Hey Pandas, How Do You Spend Your Time In Quarantine? (Ended)

I am so lucky. I am quarantined with my mother, who has two types of cancer, asthma and COPD. I also have some health problems. My daughter is stuck a continent away. But I'm really, really lucky, because we have a nice home with enough space for both of us. We have a gorgeous little garden in the back that's full of birds (all with names!). I have been working from home for 16 years and can continue to do so without any interruption to my income. We have plenty of books and movies and games, and a good internet connection. We have a nice kitchen where we both like to cook. Neither of us minds being in the house all the time. We have been able to get a few grocery deliveries. We have lovely neighbours who check on us from a distance. I miss my daughter so much, but she is safe where she is, and won't put my mother's health at risk while she is away, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about. I have worries and stresses, but compared to most people, I am so very lucky that there is not a single thing I could complain about. My heart and mind are all about our frontline medical and care staff, our essential workers, all the people who are giving and giving of themselves to help everyone else. My heartfelt thanks to all of you.

I think the only correct answer is sleep.

People complain about being bored. How? There's so much to do, so much to learn about. You have an internet connection and are capable of being bored? I don't get how people can live such boring lives. Work out, learn about wildlife in Madagascar, learn to use Photoshop better, sort your old keepsakes, there are a million things to do. Train ants to make French impressionist paintings. Convince your dining room table to overthrow a malevolent dictator and replace him with a balloon animal. Use your imagination, people! Make sure to take the cap off the cinnamon bottle before smearing your hooves with peanut butter though. Very important.

Cry, watch disney movies, and make excuses not to do the zoom meetings.

I have been trying to keep my kids entertained instead of them fighting all the time. Some times it works lol. So far my son and I made a volcano and made it erupt, we made a crane out of empty toilet rolls, duct tape, string and a peg. He loves it and has played with it for the past 2 days. We all decorated boiled eggs with pastels and food colouring. We made our own chocolate easter eggs. My son and I made pictures using a white pastel and then going over the paper with the food dye we used for decorating the eggs. My daughter and I had a bake off, she made a banana, oat and coconut life and I made double cheese and bacon rolls. Tomorrow we are baking biscuits, I am making more cheese and bacon rolls etc. We have planted some seeds and will be plating some more. I have bought some mini terracotta pots that we are gonna draw faces on and plant grass seeds in them and once they grow we can give them "hair" cuts. I also have the school work and the therapy programs to do with the kids.

I have so much more stuff planned like painting, scrapbooking, learning to make a loaf of plain bread, makeup and nails, creating an exercise program and more. I am also going away for a night with a friend, we are staying at a resort that she has paid for coz she knows my mental health is seriously suffering at the moment. A night away without the kids or hubby, we get to play games uninterrupted and just get to chat. I am very much looking forward to it coz I definitely need it. Another thing I am looking forward to is making my wedding themed shadow box. I cut up my wedding dress the other day coz I was gonna sell it but sadly our old house had a lot of moisture which caused mould to grow on my dress. I cut all the embroidery, beads and some clean fabric off and gonna turn it all into something amazing. I have it all thought out and in my head it looks gorgeous.

Listen to K.K. slider covers and play Animal Crossing. Go on Bored Panda during class. Y'know. Regular stuff.

I have had to do schoo through my kids. My daughter claimed she “Needed her own space” So we converted a closet into her “Office” I have no clue what happens in there, all I know is she gets her work done.

I have been rolling in the snow in short sleeves.

Here’s my daily schedule-
- Wake up early, realize that we’re in quarantine, go back to sleep
- Wake up again, not wanting to get up this time
- Sit in bed and realize how much I miss being around people
- Get breakfast
- realize that I have a zoom meeting and sprint up the stairs
- attend zoom
- Have lunch
- Play games /w my brother
- Watch Youtube videos
- Listen to music
- Have dinner
- Cuddle doggg

I actually am still working, albeit from home. My job is a support coordinator for individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. I've been doing my best to adapt to my work from home. I also take naps. Heck, I've been pretty tired lately. I also take walks around the block, and read old classic comics such as Ripley's Believe it or Not on the internet. I also enjoy webcomics.

Not in quarantine, just took a week off to get away from everyone else that does not understand social distancing. Plenty to do around my house, did some much needed yard work and getting ready to open up my pool for the summer. Planted a few new apple trees and azaleas. It rained last nite so looks like cleaning house today. Thinking of repainting one of my bathrooms, but don't really want to go out and buy paint just yet. I have lots to keep me occupied.

Applying for jobs and sewing masks. So much sewing!

Watching Netflix, trying to come up with things to do, realizing that I suck at coming up with things to do, going on Pinterest, and when I really have nothing to do, questioning my existence. Yep, it's been fun.

Read books, play the piano, procrastinate with my school work, spam my friends' emails, what else, um...Go out into my backyard and scream out my drama scripts. Sleep in until 10 a.m (I consider this late, as I usually wake up at 5 a.m). Throw paper airplanes with messages into my neighbor's backyard. They don't seem to mind! Oh, there was this guy at school who followed me and my friends (who are all guys, much easier to talk to) everywhere. I want to sock him in the nose, so I practice on myself. That's probably why I have a red nose now.

I'm an essential worker, so I work 11-12 hours a day, come home, fall into bed, and get up again to commute in and do it all again. I work for the post office as a letter carrier, I make sure people get their medications as well as the rest of their mail.

Basically? I get up at 8:30 to get ready for my class google meet at 9:00 (One advantage of this whole thing: I don't have to get up at 7:15 anymore) Then I spend the rest of the time trying not to explode at my twin sisters when they annoy me, reading on the app Libby, which has been my savior since the library closed, and playing with my neighbor from a safe six feet away.
I have also been writing stories to pass the time. Repeat, Repeat.
Anyway, I am bored, but its not unbearable.
I am also trying to learn to speak and spell French (This is MUCH harder than it seems, because the spelling and pronunciation are nothing alike.)

TL;DR - I spend more time on the good stuff in life and I try to be kind to myself.

I’m married, we have a 4yo boy who can't attend preschool because of shelter-in-place - instead, we’re all spending our days at home together. Recent big hits include Legos, soccer, and comic books about Smurfs (I bought some online a month ago when the lockdowns started, and I bought some more this week). We're fortunate that he's not in school yet - there's no need for homeschooling during this time. Still, he is curious about the world, we just need to tune in to whatever sparks his interest. Annoying questions can turn into interesting debates about clouds, planets, deserts, foreign countries, engines, virus infections, tigers, anatomy, and anything in between. I can see how engaged he becomes in our conversations, and how his vocabulary has improved over the last few weeks. We talk more about our emotions too. We're also expecting our second boy any day now, so there are some baby preparations.

I love cooking and baking and I would make something new all the time (recently I made: banana muffins, ham and olives cake, Asian noodle soup, vegetable tots). We’ve always tried to eat healthy: lots of fruit and veggies, and we found that shops never run out of this stuff (how canned noodle sup will run out, but at the same time, you can still buy fresh avocadoes, is beyond me).

I love biking and running, and can get my exercise even with shelter-in-place. We're fortunate that our local regulations allow outdoor activities, as long as you can maintain social distance, which is easy with biking and running. In fact, there's very little traffic on the roads and biking is so much more pleasant. We also go outdoor with our kid: walking, playing soccer, or him on his bike and me running alongside him. Fresh air, sun and movement help so, so much. If you can, spend some time outside (with all the necessary precautions). Can’t go outside? Open your window! Indoor exercise is a thing too. You’ll be glad you did it.

I read. I have this thing where I want to read all the books I have at home. Over the years, I probably read 100 out of 150 books that I have. I do have more free time and I try to read more.

I am thankful that my work allows me to work from home. I love my work and I love the people that I work with. Having that helps me stay sane. There is also less work due to the pandemic.

I tried to adjust my sleeping schedule to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, so that I can get some uninterrupted alone time in the mornings. It doesn't work every day, but some days I'm able to get 2 hours all to myself in the morning. I read, sometimes I go for an early bike ride, sometimes I just spend the whole morning internetting on my phone. And you know what? This is fine too. I try to be kind to myself and not feel guilty about not doing anything for a change. I definitely have been sleeping more recently though.

My advice to you: make the most of this time. Yes, many things about the pandemic suck big time. But you might also be less busy, have fewer distractions, more time to yourself. Is there anything you wanted to do, but never had enough time? Now is the time to pick up that new hobby, spring clean the house, start learning a new language, get better at cooking, tend to your garden. Find some good in the situation. Apart from tangible benefits (learn something, achieve something), it can introduce a positive feedback loop: you’ll feel good about yourself, and life will be slightly more pleasant.

But - even more importantly - be kind to yourself. These are extraordinary times, we can be affected in so many negative ways. We’re all more fragile now. Stayed in bed for the whole weekend? Watched Netflix for 12 hours straight? Ate a pint of ice cream in one sitting? Cried? Got drunk alone? It’s all good. We have all been there. This will be over. Hang in there.

I'm not in isolation, I'm a key worker however I've taken a week off work for practical reasons. I've been spending my time off playing an old computer game, some TV, internet. I've also washed a motorcycle, mowed the lawn and done some weeding in the garden. Plenty of things for me to do to keep me busy. If I am asked to stay home for another week I will be glad to, I have things I can do.

I try to finish what I can't normally do, except I always end up distracted and start watching youtube videos for hours on end. Then I become depressed and start watching more depressing movies. Then I get up to go on google meets, and then silently watch others cry.

doing different things like swimming crocheting and talking to family over the phone and doing exercise