Amidst the global health crisis, authorities advise people to keep a significant distance from others to avoid transmitting the COVID-19 virus. But it has been a challenge for many to practice social distancing.
Human beings are social creatures. Many people love to be together with friends and family, and they will try to make friends or at least strike a conversation when they find themselves in someplace unfamiliar. But now that everyone is strongly encouraged to avoid contact with others, many feel confused and don’t know what to do.
To help you practice social distancing, here are some helpful tips:
Keep Yourself Hidden
If you want to succeed with social distancing, the first thing you need to do is keep yourself hidden. One factor that makes social distancing hard is that your friends feel like you’re still available since they can see you, and you can still see them. It’s easy to get swayed when they ask you to hang out or invite themselves over at your home. You’re back to square one with your self-imposed quarantine, or worse, they could infect you unknowingly when they come over.
You can keep yourself hidden by upgrading your window treatments. If blinds or curtains don’t work, you can get residential window tinting. Even if you live in a sunny place like Arizona, window tinting assures you won’t get seen from the outside of your home. So when your friends visit, you can pretend you’re not around.
Keep Your Mind Busy
If you’re like the millions of people worldwide who self-quarantined in their homes, you’re probably bored itching to go out after only a couple of days cooped up inside. One way to address this is to ensure your mind is at ease and working in every waking hour of the day. It’s hard to do so if you are only browsing social networking sites or bingeing on streaming movies or series. You get bored after an hour of swiping on your mobile device or after every episode. You can keep your mind busy by forcing it to work, to think, or to imagine.
- Read books – Fiction, adventure, and fantasy titles force your mind to imagine the scenes you read and to think about the characters, their interactions, and their backstories. You’re not spoon-fed with details, so your mind needs to process every word that you read. You can even join book clubs online to make your reading activity more fun and social.
- Try a new art form – Another effective way to keep your mind working is through art. Even if you’re not good at painting or sketching, you should at least give it a try. You can recreate from patterns and pictures you see online. You’re not restricted to painting or drawing alone. Go grab a molding clay, sculpt whatever you feel like sculpting, and you’re on your way to making your first life-sized bust.
- Solve a puzzle – Start solving puzzles of all kinds. Whether it’s a picture puzzle with teeny-tiny jigsaw pieces, a crossword puzzle, or an advanced sudoku block, your brain would appreciate the mental exercise. What’s great about them is that they’re available online, so you can download them, print them on paper, and start exercising your brain.
You can help flatten the curve by simply staying home. Make sure to keep your self hidden to avoid any temptations to go out. Also, distract yourself and keep your mind busy to avoid cabin fever and stay healthy and sane in these trying times.