03/29/2020
Tips for making it through all this.
-Make productive use of your excess time
-Learn something you've always wanted to.
Between youtube, skillshare, online courses, and
colleges, (a LARGE number of them free, or offering
free 'trials') You can learn anything from
knitting, to quantum physics, you just have to take
the time to learn. (I'll provide some links below)
-Clean/straighten up.
I'm sure just about everyone has SOME area
they've been neglecting, due to lack of time. A
garage, basement, a spare room, even if it's just
that 'junk drawer' that everything gets thrown
into.
-Go through/organize old pictures.
Whether they be digital, or hard copies, most
people have an abundance of photographs that you've
collected over the years, and haven't even looked
at. Now is the perfect time to sort through,
organize, maybe even post and tag people, these
pictures that have been lost to time.
-Do Your OWN research!
-Don't spread 'news' that you aren't personally an expert in. Leave that to the experts. Too much fake news gets repeated, because 'well it sounds good to me" and "it sounds legitimate" and "what could it hurt?" well guess what. just because it sounds true and legitimate, doesn't mean it is. What it could hurt, is news that IS real, will be less likely to be believed, and people, or companies could even suffer. How do you know it's not propaganda, to force you to think a particular way? Va**ng companies are spreading propaganda against cigs, fake news is being spread that advil helps spread covid. (did tylenol start it?) do NOT just copy and paste things, without checking their facts. visit REPUTABLE professional sources, like the WHO, and not just the first thing that pops up in your search feed.
-Stay active!
-If you have an excess of time, and a lack of
things you have scheduled, it's easy to fall into
everything from a lazy sleep schedule, to playing
games all day. Make sure you get up, walk around,
maybe even go outdoors Nobody says you can't go
walk around the block.You can chat with neighbors,
and others you see (as long as you maintain
physical distance) They may be going stir crazy as
well!
-Exersize! Keeping physically active, is keeping
healthy, physically, and mentally. While you're
staying home, trying to 'flatten the curve' maybe
you can work on flattening some of your own!
-Keep up on maintence. A lot of items aren't meant
to be sitting around unused for periods of time.
-make sure you start your car every few days, and
let it run for at least a few minutes. The last
thing you need is to have a dead battery when you
finally go somewhere.
-This may be a good time to do maintence on your
snowblower/lawnmower/other equipment, so when you
do go to use it next, it's in peak condition.
-Electronic equipment. Dust out that computer,
(when is the last time you did?) Run that printer.
(some printers dry out, if you don't use them often
enough)
-Maintain physical distance, not social distance!
-Being alone is a lot easier if you're not alone!
Just because you aren't around other people,
doesn't mean you can't stay in contact. There's
phone, text, video chat, social media, and an
entire world's worth of technology available to
you.
-check up on family/friends/coworkers you haven't
talked to since this all started (or longer) Check
on them, and see how they're getting along. They
may have cabin fever as bad as you do (or worse)
-Just because you can't personally visit someone,
does not mean they're not still a part of your
life.
-Relationships. If you don't get to see your loved
one as much as you're used to, keep in touch with
other methods. Video chat, talk on the phone, text,
whatever you need to do, to keep the relationship
strong. remember communication is KEY! Let absence
make the heart grow fonder.
-Lack of relationships. Being single during all
this is FAR from easy, but Now may be a good time
to spark up something new! You may have the time to
dedicate to a new relationship, and actually get to
know them, instead of jumping into bed, and never
getting to know the person behind the genitalia.
Then once all this is over, you may find you've
developed a stronger, healthier relationship, than
you might have otherwise.
-Finances. I'm sure this is a fear that quite a few
people have. A lot of people aren't bringing in the
income they were before, Take this opportunity to
review your expenses.
-Get rid of unnecessary bills. Cancel that gym
membership you haven't used since January (unless
you plan on starting back up after we can)
-Prioritize spending. Look at the things you spend
money on, and dedicate resources appropriately. Did
you need to spend $100 on toilet paper? Will you
regret that, when you have no money left over for
food?
-Plan ahead. This may be difficult with the future
being so unknown, but you can try. Don't bank on
getting help from the government, don't bet
unemployment will kick in, don't put all your eggs
in one basket, If you make the best preparations
you can now, if/when help does come, it'll give you
more breathing room.
-Find other sources of income.
Can you make crafts? Start an Etsy store
Have unused unused/unneeded items around? list
them on ebay/facebook marketplace/craigs list.
Use your talents, and make your own money. You'd
be amazed at what you can make/sell some things
for. (I know of someone who paid a stupid amount
for a simple stick, because the seller called it 'a
leprechaun sheleighleigh.)
-Help others! No matter how bad off you are, odds
are, there's others who have it worse. Take some of
your excess, and share it with others. Have 300
rolls of toilet paper? Some face masks that have
been sitting in your workshop for 5 years? Cans of
broccoli soup, that's been in your cupboard for 8
months? make some care packages, and donate them to
someone/somewhere who can put them to better use.
We have a unique situation we've never encountered
before. Let's use this as an opportunity to walk
away from it, in a better situation in some way
than we went into it.
We can make the world an even better place than it
was before.
Some Links you may find useful.
-Skillshare: learn how to do just about anything. https://skl.sh/nighthawkinlight gives you 2 months trial free.
-Coursera: FREE college courses, provided by a 190+ universities and companies like Duke, and google.
https://www.coursera.org/
-EdX courses from places like MIT, Harvard, Berkeley. http://www.edx.org/
I put a lot of time and energy into putting this together, Do me the favor and share it. I'm not getting anything from this being shared, except the good feeling that people are being helped.
Thanks!
-BC
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