family and friends.
4. Catch Up with Old Friends
With our busy lives and schedules, it is only natural that some people get placed on the back-burner and we fall out of touch a little bit. Now is the best time to reconnect with old friends and let them know that you are thinking of them at a time like this. Sometimes rekindled friendships are the strongest of them all.
5. Family Games Night
Family games nights are usually reserved for special occasions and particular celebrations as it is usually the only time that the family are all in the same place at the same time. However, right now, everyone is at home and many of us are at home with our family. So, it is the perfect opportunity to pull out some of the old board games or renew your miming skills in charades. And, if you’re isolating alone or apart from your family, video calls have never made it easier for you to join in from your home!
6. Fresh Air and Exercise
This may seem like stating the obvious, but it important for a anyone’s mental health to get fresh air and exercise. With the weather getting better this may be a little more tricky with police trying to stop parks and open green spaces from becoming too crowded. What I do is I wake up at 7am to go out and walk the dogs as at that time there are not a lot of other people about. Going out for a nice early morning walk – whether with the dogs, or alone – is the best way to start the day. Getting up early is also a great way to stay in a routine and not lie in and turn night into day. You could also go for a walk really late at night. Try to avoid going out at peak times, but do make sure your get your fresh air and exercise whatever the weather.
7. Do Something Nice
During this time there is an outcry for people to help others. This can be done safely and easily by us all and all it takes are small acts of kindness. Such as, picking up milk whilst doing the weekly shopping and leaving it on the doorstep of your elderly neighbour, getting the kids involved in painting rainbows on their windows for the NHS, and offering your help and services to others. This not only takes up time but is a fulfilling thing to do, and with many of us staying at home through this difficult time, one thing we feel we are missing, is doing something that is fulfilling. Helping and making others smile will always be a fulfilling act.
8. Gardening and Plants
As the weather improves many of us crave the outdoors, so another great way of beating boredom is doing a little bit of gardening or bringing the outdoors indoor and taking care of plants. Gardening is a great way to stay busy and spend time outside that sticks to all isolation rules mandated by the government. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have a garden. Greenery inside the home has never been so stylish, and it does require some time to water and care for plants inside. So ope all your windows, get some fresh air and take care of your plant babies! Many artistic people on social media are painting their plant pots to keep busy too! That is something you can even get the kids involved with!
9. Find a Good Series on Netflix
Again, living in a time of advanced technology has its advantages when you’re in isolation. Such as having a plethora of films and movies at our fingertips with muti-platform television, netflix, amazon prime and many more! Currently Netflix have incorporated a way to watch films and series with your friends into their app. This means you can watch a film or series and your friends can have a livestream commentary in a chat box displayed at the side. Of course, it is not the same thing as having movie nights and snacks with your friends but it’s a pretty good compromise!
10. Follow No5a on Social Media!
All of our staff are still working from home and are trying our best to bring our services online. We have been trying to produce some fun and interactive content across our website and social media platforms to try and keep all of our customers entertained at home. This includes having customers styling their No5a items at home so we can share inspiration with one another and continue to post great and ‘real’ content. Our #No5aArmy #No5aInYOURHome initiative has brought many interior lovers together online which has been great fun! So, don’t forget to send your images into us to be features on our page. Lets support small businesses and inspire each other!
Also, we have been offering free moodboards to our customers, not just for those planning to makeover their house, but also just for fun. If you would like one, just contact us and tell us what kind of theme including colour scheme you would like and we will see what we can do! We can also provide you with quotations on this too.
Not only all of this, but on our website we post weekly blogs with fun, advice, hints, tips, quizzes and more so check our news on our website every weekend! Have you taken our accent chair quiz from last week? If not, why not give it a go and share your results with us!
We hope that some of this list gives you some food for thought and if even one thing on it helps you find something to do then we’re happy. Next weeks blog our staff who are all working from home, will be giving you their top tips for staying motivated when working from home! So, keep posted!
Love,
No5a x
