Bhubaneswar: Animesh Panda, an IT professional, lives near Rupali Square in Bhubaneswar that is declared COVID-19 red zone as three positive cases have been reported from the area. He lives with his wife, father and mother.
Following government advice, the family is in lockdown.
“There is a saying that time flies but in this situation, the days seem long. Things feel crazy sometimes. It has been very hard to stay indoors for four days. But, I’m trying to work from home”, lamented Animesh.
Animesh has chalked down a time-table for himself and his family members to spend all the boring times.
“I have chalked down a time-table for my family members. Mopping, dusting, laundry, kitchen work, etc are now being allocated and all of us follow it. In this way, I can help my wife and elderly parents in household chores and spend my spare time effectively”, he added.
This is not just the case of Animesh. It is very difficult for everybody to juggle their office work (from home), household chores (as maids are also not allowed in their society).
As the coronavirus deepens and there is a national lockdown of 21 days with strictest advice to stay at home, people are finding difficulties to stick at their places.
Here are some tips for you so that you can spend you boring times in an effective manner:
Stay in touch and give time to your family: This can be a blessing in disguise as many people just did not have enough time to spend with their families, owing to their otherwise busy work schedule. But now, some beautiful and memorable moments can be made with the kids, spouse and the parents. There can be time when the whole family sits down together and listen to the old stories of their parents and grandparents.
Now take full advantage of the social media for your good mental state. So connect and make time for friends on social media or over the phone.
Older children, Waters says, could create themes on Instagram or Snapchat where they can share their experiences and tips with friends. With younger children it might be scheduling in some video calls with friends and family.
Watch series with your family: You can also enjoy your family times by watching so many interesting series on apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot Star, Zee5, Voot etc which you might have wished to watch but never had enough time to do so. This seems to be the perfect time to catch up with most of the series.
Follow your hobby: This is a perfect time to catch up with all your hobbies like painting, listening to music, playing musical instruments, gardening, cooking, etc can be indulged in with so much time to spare.
Learn from experience: It is never too late to learn something new . In this lockdown, one can always give a first try at something. There are numerous online classes regarding a wide array of things to keep you kicking ranging from cooking, dancing, singing, playing guitar, etc.
The elderly persons can learn the use of computers from the youngsters and also indulge in some online gaming.
Keep Moving: Fitness freaks can try various at-home exercises which are readily available on YouTube. For others, sitting at home and snacking all the time would lead to an unhealthy regime, so they should brace up and try to exercise at least for half an hour every day which would make them remain fit.
Do meditation with your family members to avoid mood swings.
Organize and clean: We never had enough time to organise our wardrobe, clean those ear pods, AC vents, or declutter the unused items of our household. This is a perfect time to do so. The entire house can be given a renovation with changes in every room, by introducing changes you had always thought of but never had the time to do so.
Refresh your time with indoor games: Animesh said indoor game is the best option to spend my time. I am playing cards with my family members to refresh my mood. Carrom, chess, Ludo, scrabble,brainavita, UNO, and other card games will be best option for kids. So being elder start giving time to your kids and play with them.
Read Books: For bookoholics, this is a perfect time to read the old classics, comics, fictions, mysteries, mythologies, etc of your favourite authors. The children can also be inculcated this habit of reading at these times. If hard copies are not with you, there are online books too. So catch up with your Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown and others.
Though these are some of the ways one can engage himself during these distressed times in a positive way, one can always find new creative ways to use their time judiciously.
PNN