Maverick Life

CORONAVIRUS OP-ED

Lockdown tips and handy online resources

Lockdown tips and handy online resources

Standing together is more important than ever, and at Maverick Life we are particularly grateful for our community of readers who have sent us tips and ideas for activities during the lockdown period. Below is a detailed list sent by Maverick Life reader Delle Jacobson.

Our world has indeed changed, irrevocably, and while in so many ways changes have been alarming and in too many cases, tragic, there are also changes that are, paradoxically, heart-warming. Families are now forced to spend time together. The potential for real quality time now exists.

People are turning their thoughts inwards, contemplating those big, daunting questions that we, in our haste to keep busy, always avoided. Societies are coming together like never before, kindness and consideration have become more the modus operandi than the former knee-jerk annoyance, even anger and selfish reactions. Doing some last-gasp shopping, I saw so many unexpected, ready smiles, albeit nervous ones, and caring gestures – “Let these ladies through,” said one woman, indicating two very much older women who were in one of those interminable queues. And everyone did.

Something else I’m aware of that is slightly different in myself, is an almost immediate consideration of anything I think, hear, read or see in terms of “How can this help someone else?” So, it is that I have a few suggestions for routines and activities we can implement during the lockdown.

Physical distancing doesn’t mean lost connections

Make contact with loved ones, friends you have allowed to drift away into the ether as life became too busy.

Do you know of anyone struggling and is there a way to help? Think out of the box. Something as simple as going to shop for supplies can be an opportunity to reach out. Stop off on the way home at the front door of someone who cannot shop for themselves. There need be no direct contact – just ring them and ask them to open the door, then leave the bags there.

If you make use of an Uber (which I do) buy an extra loaf of bread, some toilet paper, some fruit or veggies and give it to your driver. These plucky folk are not only putting themselves at risk, they themselves are faced with now not being able to earn enough for themselves and their families, let alone to pay for the car they are leasing (which is invariably the case) and the petrol they’re having to buy to work (if you are feeling especially generous, ask them to go through a petrol station and pay for a few litres).

Let’s all remember, as the poet John Dunne famously said, “No man is an island.” (You will benefit too – it has been scientifically proven that an act of random kindness stimulates production of feel-good hormones. We could all do with plenty of those!)

Structure your time and get creative

  • Include a slot for one or two tasks you normally don’t have time for (that cupboard that needs sorting out, the fridge that needs a deep clean… you know what there is). Living spaces that are more pleasant to spend the next three weeks in (or more – we don’t know) will provide a welcome sense of relief and accomplishment.
  • Consider starting (or following up on) a hobby. Read, read and read some more.
  • If you are blessed with having a garden, potter around, catch up on weeding, cleaning beds and perhaps preparing for winter. Just don’t leave the borders of your turf – keep isolation in mind. I am convinced that spending time working with nature is good for the soul.
  • Pay some attention to your paperwork – organise essential documents (your will, your membership certificates and policies, etc). If possible, check that they are up to date. Make sure a trusted someone knows where they are and how to access them.
  • If you are one of the countless unfortunate employees who is now uncertain about having a job to return to, start preparing to find work. Better still, investigate what you could do remotely. Sites such as Nomad Now or Upwork are platforms on which you can advertise your skills and source work. Registration is normally free although most of these platforms do take a fee once a job has been found and completed.
  • Use this time to investigate further learning – there are oodles of short courses online, some even free. Make Google your best friend!
  • Finally, turn inward. Spend a habitual five minutes (longer preferably) meditating – there are innumerable apps, articles and guided meditations online – something as simple as mindfulness meditation/thinking could be powerful; praying – it matters not what your religious persuasion is, connecting with your sense of the ‘divine’ is and has always been, a source of comfort, inspiration and encouragement; contemplating the more esoteric aspects of being alive, on this planet, in this solar system, this galaxy, this universe… Listen to music that “does it for you” – the more it can make your soul soar, transport you, fire the imagination, soothe you or inspire you, the better. Just spending time quieting your mind and actually allowing yourself to think about the unfathomable holds the potential for amazing experiences, and who knows, may lead to you realising how utterly, astoundingly incredible the fact is that you are alive; keep a healthy sense of humour – try to watch comedies, read new jokes (make up your own!). Whatever gets your giggle on, pursue it. Laughter gets the endorphins flowing, improves your state of mind, chases the willies away… it is, as they say, good medicine.

If you have kids

Kids thrive on structure. While 21 days of staying at home may feel to them like a boon, a stay of school-going executions if you will, they will quickly become bored, fractious and look to you for attention. Do yourself and them a favour – it is easier to provide that attention if it is according to some sort of schedule. This allows for you to plan ahead, gives them something they can look forward to and keeps any one thing from becoming tedious and losing its attraction.

As for the older kids, they too will benefit from a more structured plan for their days at home. Besides ensuring that they don’t become overly glued to their screens, immersed in social media and video games at the expense of their studies, it also teaches them valuable life lessons for the future – self-discipline, structuring time and activities, delayed gratification.

Ten-to-one, kids have been sent home with some sort of homework or projects and study material. Keep an eye on how they are coping. If possible, source online material for them to supplement what they are studying or teach them to do so for themselves if they don’t already know how. Check out these handy websites courtesy of Daily Maverick.

Be sure to factor in entertainment time. While older kids most likely have their chosen entertainments, the younger bobbins need something fun to do too. There are sources of audio books (see the resources listed below) and of course, even better, read to them! The bonding that takes place when a parent reads to their children is unmistakable.

Try to include various games that everyone can play together. There are hundreds of games you can download on your smartphone if you don’t have physical board games available: “30 seconds”, “Heads Up”, charades, “What If…?”, “Trivia” and “Psych” (more for older kids), just Google party games on your phone or some such – the choices are incredible!

Handy resources

Finally, make use of some (or all) of the amazing free opportunities available: Amazon books for free or Kindle classics for free; Audible free audio books (all ages); Various free streaming videos, cartoons and movies (these may be subject to country but there are many worth investigating.); Free online classical concerts; Free educational virtual tours (anything from art to maths and science to museums and videos); More museums, theme parks, zoos and aquariums; Broadway shows (be careful here – there is a 7-day free trial, after which you may or may not decide to pay the fee per month – $8.99 or +R159.)

In closing, I have a small challenge: the now well-used catch-phrase is “stay safe.” As excellent an exhortation as it may be, I for one, am getting tired of it. How easily something starts to sound trite. As such a phrase is nonetheless something we all want to have readily on hand, I am now looking for a catchy alternative. Any takers?

A good friend often says “Look after you” – I think I will be saying that with a little amendment…

Dear reader, look after you, look after us all. DM/ ML

If you would like to share your ideas or suggestions with us, please leave a comment below or email us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of Maverick Life delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning.

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options