What are you going to do? Your favorite restaurants and night spots are closed, the movie theatres have gone dark, and so have the theatres that offer live shows. All the sporting events have been cancelled, and it isn’t even safe to invite friends over anymore.
Depending on your work status (employed, self-employed, retired, in search of employment), and the type of work you do, you may find yourself suddenly at loose ends during the daytime, as well. So, really, what are you going to do with yourself?
Believe it or not, I have two sets of suggestions. One set falls into the category of social interactions; the other falls into the category of keeping yourself happily and productively occupied “for the duration.” Ready?
Social interactions
The internet is your new best friend, your fallback for getting together with friends old and new. If you’re not already on Facebook, now would be a good time to join. And if you’re already on Facebook, start spending more time there.
The internet can also provide you with opportunities to get together with friends and family face to face, even though not in person. You may miss talking with your friends over a couple of glasses of wine or beer. You may have had to cancel a visit to your grandkids. But all is not lost.
Chances are you have FaceTime on your smartphone and/or your computer. My friend Deb, who lives in California, FaceTimes regularly with her grandkids in New Jersey and has been doing so since long before we’d ever heard of the coronavirus. She has cancelled her next planned trip to see the kids, but she continues FaceTiming with them.
But you don’t have to have grandkids (or siblings or other relatives) to take advantage of FaceTime. Use it to keep in touch with your friend around the corner, now that she and you are skittish about getting together for coffee. And since it’s a visual medium as well as a voice medium, you can show her the new outfit you ordered from Amazon and see how she likes it on you.
Facebook’s Messenger app offers another means of getting together visually as well as vocally (or just by text if you prefer). If you and the friend you want to “visit” are both on Facebook, use the Messenger app the same way you would use FaceTime. And then there’s Skype, which again offers visual and voice get-togethers. Most uses of Skype are free. (Calling a landline from Skype incurs a charge—but why would you want to do that anyway?) Instagram also has a video chat function for up to 6 people. And speaking of parties DJ D’Nice hosts “Homeschool at Club Quarantine” on his instagram channel @dnice, where on March 22nd of this year over 160,000 people danced while he DJ’d! Discord and WhatsApp are other free chat services that include voice, and text chatting.
Finally, you can have a party and invite a bunch of friends to join you — remotely. Zoom is an application primarily used for remote business meetings with which any number of people can get hooked in to a “conference.” If you limit your get-together to half an hour, it’s free. Or take some of the money you’re saving by not going out to your fave restaurant or other entertainment, and go for the Zoom plan that will let you stay in the conference for as long as you want. Invite your friends to pour a beverage (“adult” or soft), sit in front of the computer, and have a party or just a conversation.
Keep yourself productively busy
There are plenty of projects around the house and on your computer that aren’t “busy work” but are genuinely useful and really need to be done. What better time than now to do them?
Let’s start with a subject that’s dear to my own heart: writing. How many of you reading this have had an idea for a book, whether it’s the next Great American Novel, a self-help book, or a children’s story, but have put off sitting down and writing it for lack of time? You said maybe you’d write it some day when you retired. Well, now’s your opportunity. Go for it!
And speaking of writing, how about writing your memoirs, or your family history? I don’t mean for you to write this for publication. No, you’re writing for your children, your grandchildren, your great-grands, and beyond, and perhaps for your nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well.
Now, while you’re at your computer, when’s the last time you went through it deleting old files you don’t need anymore? “Housecleaning” is a term that applies to your computer as well as to your kitchen. You go through your spice rack periodically, getting rid of old spices that have lost their pungency. You go through your fridge periodically, getting rid of old foods that should no longer be eaten even if they haven’t yet turned into “science experiments.”
You go through your closets periodically, getting rid of clothes that no longer fit you or suit you. Do the same with your computer. Delete files you are sure you have no further need for. You’ll make room on your hard drive for new files and may well find your computer executing saves and other functions faster.
Now, moving on from your computer and getting back to your closets, when’s the last time you went through them all to see what’s in them — clothing and otherwise — that you and your family no longer want or need? Fill giant-sized bags with all the things you want to give away. When it’s once again safe to do so, you can venture out and drop the bags off at your favorite thrift store or other charity. And now that your closets are emptier, reorganize them.
Until then go online and check out organizations like Vietnam Veterans of American at scheduleapickup.com or American Veterans at amvets.org.
What else in your house needs reorganizing? Your kitchen cabinets? Your bookshelves? Your kids’ toys? Maybe this is even a good time to reorganize the furniture in your living room, family room, or kids’ rooms.
Some day — in the not-too-distant future, I hope — the need for social isolation will be over. But until then, you have ways to “visit” with your friends and plenty of projects to keep you occupied between visits.