Quarantine in a very small studio for 2 weeks - advice?
September 16, 2020 10:04 PM Subscribe
I have been lucky so far throughout the pandemic - I have lived in a house with several people who are all careful, so I have had lots of social interaction even when our city was very locked down in the spring. However, I will have to do a full quarantine for 14 days soon, in a very small studio apartment in another city where I will be staying for a few months. I have read other threads about quarantine tips, but in my situation, I have to completely quarantine (as in not leave the apartment at all, have groceries delivered, etc.), as the local authorities in the country I will be in are very strict. I will certainly have work to do, but I also want to try and incorporate things to help maintain my sanity, since I will be going from a situation where I eat most meals with other people, interact during work breaks, and also workout outside every day, to being alone in a very small space.
Also, I recognize that I am quite fortunate to even have a safe place to quarantine, and my post certainly comes off as "first world problems," but I figure perhaps I can get some tips to prepare for this prolonged period of complete isolation. So far, I plan on frequent calls/video chats with friends/family, some daily workout routine, and perhaps finding a new TV series to get immersed in to help wind down in the evenings.
Also, I recognize that I am quite fortunate to even have a safe place to quarantine, and my post certainly comes off as "first world problems," but I figure perhaps I can get some tips to prepare for this prolonged period of complete isolation. So far, I plan on frequent calls/video chats with friends/family, some daily workout routine, and perhaps finding a new TV series to get immersed in to help wind down in the evenings.
Video-chatting while eating dinner is pretty fun.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:54 PM on September 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:54 PM on September 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
I read during meals. It's easier on a tablet with a stand than with a physical book, because I can use both hands to eat and then occasionally use a finger to scroll, instead of holding the book in one hand. I suggest gathering a reading list of truly gripping books for the two weeks - see about digital library loans, for sure.
Try your best to keep to a schedule. This is hands down the hardest thing for me to do, but it might be easier for you. Eat your meals at about the same time most days, set an alarm for waking up and an alert to have lights out at night. It is so so easy to slip into a wonky cycle when isolating in a small space, and so difficult to push it back to normal. Being off-kilter also makes it harder to line up times for video chats and calls, can throw off your appetite, and more.
Since you're going from outdoor workouts to indoor, maybe look into different techniques or activities that are better for indoors. You might consider joining a virtual class, which can help with keeping to a schedule, or following along with a guided routine. You might need some different equipment, and at-home exercise equipment is really difficult to get these days, so see about gathering it before you head to your new space.
Three things can really shift the feeling of a space, for me. Music, lighting, and smells. Since you'll be in one space for fourteen days it can help to make that space feel as different as possible at different times. Lamps with multiple settings and bulbs can make a huge change - my sibling lived in a small space in Tokyo for years and they absolutely swear by what they call "evening mood lighting" - just gentle backlight on the same wall as the tv for night time, and task lighting at the desk, etc. You might not be a huge music person but look into stuff like conversational podcasts, or symphony recordings - things to fill the space with sound when you have down time or are cooking, etc. And for smells, you'll want to be careful about things like food smells, and yourself after working out - be more vigilant than you likely already are. And also have things like scented candles or lotions that you really like, or other ways to change up the scent of the space. All of these things will help cut down on feelings of being stuck in one place the whole time.
posted by Mizu at 12:21 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Try your best to keep to a schedule. This is hands down the hardest thing for me to do, but it might be easier for you. Eat your meals at about the same time most days, set an alarm for waking up and an alert to have lights out at night. It is so so easy to slip into a wonky cycle when isolating in a small space, and so difficult to push it back to normal. Being off-kilter also makes it harder to line up times for video chats and calls, can throw off your appetite, and more.
Since you're going from outdoor workouts to indoor, maybe look into different techniques or activities that are better for indoors. You might consider joining a virtual class, which can help with keeping to a schedule, or following along with a guided routine. You might need some different equipment, and at-home exercise equipment is really difficult to get these days, so see about gathering it before you head to your new space.
Three things can really shift the feeling of a space, for me. Music, lighting, and smells. Since you'll be in one space for fourteen days it can help to make that space feel as different as possible at different times. Lamps with multiple settings and bulbs can make a huge change - my sibling lived in a small space in Tokyo for years and they absolutely swear by what they call "evening mood lighting" - just gentle backlight on the same wall as the tv for night time, and task lighting at the desk, etc. You might not be a huge music person but look into stuff like conversational podcasts, or symphony recordings - things to fill the space with sound when you have down time or are cooking, etc. And for smells, you'll want to be careful about things like food smells, and yourself after working out - be more vigilant than you likely already are. And also have things like scented candles or lotions that you really like, or other ways to change up the scent of the space. All of these things will help cut down on feelings of being stuck in one place the whole time.
posted by Mizu at 12:21 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Treat it like a little vacation as much as possible. Can you have good food and treats? I've been in isolation for 200 days (in a larger apartment, but still alone) and the first few weeks were the most difficult because I was being really hard on myself. For some reason it felt like the first few weeks of quarantine was the perfect time to get a handle on exercise, start craft projects in new mediums, make complicated recipes that did not always turn out and left me hungry, pick my instrument back up.... In reality, I should have just been nicer to myself, made sure I was stocked up on treats (for me, this means good books, chocolate, fresh fruit, my knitting, and bath bombs), and used the time to just slow down a bit. Take care.
posted by k8lin at 3:49 AM on September 17, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by k8lin at 3:49 AM on September 17, 2020 [4 favorites]
I was alone for three months - my wife was stuck in Japan - during the early stages of the pandemic, and being in a high risk category, I stayed in our flat only going out once a week at most to do shopping. My regimen consisted mainly of waking, doing household chores, and then sitting down to an hour of listening to the news on internet while playing a mind-blowingly stupid online game on facebook ("Bejeweled") simply because i could be mesmerized by the little jewels exploding before my face while the BBC droned on and on about Trump or Brexit or Tottenham versus Arsenal... during the day I either wrote , researched, or practiced music on the too many instruments that are in my flat. (A lot of new guitars were sold during lockdown! Consider a ukulele?) and then, around 11 pm, I would do this again. BBC and exploding jewels.... it sort of bracketed my day and gave it structure. And then finally, my wife was allowed to enter the country and life got back to normal.
posted by zaelic at 4:44 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by zaelic at 4:44 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
Absolutely talk to someone everyday, preferably a few people a few times a day.
Get as much fresh air as possible. Can you step outside away from people? At least open a window.
Make the place as nice as possible. Hygge the hell out of it. Put up decorations and string lights if those are your thing. Get the best blankets and pillows. Light a candle in the evening. Make yourself something special to eat when it’s hard, something you only have on special occasions.
Use books and TV shows to distract yourself.
Talk to someone everyday. Video chat at least a few times a week. Maybe you can even video chat during dinner, so it doesn’t feel like you’re eating alone.
Good luck.
posted by Amy93 at 4:59 AM on September 17, 2020
Get as much fresh air as possible. Can you step outside away from people? At least open a window.
Make the place as nice as possible. Hygge the hell out of it. Put up decorations and string lights if those are your thing. Get the best blankets and pillows. Light a candle in the evening. Make yourself something special to eat when it’s hard, something you only have on special occasions.
Use books and TV shows to distract yourself.
Talk to someone everyday. Video chat at least a few times a week. Maybe you can even video chat during dinner, so it doesn’t feel like you’re eating alone.
Good luck.
posted by Amy93 at 4:59 AM on September 17, 2020
My friend just did this when she moved to Malaysia and was in very strict quarantine for 2 weeks. She didn't have a kitchen, so you are 100% ahead of her there. One fun thing she suggested was downloading the app Marco Polo. We made a group chat with 3 friends and now we leave each other video messages everyday. I tend to make mine on my drive to work and she really enjoyed "virtually" driving with me. She also gave us a tour of her accommodations which was nice so we could visualize where she was living.
I would also pack in your own spices, favorite cooking stuff and lots of familiar snacks/drinks. Sometimes you need to comfort of a certain cookie or chip and they might not be available via delivery where you are staying.
posted by victoriab at 5:06 AM on September 17, 2020
I would also pack in your own spices, favorite cooking stuff and lots of familiar snacks/drinks. Sometimes you need to comfort of a certain cookie or chip and they might not be available via delivery where you are staying.
posted by victoriab at 5:06 AM on September 17, 2020
Zoom workouts in realtime (even when they mute you so you can't say much more than hello/goodbye) provide much more social interaction than watching something pre-recorded on youtube. (They've kept me sane through six months of work at home!)
posted by noloveforned at 5:11 AM on September 17, 2020
posted by noloveforned at 5:11 AM on September 17, 2020
I have been mostly alone in a (ok, not SO small; 444 sq ft) studio apartment for six months! It's lonesome but I'm still here. Things I do: keep my window open as much as possible, put on TV in the background if I'm cleaning or doing something else that doesn't require my full brain attention just to hear people talking, take long warm showers, eat things I really enjoy that don't make me feel gross - if you love a particular fruit, order lots of it, why not? Best of luck and memail us if you're bored!!
posted by wellred at 6:40 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by wellred at 6:40 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
I did two weeks in a hotel room when I had covid in March. What was most important to me was having stuff to do that was not on a screen. I had a couple real books, my journal to write in, and a jigsaw puzzle which turned out to be the most precious thing. That really saved my poor eyes and head. Be careful not to fall into the screens 24/7 trap.
posted by silverstatue at 7:01 AM on September 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by silverstatue at 7:01 AM on September 17, 2020 [3 favorites]
Video chatting while eating seems to be more socially satisfying than just video chatting. I don't know why, but it seems to scratch the social itch. Maybe it's some ancient thing about sharing food and the video is enough to fool us into thinking that we're actually sharing the food. Or go one step further and make/buy the same food as the other person?
posted by jb at 7:10 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jb at 7:10 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
Regular zoom calls and zoom calls over food are a great idea.
My thought is - do you have a small project or hobby you can bring with you? Like, knitting, coloring, video games, something that you can easily drop into your suitcase? Something you've been meaning to do? Or a couple of books you're excited about, a new series or an old favorite to watch? I used to have a heavy travel job and this was basically what I did - I would bring a small knitting project, some art supplies, my ipad full of books and media, and work on my projects wherever I was.
posted by bile and syntax at 7:26 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
My thought is - do you have a small project or hobby you can bring with you? Like, knitting, coloring, video games, something that you can easily drop into your suitcase? Something you've been meaning to do? Or a couple of books you're excited about, a new series or an old favorite to watch? I used to have a heavy travel job and this was basically what I did - I would bring a small knitting project, some art supplies, my ipad full of books and media, and work on my projects wherever I was.
posted by bile and syntax at 7:26 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you're going to Hong Kong this Facebook support group for incoming quarantine folks goes over a lot of the process itself and has plenty of tips and even runs a buddy group that will drop off some groceries or even just call you up for a friendly chat. (I live in HK - feel free to MeMail me if you'd like more local info.)
posted by mdonley at 8:10 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mdonley at 8:10 AM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]
In a small space the air gets stale very quickly. Open windows every day for at least a few minutes.
If you can, empty the trash every day. If you really can't leave the apartment at all, keep the compostable trash in a container in the freezer.
posted by veery at 10:52 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you can, empty the trash every day. If you really can't leave the apartment at all, keep the compostable trash in a container in the freezer.
posted by veery at 10:52 AM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
You might want to think of ways you can make a space feel different depending on the time of day. Maybe it's using one of those "daylight" bulbs or lamps during daylight hours and "regular" bulbs during the night. Perhaps it's moving the table to the corner in the evening (so you have space to do your evening exercise routine) and moving it back to become your workspace in the morning. Maybe it's choosing which end of the bed is the "head" or the "foot" by making sure the direction you sit up in is not the direction directly facing your workstation.
posted by oceano at 11:55 AM on September 17, 2020
posted by oceano at 11:55 AM on September 17, 2020
Listening to podcasts or videos in the background feels a lot less lonely than just music.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:42 PM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:42 PM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]
In quarantine, you're in suspended animation and a certain mental fogginess can ensue. In such a state, it can be hard to gain clarity or motivation. The answer is - kits! Kits give you a beginning, an end, and a path for the journey.
Cooking kits, like Sunbasket, will give you a nice diversion for an hour or so with a lovely meal at the end of it. There's cocktail kits too. These can be shared virtually with a friend.
Depending on your interests - arts & crafts kits, knot-tying, bracelet-making, crocheting, origami, or even Lego kits, why not. Then there's always jigsaw puzzles.
A daily crossword puzzle, like the NY Times one, is a nice way of marking time.
Then there's of course any book you've been wanting to read or language you've been wanting to learn.
posted by dum spiro spero at 6:54 PM on September 17, 2020
Cooking kits, like Sunbasket, will give you a nice diversion for an hour or so with a lovely meal at the end of it. There's cocktail kits too. These can be shared virtually with a friend.
Depending on your interests - arts & crafts kits, knot-tying, bracelet-making, crocheting, origami, or even Lego kits, why not. Then there's always jigsaw puzzles.
A daily crossword puzzle, like the NY Times one, is a nice way of marking time.
Then there's of course any book you've been wanting to read or language you've been wanting to learn.
posted by dum spiro spero at 6:54 PM on September 17, 2020
You can easily travel with a stretch band or three, to get some exercise in (for example).
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:46 PM on September 19, 2020
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:46 PM on September 19, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Regularly-scheduled short video chat check-ins with reliable friends are a really good crutch. It's not the same as in-person social interaction, but it's pretty darn useful. Knowing that you are going to see someone's face at 4 pm every day (or whatever) is great for alleviating anxiety and keeping socialization from feeling like a "special occasion."
posted by desuetude at 11:13 PM on September 16, 2020 [8 favorites]