How to Prevent Lockdown Insanity

12 Ways to keep you sane

Living in this temporary new world of caution, we find ourselves inundated with the patience of a saint. Well, either patience or insanity — which ever finds you first.

The four walls that surround us, usually seen as a safe haven suddenly becomes an unwelcoming confined space. Anxiety is higher, moods are lower and people no longer know how to sleep.

As we are all urged to stay at home to reduce any spread of contamination, people are finding more and more inventive ways of entertaining themselves. If you are struggling with ideas for what to do next, when you have some free time, you’ve come to the right place.

To prevent insanity, try some of these activities to keep you going…

1) Have a clear out

If your home is getting crowded with unnecessary possessions, it’s time to get rid. Take on the trait of a minimalist and look to keep things that make you and your family happy and eliminate the things that don’t. Use the phrase, ‘use it, or lose it.’

This gives the added benefit of finding those keepsakes you may have forgotten about for a while, be it photo albums gathering dust or your favourite sweater hidden at the back of your wardrobe.

2) Read a book

As nice as it is to get stuck into a few medium articles, sometimes you need more to hold on to. Keeping your mind active will steer you away from anxiety provoking thoughts.

For families, why not let everyone join in the fun by reading to your children, a family friendly story as part of their bed time routines. Instead of a film, or even a book of fairy tales, switch it up with a fiction novel that will help build up their imaginations.

For adults, why not introduce a weekly book club into your lives, with weekly catch up of wine with friends, as you natter about your favourite characters.

3) Send letters

Switch up your writing habits with the old fashioned way of corresponding — Letters. A much more sentimental way of communicating with your loved ones. Phone calls are meaningful but letters are a tangible connection to the people you love.

4) Quiz nights

If you’re missing the company of friends and family, and your daily facetime catch up isn’t quite cutting it, then why not try holding a grouped facetime quiz night. Organise the ultimate pub quiz to keep yourself and family entertained, drink wine and be merry.

5) Jigsaw puzzles

The latest lockdown trend it seems is to complete a 1000+ piece puzzle. The reason they’ve become more popular is because they take up a lot of time. If you’re trying to fill up you time with challenging tasks that take hours out of your day, then jigsaw puzzles may be the answer you’re looking for.

6) Create an album

It’s nice to have photos stored on your mobile, but what happens to your photos if you lose said phone? You may have forgotten to back up your photos to storage or you may have run out of storage space. These precious moments we hold so dearly to our heart, can be erased as easily as they were made.

To keep on to those moments that will carry you through your life, you should look to print out your favourite photos. They should be kept in a loving album of memories that can bring families together.

7) Gardening

If you have a patch of greenery in your garden that’s looking dim, why not use this time wisely to start gardening. Remove those weeds, plant those flowers and even learn to grow your own vegetables. Keep those nimble fingers active, all while soaking up some sunshine.

Another added idea of utilising garden space is to camp. If you have the space to, then why not escape the norm by choosing to sleep under the stars.

8) Bake

Indulge your sweet tooth and keep your kids busy with baking. Why not check out some recipes that take you out of your comfort zone.

9) Knit

As well as being a fun and creative way of using your skills, knitting is also said to be a very relaxing pass time. It is said to be just as relaxing as yoga. So, if yoga is not for you but you’re still searching for that calm, then perhaps knitting is what you’re looking for.

Prescribing knitting could save the NHS millions of pounds, a new report suggests, because it lowers blood pressure, reduces depression and slows the onset of dementia. - www.Telegraph.co.uk

10) Learn a language

How useful would it be to come out of lockdown with a basic understanding of another language, plus, it’s a great way of perking up your resume.

I find that using an App to learn languages, is far easier than watching videos or reading. You have the ability to track your progress, it’s far more engaging and you get to hear for yourself the correct way to pronounce something.

My go to app is a British app called Memrise, which can also be found online. They have a unique way of applying reputation that increases your rate of learning.

Watch and learn real conversational language from native speakers. Get a personalised learning experience that gives you just the right level of challenge to keep you motivated. We use a variety of fun and proven memory techniques that will speed up your learning. - www.memrise.com

11) DIY

Take on the challenge of home improving. Now is the perfect time to mend what’s broken in your home, repaint walls to give them a new lease of life and rearrange a room to release you inner interior designer.

12) Learn an instrument

Have you been meaning to learn an instrument for some time? Well now you have that chance. For the sake of your family’s sanity, try and find an instrument that will let you plug in headphones.

Being at home doesn’t have to be boring. Use your time wisely, make memories that you wouldn’t otherwise have the time to and just have some good, old fashioned fun.