Isolating? How To Kill Time..

So if you’re in the UK you’ll know the NHS app will alert you if you’ve been in contact with someone who’s tested positive for Covid-19, you’ll then be asked to isolate for 10 days. If you have tested positive, you’ll also need to isolate for 10 days. I’m near the end of my isolation as I tested positive for Covid-19 and I must say, after numerous lockdowns and life returning to normality.. to isolate has been agonising.

What can you do to kill time? At first I spent a few days feeling rather exhausted and rough. I experienced symptoms I didn’t think I would experience. At no point did I have a fever, which is amazing for me as I struggle really badly when I have a fever, but the symptoms I did have were not expected. I became extremely breathless during inflation – that could include walking up the stairs, walking from my bedroom to the bathroom.. I hardly live in a mansion for this to require ample amount of steps so for me to be breathless was alarming.

Does isolating drive anyone else completely mad? I can’t stay in the house like this anymore.

— Blog by NM (@naimahmckie) August 1, 2021

I’ll be honest, I struggled to find things to do whilst I was supposed to be resting. If you’re anything like me, having anxiety and depression is paralysing when you have nothing to do as your mind then starts to wander and all of a sudden you’re lost in a forest of thoughts with no direction. (A bit like where this sentence wandered off too) I spent the first few days stating how ‘bored‘ I was and how ‘lonely‘ I felt. Not to mention I was also taking care of my mother the first few days as she had covid too and is far more vulnerable than I am. After I received my positive covid test that’s when I really decided I needed to take care of myself and start resting. Here’s what I did in the days of Isolation.

Streaming

I previously had Disney+ sharing an account with a friend, the subscription lasted a year and then the account was closed. So during this isolation I made a new Disney+ account and paid for streaming for a year. A lot of new films have come out this year so there were a few I watched like ‘Luca’ – which I am yet to finish. ‘Raya and the last dragon’ and not to mention films that I’ve watched 100 million times but would watch again 100 million times.. I feel like Disney takes me back to my childhood and I’ve always thought that the messages behind Disney films are super meaningful and powerful. Also watched a couple of movies/series on Netflix (Too Hot To Handle and Love Is Blind: After the Alter are top tier)

Blog Writing

Here I am writing a blog whilst in my last 48 hours of Isolating. I’m feeling much better now and excited to get my freedom back. During this period I’ve managed to write up 3 blog posts and really focus on the type of content I want to put out onto my blog. If you’re a blog writer like me, this is such a good time to dedicate some additional time to your blog, wether that’s your posts, the engagement or even the look of your blog. Every so often I made little changes to my blog, being the font or the size of the writing but nothing majorly noticeable. I’m hoping this will make me more consistent with my blog posts.

Gaming

Gaming is another one! I have an Xbox so I’ve played games on Xbox Game Pass. My ultimate favourite is Tomb Raider, all the different versions. I love to play Lara Croft and be some badass with a bow n’ arrow climbing up rocks etc. I also spent a few hours playing Sims 4 on the computer. A story on Twitter inspired me with an entertaining storyline so I created a whole new Sims 4 game as a single young adult and started my crazy life journey (We’ll reconvene when I’ve got further into the game) – I usually just start off single, find a husband, have kids and live a fairly ordinary life but this time I’m going to switch it up a little for my own entertainment.

Emails/Letters

Another thing I found useful to do was to sort through my emails. I have three different email addresses and sometimes as you can imagine, you’re suddenly subscribed to receive emails from somewhere you’ve bought an item from then 3,000 emails later they’re all “We’re selling a brand new…” – please go away.
It’s an unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe kind of sorting and then replying to the important emails that actually require my time and attention. I then spent an hour a day going through some of my paperwork and filing my important paperwork into my documents book. Any statements etc that are able for me to view online I have changed the settings (for example my bank) so that I can receive statements online via email – save the planet and all that.

Sort through Finances

This is the adult in me trying to make sure my life is together. I spent time sorting through my finances, deciding to increase or decrease standing orders that I’ve set up to go into different savings accounts. Looking through anything I’ve set up as a direct debit that I no longer need/want to pay for, looking for any offers that could benefit me financially (cheaper phone bill etc) – making sure any PayPal credit payments are up to date as I use PayPal for any payments over £70 online due to the money back guarantee.

Routine

It’s so easy once you’re isolating to drop out of your routine. I find comfort in having a routine, I make sure I head to bed around the same time everyday. I wake up around the same time everyday without the need for an alarm, but I have one just in case. Once my alarm goes off, I get out of bed start my morning routine. A symptom of Covid-19 is lack of appetite and I must say, this affected me massively. I would completely forget to eat and it got to a point my stomach would start talking to me and then when I did eat, I would feel even worse (due to my IBS) – so I’ve made sure I got into a routine to eat breakfast at a set time each day just as I would before I go to work. The same with Lunch and Dinner.

Decluttering/Organising

I’ve been doing a little bit of decluttering and organising, but only for 30 minutes to an hour each day. I got a large bin bag and I’ve emptied my drawers and put all the clothes I no longer wear or that no longer fits me into this bin bag to either give to charity or to place online to sell. I rarely buy new clothes nowadays due to the impact fast fashion has on the environment so I do believe giving clothes away to charity and re-selling items is the way forward, there are so many sites like Depop, Shpock, Vinted and so much more to re-sell items. Again, save the planet and all that.

FaceTime/Socialising

A big part of my day has been FaceTiming friends and family members, just chatting away and them keeping me company in the times I am not doing anything. It’s a great way to build relationships with people solely focused on your conversation and no other distractions. It also takes away that lonely feeling I mentioned earlier when you have someones presence there via phone/FaceTime as sometimes it’s nice to just have someones company.

What have you been doing to kill time whilst isolating? Let me know in the comments below.