Seniors Helping Seniors® in home services agrees with the following by Scottie Andrews of CNN of how to occupy our time throughout the mandated quarantine brought on by CO-VID19.
Here are some ideas of how to make the most of your time:
Read everything. You always say you'll find the time to read more. Now is that time. You may not feel comfortable visiting libraries and bookstores, so download a bunch of e-books and audiobooks instead. Drag your friends into your literary abyss and create a virtual book club and video call each other to discuss.
Take a virtual museum tour. Miss the echoing halls and self-guided audio tours? Many museums offer a similar experience on your smart phone.
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Guggenheim Museum are only two of the diverse bunch that host online tours. Want to explore overseas? Google Arts & Culture has a collection of virtual walk-throughs for dozens of international museums, from Paris to New Delhi.
Pursue amateur film critisism.
Social media was made for shouting your raw opinions into the void. Now that we're all stuck in that void, maybe someone will hear you. Write a blistering review of the latest Netflix teen romp. Catch up recent Oscar winners and snubbed gems and share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter. To exchange recommenda-tions with your fellow cinephiles, join a site like Letterboxd, a social networking service for film geeks.
Learn a language – or just the basics. Learning a few phrases in another tongue will make you feel smart. Or inteligente. Or スマート. Or erevu. Don't know Spanish, Japanese or Swahili yet? Get to studying.Bolster your vocabulary. Remember when reading the dictionary was a form of punishment? No longer. Flip through a thesaurus or take online quizzes to test your vocabulary, and gradually intumesce your personal lexicon and chevvy your kin with your verbosity.
Surprise! Social distancing doesn't require you to become a shut-in.
Be in nature. It's your best bet of getting out of the house and keeping 6 feet of distance from other people. Find an area where you won't encounter crowds. Breathe fresh air. Notice things about the world around you that you didn't see before.
Start birdwatching. Coronavirus hasn't bothered the birds. Find out what species nest near you, dust off your binoculars if you've got 'em and download a birdwatching map. Sit in your backyard or near a window. You'll be surprised by how many you notice when you really look.
Go on a secluded run/walk. Yep, you can still exercise – as long as you keep your distance from others. Keep your immune system strong and clear your mind.
You need not give up your love for all things gourmet. The best prevention against the coronavirus is still washing your hands. The graphic above shows how to.
Get takeout. A lot of independent restaurants are hurting right now. Support them by eating their food. Many restaurants are switching to takeout to keep their businesses afloat. Just make sure you limit your contact with the delivery driver (though be polite) and wash your hands.
Make that recipe. It's been sitting among your bookmarked web pages – and in the hungry corner of your brain – for weeks. It's a challenge. It'll test you. But it'll taste damn good. It's time to make that difficult dessert or that day-long roast. You have all weekend to master and devour it.
Find new recipes. Read your cookbooks and pore over every culinary site on the internet. You've got the time, after all.
Your mental health is precious, especially during periods of social isolation. Take care of yourself and connect with your loved ones.
Video chat A lot. If you are alone, you don't need to feel alone. Juice your cellular data for all it's worth and video call the people you love.
Meditate. Life is slowing down for a bit. Emptying your mind and centering your awareness no longer feels impossible – and it may help you relax.
Nap. Why not?
You're sick of pacing up and down your home or watching the wallpaper. Keep your hands and brain busy.
Bring out the board games. Clue. The Game of Life. Scrabble. The classics are just as fun as you remember. Bask in the nostalgia. Get competitive.
Tackle a ginormous puzzle. It's gotta be challenging enough to keep you occupied, but not so challenging that it threatens to drive you mad.
Make art. Whether it's a page out of a coloring book or paint-by-numbers masterpiece, a knitted scarf or a piece of pottery, creating will ease your mind and keep your fingers nimble.
Do the tough stuff. If you've been putting off your taxes or completing that dreaded report, do it now and get it over with. Sorry.
Get handy. If something needs fixing around the house, whip out your toolkit and get to work. There's something about building that fills you with purpose.
No sports – now what? The season suspensions are tough, especially because they extend to nearly every televised and live sporting event under the sun.
Become an expert. Read up on your sport so that when your team starts playing again, you'll have even greater insight into the game.
Show your team some love. Your favorite players are likely as disappointed as you are that their season is on hold. Tweet them a positive message or send them a photo of you wearing team gear in solidarity. Better yet, support a charity that your favorite player loves -- that may mean more to them than anything.
Revisit an old game. You know the one – the game you watched from your dad's shoulders years ago when the crowd felt electric. The game you watched on pins and needles until your team pulled a last-minute victory. The game that made you fall in love with the sport. If you have a subscription to a sport-specific streaming service, check if they have your favorite game. If not, YouTube has clips of a surprisingly large collection of games.
Watch sports docs. Sports documentaries provide helpful context about games of the past and present – and more often than not, they're more emotionally challenging than a Pixar film. Grab the tissues and turn one on.
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Perhaps most important: Don't panic. Protect your health and continue connecting with family and friends virtually if necessary. Life may look different for a while. We will get through this together.
Can we be of assistance to a Senior whom you know?
For services and more information:
Greater Fort Lauderdale: 954-870-1229 www.seniorcareftlauderdale.com
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