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Within the last few days, the Coronavirus has been positively confirmed in all 50 States. American’s continue to quarantine themselves, to help prevent the spread of the virus. In fact, you may have heard of “flattening the curve” of exposure and new cases. One way to flatten the curve, so to speak, is to socially distance oneself, or to quarantine yourself and your family.
Many cities and towns across the state are shutting down schools and state or local agencies. While a mandatory quarantine has not been instituted, there are some businesses, such as restaurants, that may be closing indefinitely. You may find yourself as one of the individuals furloughed for the time period of the quarantine. You’re thinking to yourself – “What will I do to be productive?”
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There are many positive things that we can do and be excited about regarding a quarantine related to the coronavirus. Most experts do not expect any shut-down of schools, businesses, etc. to last very long, but, in the mean time, there are a few things you can do to make your time at home more enjoyable.
First, you can give your home a thorough cleaning. While you may be quite neat, the Coronavirus has been found to live on surfaces (metal or otherwise) for up to twelve hours. Therefore, before imposing that quarantine on yourself, stock up on a cleaner with bleach (or hydrogen peroxide, both kill the Coronavirus) and use your free time to clean all your surfaces.
When you have finished disinfecting your surfaces, you can relax a bit. The Coronavirus quarantine, particularly one that lasts for at least a week, is a great time to “Netflix and chill.” Netflix adds new shows every weekend, and you are sure to find movies and television shows that fit your favorite genre. Enjoy documentaries? There are plenty! Comedy and action films are also plentiful. Furthermore, if you bingewatch all seven seasons of “Orange is the New Black” all night long, you don’t have to worry about getting up and going to work after a sleepless night!
Spend some time with your loved ones. Certainly, many parents are a little worried about keeping their children entertained with school no longer in session. All youth league sports practices that are so common this time of year will most definitely be cancelled; it is no secret that children tend to get bored with no extracurricular activities. No worries! Take the kids out back and toss the ball together. If you have a dog, engage him in a fun game of fetch.
Speaking of children, do not allow them to go without some educational stimulation during this time. Download some fun but educational apps on a tablet and expect them to spend at least one hour working on those learning apps. Some school districts are conducting online lessons; take advantage of these as well. A good rule of thumb might be to allow thirty minutes of play for every hour your child does educational activities.
Staying in one’s house need not be dangerous to one’s mental health! Even if you live alone, you can still find a great deal of things to do! Pick up a few good books, bingewatch those movies on your list (you know, the ones you marked before Christmas to watch but just “haven’t gotten around to them” yet?), and perhaps engage in a little spring cleaning! (No better time than now to go through closets and toss items you never use!)
As with any other difficult time, sometimes you just have to make the best of a tough situation. With a little preparedness, you can still enjoy the Coronavirus stay-cation!
