Name: How to isolate and not lose your darn mind! [CC]
Uploaded: 2020-04-15T17:05:33.000Z
Duration: 16 min 26 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

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And some other people who aren't lovely right now because you've been locked up

in your houses for a while and it's starting to make you want to throttle cushions.

I hope this video will be helpful for those of us isolating due to the coronavirus but

also, once it's gone, to those who need tips on working from home or spending time

Here in the UK the government has said that no one, aside from key workers, should be

leaving their home for any reason other than to buy food, medicine or take one daily form

of exercise. Thus we've been in isolation lockdown for almost three weeks now and many

disabled, chronically ill and elderly people have been 'shielding' for longer than

- shielding is a measure to protect people who are clinically vulnerable by minimising

all interactions with others, including staying at home for 12 weeks and avoiding all face-to-face

contact. [beat] except for with your carers and family members who apparently do not need

Which makes no sense. Since they could very clearly come into contact with… and then

Anyway! For those of you who have lived extremely healthy lives up until this point, social

distancing, and indeed isolating if you think you have symptoms, is probably pretty weird.

You're probably not used to the number of times a day you leave the house being restricted

or something stopping you from hanging out with your friends. And you're probably facing

extreme boredom, anxiety, aimlessness and a little thing we like to call 'cabin fever'.

But don't worry, Don't panic, as a chronically ill person who has spent pretty much the last

Even before COVID-19 hit, I probably left the house 4 times a week and two of those

were for a gentle stroll around the local park with the dogs.

- don't worry, they did have other walks, just not by me.

I saw only a few faces every week and I worked largely from my home office or my bed.

Other than not being able to go for a weekly dinner at my sister-in-law's house or step

- who knew I could miss supermarkets this much?!

My life doesn't feel that different despite being locked in my house because I've already

learnt the coping strategies to keep me sane. I am a social isolating pro and I'm here

to help you cope by sharing the tips and tricks I've learnt:

Because I like the way that builds excitement.

Disclaimer: these may not all apply in all countries because lockdown laws obviously

If you have experience of working from home or being ill you'll already know this but

it's all too easy to let your days become, essentially, slush. They just merge into one

another and it's difficult at that stage to pick them apart or get motivated. My solution

- Even if I'm too ill to get out of bed and that 'dressed' is just into a different

The daily routine of changing your clothes, washing your face and brushing your teeth

helps to wake up your brain and put it to sleep again at night.

Whether you're trying to get work done or you're using this time to learn a new skill,

it's important to distinguish between different times of the day and flip the switch that

If you've clicked on this video about “how to isolate and not lose your darn mind”

you've probably also read some other articles or seen some other videos about how to stay

productive whilst spending time at home. They've likely all told you that a schedule is important,

This is something that I've learnt from being ill. Some things are going to take longer

than you expect, some things will surprise you by taking less time and if you give yourself

a timed schedule all you're going to feel is failure and anxiety. You'll be constantly

watching the clock, making sure you're running to time and then of course you won't be

because working from home is very different to working in an office just like being at

home when well is very different to being at home when ill.

Write a list of things you'd like to do in the order you would like to get them done.

Work through your list, including lunch (which happens at a flexible time when working from

home because now you'll be cooking rather than just grabbing a sandwich), and you'll

feel a sense of achievement as each thing is ticked off.

The one timed thing you should clearly set is the end of your day. You can do that in

terms of 'x' number of hours after you started work (thus giving you more flexibility

in the morning) or at a specific time. Make sure that you wake up and go to bed at healthy

times to ensure you get enough sleep and if you're focused on productivity then make

sure to give yourself 'evening' time when you don't need to berate yourself to be

Equally… although in the short term it can feel nice to be lazy, in the long term it

So planning out activities and setting goals can really help you to feel motivated and

stop you from feeling down. But don't let those same goals beat you over the head if

When you go to school or work outside the house your day is broken up by many little

things. At school you move from classroom to classroom, often seeing different people

in the hallways, and the subject changes between rooms. In an office you might move between

different meetings, chat with a friend as you make tea or head to the toilet and take

a break for lunch. All of these things help keep you motivated and fresh.

When you're sat at home however, with no face-to-face interaction, long stretches of

time make your brain run down low. You need those little bursts with breaks. Every 45

to 60 minutes take a moment to shake yourself off. Walk between every room of your house

or change the topic you're working on. And, I know, you don't want to seem like you're

a slacker who isn't doing enough or working hard enough but my god, these are exceptional

times, and if you can't give yourself a little breathing space now, when are you going

It's advice I can sometimes find hard to follow, wanting to just eek out my last little

bit of concentration… but that's never a good idea as my work at that point is pretty

shoddy. Take a break and when you come back you'll be better.

Even five minutes on the craft project you're working on in a different room can give you

a fresh perspective on what you're currently doing.

This applies to fun stuff too. Playing your favourite computer game for hours on end?

Starting to see a decrease in your ability? Take a break!

Having a nice, chill time on your sofa? You deserve a break too!

- Blow the cobwebs out of your brain and everything is more fun.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

How to isolate and not lose your darn mind! [CC]

anxiety

constantly

mental

apparently