7 Things Helped Me to Survive 54 Days of Lockdown

Binge-watch is not one of them.

I understand it is not an easy time. The coronavirus scare has engulfed the planet. The positive cases emerge every day even though the government declared a complete lockdown for nearly eight weeks.

Quarantine is distressing. Some were prone to anxiety, as they feel more disconnected from the world around them. I count myself too. Even though the recovery case is higher now than for those who tested positive in my city Ahmedabad, I am still scared to go out.

When my friends or cousins told me their favorite pastime during quarantine — lockdown was binge-watch Netflix or Amazon Prime for 8–10 hours a day or sometimes 12–14 hours, I feel sick to my stomach. Insane! Binge-watch is something I cannot do.

The Universe gave all of us a do-over, and I was grateful even though part of me was terrified (still I am). But I had a great time. Probably one of the best times in all these years. I might sound weird to you, but that’s okay. This is my side of the story.

The world comes to a halt over coronavirus, and these seven things help me to stay sane:

I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

1. Turned Off All Notifications

Over the last few years, there’s been an increasingly loud call for re-evaluating the relationship between humans and smartphones. It’s not the smartphone; it’s us who crave updates every single second. We check our phones even while walking to the washroom. Notifications are stressing us out.

This time, I turned off all app notifications except calls listed on my favorite list. I check them once or twice a day.

It’s not like turning off notifications shuts you out from using the apps you like. Instead, it just puts you back in control.

2. Developed New Taste in Music

I have varied tastes in music. Majorly I have listed songs that are featured in the series. Later I search for the singer and the other albums. Someday I play random youtube music videos.

I have categorized the playlist on my iPhone Music as — Escape (500+ songs), Mood (selected 25 songs which I listen to when I am low), Lucifer (big mood changer — the best songs of all season in the Lucifer series), Morning Meditation.

I watched ‘Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists’ and suddenly fell in love with Quartet (played by VSQ). So I made a list of Instrumental, and I listen to them every day now.

Later I discover “Nescafe Basement,” the Pakistani music television series featuring live studio-recorded music performances by underground artists.

I have even listed songs that I found on Tik-Tok videos. All are international. Some Russian, some Arabic. Hooked to their music.

People’s tastes may shift based on their psychological and social needs. And I slowly understand this now.

3. Deep Clean Every Inch of Home

Certain basic cleaning chores need to be done daily; other things can be done weekly or monthly. Even before this quarantine period, I used to clean my home. The difference is, that I never pay attention to small things—this time, I did.

House cleaning needs patience. A lot of patience. And it is therapeutic.

The space behind the toilet is infamously hard to clean place. Because most cleaning tools just don’t fit. But I did clean it. The area looks shinier. I still can’t believe that I clean that space.

For all hard-reach spots, I mix lemon juice and baking soda. Let it sit for five minutes, and then I scrub clean. I feel good after this.

I used wipes with an alcohol-based disinfectant to clean door handles and knobs and remote controls that are hotspots for bacteria. And because of coronavirus fear, I was an extra freak while cleaning.

It took me 22 days to clean every spot. Throw away all things that I was pretty sure I would not use it.

I am repeating the deep cleaning next week!

4. Browse Some Amazing Stuff on Pinterest and Instagram

This practice has changed my life for good. I found people whose feed is a feast for the eyes. Pinterest and Instagram are hot with brands and consumers.

I am on both platforms and never took it seriously until the pandemic forced us to stay safe at home.

The main difference between the two platforms is definitely on the content side.

On Instagram, followers expect to see visual content about you, your personality, and your work. So you post a series of stories you like to grab attention. Hashtags play a significant role here.

While on Pinterest, they are looking to discover content, in all forms, to be inspired, learn, and share. They have a theme board style. Pin the picture to save for later. Not only is the audience's motivation different, but the type of content is other too.

5. Started writing on Medium

I discovered Medium last October through Rohan D. I Can’t thank him enough. But consistency matters, and I failed it many times.

This time I tried my best to be consistent because Medium is another platform that changed my life. I love reading articles on Medium. I have ditched reading books often just to read articles by so many writers here.

This platform is so powerful and has so much content under one roof. I don’t know if any of my articles were picked by any publishers or not, but I won’t stop writing here. (fingers crossed).

6. Enrolled Back on freelancer.com

I am a Travel Planner by profession. We all know the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry was among the first sectors to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the attendant closure of borders. Unfortunately, it will also take the longest time to revive.

I enrolled on freelancer.com in 2013 for a side gig. An Australian crowdsourcing marketplace website allows potential employers to post jobs that freelancers can then bid to complete.

Learn about content writing and ghostwriting while my travel company was just a year old. It was tough to survive in a competitive industry; only a beginner who decided to sell slow travel old school concepts while the travel agents around me were selling packages like hotcakes.

I have no idea why I left in mid. But glad to be back now.

7. I Tricked Myself to Getting Back into Making Art Again

It’s emotionally intense to return to something you love after years away. So when I jumped back into art, it made sense to start by exploring media — all the media I loved and some I had just heard about.

I got connected to art in December 2016 when I got an e-mail from Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa. India’s first multi-disciplinary arts event. I found my lost soul here.

After that, I wait the whole year for December, and when I am in Goa, you meet the twin Gemini.

My nine years old neighbor Sharvi is an art enthusiast. She loves drawing and painting. I love painting more. Every day at 16:30 for 90 mins, we transform our balcony with art supplies.

We even painted bottles, made candles, and experimented with crafts stuff, which I had been planning for five years and never did. I am preparing for an Etsy shop now.

I have learned so much from her, and I am grateful.

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