Travel restrictions and forced social behavioral change will be much harder for some than others. For people who habitually keep their own lives interesting, being sequestered or having movements restricted is inconvenient but not jarring. Folks who rely on action and stimuli to entertain themselves may struggle.
In no particular order, here are 10 suggestions on how to pass the time in positive ways:
- Read a real book from start to finish. Read in silence, without the distraction of ambient noise such as the TV, phone, or computer. If in doubt about what to select, pick out a classic. Hemingway, for example, is money.
- Incorporate unplugged time into every structured day. Mine comes when I walk the dogs twice each day on routes that spoke in every direction from the house as well as area parklands.
- Write and mail a post card or handwritten note to a friend. Never has the timing been better than today to touch a life through a sneak attack by a postage stamp in a mailbox.
- Knock out writing your holiday greeting cards way in advance. If it has been awhile since you sent (a real) one, 2020 looms as the perfect year to do so. Getting them done now will also help make the holiday season much less stressful.
- Practice daily mindfulness. Do not dwell on hypothetical “what ifs” but always practice effective Worry Circle management. If you cannot control something that creates stress, refuse to consider it. Block it out of your mind. If you can control or resolve the issue through action or thought, do so. Mindfulness is practiced between the ears, not with the fingertips.
- Declutter your living space. Traditional thought says we have three options when we declutter: trash, donate, or sell. With truly tough times looming for so many , you might want to lean extra heavily on donation.
- Clean up, delete, and organize computer files. Assuming you are inundated with old photographs, sort through and purge your inventory, and consider creating a couple photo books with your best.
- Speak with one friend each day on the telephone. Hearing a familiar voice and spending time catching up is good for the soul.
- Straighten and clean one room at a time. If it’s a big room or major challenge, do part one day and finish it the next. Tidying up will make you feel better too.
- Consider redecorating, remodeling, or at least moving stuff around. Chances are the furniture has sat in the same places for a long time, as have the wallhangings and surrounding decorations. Change things around. Give your surroundings a new, refreshed look.
While each of these suggestions takes time, time and opportunity are two things today’s global predicament presents us. None requires a significant financial spend, which is what we want to protect.
Stay busy each day with positive activities that produce a small, medium, or large sense of accomplishment.
The new decade is off to a most unusual start, but having the discipline to do the right thing and parlay what could be dead time into productive time will help these troubling days and weeks pass more quickly.
Ocean Palmer