Cabin Fever's Better than Coronavirus...
January 26, 2020 4:37 AM Subscribe
I've been staying in to limit my exposure to coronavirus, since I live in Beijing. I've only been as far as the corner shop for the last three days. But I'm starting to get antsy. How can I keep myself entertained and sane?
If you have a computer that can handle it, a huge open world videogame can be good for this - I first played the Witcher 3 when I was basically snowed in for about a week. Less tech intensive games might also be nicely distracting depending on your interests and preferences, and you could do a separate Askme for recs - I'll get Stardew Valley out of the way here though, you should go play Stardew Valley.
Try to do some video chat with loved ones. It can be a very different experience to just a voice call. Or, if you typically have people you just text chat with, doing a voice call can be a lovely change. But having some face to face time with people is going to be good for your mental wellbeing.
I agree that you should try to get some exercise. If you don't normally work out, dancing (like you just don't care) is a good way to get your heartrate up while home alone. You might set some reminder alarms to get up and stretch and move around if you're finding that you've gotten particularly sedentary.
Having a tedious project that will feel really nice to have gotten through is also a good idea. Maybe go through your clothes and try everything on and prep to get rid of anything that doesn't work for you now? Sort through all your books? Organize and label that drawer/box of mystery cords and chargers?
Regardless, listen to music while you work. Try listening to whole albums from start to finish. Give genres you wouldn't usually try a chance.
posted by Mizu at 6:05 AM on January 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Try to do some video chat with loved ones. It can be a very different experience to just a voice call. Or, if you typically have people you just text chat with, doing a voice call can be a lovely change. But having some face to face time with people is going to be good for your mental wellbeing.
I agree that you should try to get some exercise. If you don't normally work out, dancing (like you just don't care) is a good way to get your heartrate up while home alone. You might set some reminder alarms to get up and stretch and move around if you're finding that you've gotten particularly sedentary.
Having a tedious project that will feel really nice to have gotten through is also a good idea. Maybe go through your clothes and try everything on and prep to get rid of anything that doesn't work for you now? Sort through all your books? Organize and label that drawer/box of mystery cords and chargers?
Regardless, listen to music while you work. Try listening to whole albums from start to finish. Give genres you wouldn't usually try a chance.
posted by Mizu at 6:05 AM on January 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Intensively watch things from different countries. That is, make a list of countries, watch a bunch of movies or TV from the first country for a set amount of time, then move on to the next and so forth down the list. It can make the binge watching feel more productive* and provide a sense of novelty in terms of visuals, sounds, and (secondhand) human interactions that you might be missing otherwise.
*If you want to make a project of it you could focus on identifying repeated characteristics and themes in each country's output, see how much of a given language you can pick up in X amount of time, pay attention to differences in architecture or food culture, etc.
posted by trig at 6:17 AM on January 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
*If you want to make a project of it you could focus on identifying repeated characteristics and themes in each country's output, see how much of a given language you can pick up in X amount of time, pay attention to differences in architecture or food culture, etc.
posted by trig at 6:17 AM on January 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm in Guilin and we've been on self-imposed quarantine for the last 4 days (we just want to give it some time to see what the situation really is, because nobody trusts the government and it's hard to tell how explosively this is gonna spread).
I deal with confinement well -- I watched all of 陈情令 and now am plowing through the full metal alchemist metal manga.
I've been forcing myself to do body weight workouts at home.
My wife and in laws do not handle confinement well. They've been playing a lot of mahjong, and my wife has been organizing activities for us. Dancing. Taboo. That sort of thing.
I say you pick up Proust!
posted by wooh at 6:19 AM on January 26, 2020
I deal with confinement well -- I watched all of 陈情令 and now am plowing through the full metal alchemist metal manga.
I've been forcing myself to do body weight workouts at home.
My wife and in laws do not handle confinement well. They've been playing a lot of mahjong, and my wife has been organizing activities for us. Dancing. Taboo. That sort of thing.
I say you pick up Proust!
posted by wooh at 6:19 AM on January 26, 2020
Move around. Now is the time to take up some type of exercise which involves extending the different parts of the body. Dance or yoga would be ideal. Also get moving enough to get your heart pumping, even if it's only jogging on the spot. Do so in front of a youtube video of a walking trail or drone footage if that helps you get into it.
Contact different people then usual, preferably on skype so you can see their faces and hear their voices. Start a club of local people trapped at home playing D & D on skype together or some such.
Go outside. A balcony would be best, if you have one. Failing that open a window and sit there with it open feeling the air moving and smelling the pollution and being effected by the weather.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:52 AM on January 26, 2020
Contact different people then usual, preferably on skype so you can see their faces and hear their voices. Start a club of local people trapped at home playing D & D on skype together or some such.
Go outside. A balcony would be best, if you have one. Failing that open a window and sit there with it open feeling the air moving and smelling the pollution and being effected by the weather.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:52 AM on January 26, 2020
This may take some time to resolve, so decide how you are going to deal with getting provisions. Looking ahead may help you prepare yourself mentally if it does take a while.
Skype with friends, watch videos set outdoors. Stick to a schedule, and make sure exercise and face-to-face contact with people is part of it. Definitely open a window and get outdoor air and sounds.
If there's any project you've had in mind, start it. Start that novel, learn to play ukelele, make perfect croissants, write hilarious but accurate amazon reviews.
If you need people to chat. It would be interesting to learn about your and others' perspectives, so do an open chat with mefites.
posted by theora55 at 10:44 AM on January 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Skype with friends, watch videos set outdoors. Stick to a schedule, and make sure exercise and face-to-face contact with people is part of it. Definitely open a window and get outdoor air and sounds.
If there's any project you've had in mind, start it. Start that novel, learn to play ukelele, make perfect croissants, write hilarious but accurate amazon reviews.
If you need people to chat. It would be interesting to learn about your and others' perspectives, so do an open chat with mefites.
posted by theora55 at 10:44 AM on January 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
- origami
- yoga, calisthenics, dance tutorials on youtube
- practice meditation
- sort through your old photos or konmari/ rearrange/ deep clean the shit out of your appt
- write letters
- listen to podcasts
- try to identify songs on reddit's whatthissong sub (something in that vein)
- try new recipes
posted by speakeasy at 2:30 PM on January 26, 2020
- yoga, calisthenics, dance tutorials on youtube
- practice meditation
- sort through your old photos or konmari/ rearrange/ deep clean the shit out of your appt
- write letters
- listen to podcasts
- try to identify songs on reddit's whatthissong sub (something in that vein)
- try new recipes
posted by speakeasy at 2:30 PM on January 26, 2020
You could watch Nirvana in Fire (Langyaban) if you haven't already, probably one of the best BTV and Chinese dramas ever and well worth the 50 episode investment. I think it took my mom and I two weeks to watch it all.
posted by yueliang at 3:44 AM on January 27, 2020
posted by yueliang at 3:44 AM on January 27, 2020
Maybe a bit too on the nose....but it might be interesting to read Boccaccio's Decameron -- a 14th century Italian collection of stories, told as entertainments among a group of young folks who have sequestered themselves in a villa outside Florence to escape the Black Death.
posted by apparently at 4:54 PM on January 27, 2020
posted by apparently at 4:54 PM on January 27, 2020
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Binge watch that series you never thought you would be able to get through.
Deep clean cupboards.
Think about learning a new language? Lots of online options.
posted by eleslie at 5:04 AM on January 26, 2020 [2 favorites]