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Self-isolation is taking place across the globe right now in order to combat the coronavirus which is a great thing, don’t get me wrong… but if you’re anything like me, you might be getting a little squirley. In this time of weirdness, I’d like to help you out with a number of things I like to do during this time. For me, I have to stay busy and have my days structured. Luckily, I am still able to work from home, so during the week I’m covered. Some of you might not have that luxury – or maybe you just need a big old break from all this. I have some ideas for you all…
What To Watch
Netflix Choices
It’s the talk of the United States, it’s “Tiger King!” If you have a Netflix account you really need to check it out. I never binge shows, I tend to get really bored after like 3 episodes, but not with this one. I wonder if Netflix waited till most people in the United States were put in self-isolation to release it. The show itself is like a train wreck – you have to keep watching.
I also suggest “The IT Crowd.” It’s hysterical. It’s for anyone in IT, or has been told by IT to turn your computer off and back on.
And one for the whole family is “Boss Baby,” the series. The third season has just dropped. I’ll let you in on a secret – it’s so cute you don’t even have to have kids to watch it.
Amazon Prime Choices
If you have Amazon Prime, I have four shows to suggest to you while you’re self-isolating. I haven’t started “Making The Cut” yet, but have heard it’s good. Plus, it’s been too long since Tim Gunn has graced our tv screens.
“Great Artists with Tim Marlow” is a more cerebral show that will allow you to show people that you spent your time improving your mind. There are two seasons and a multitude of famous artists. It’s also great background noise for those of us who like that.
The next two are oldies but goodies. If you’ve never seen the British “Death at a Funeral” you have to put it on your queue. It had me laughing aloud at certain points. You don’t think you’d be laughing from the title, but oh my goodness, it almost had me reaching for my inhaler!
And my Mom’s favorite – “Murder She Wrote.” It’s like comfort viewing. Who doesn’t love Angela Lansbury? There are so many seasons available for viewing, so you can probably watch this for about a week. I was surprised at how modern it was for starting in 1984.
Reading
This might be a great time to catch up on the books you haven’t yet read. Or maybe by now you’ve read everything on TBR (to be read) pile next to your bed. May I introduce you to two of my besties: Simply E and Kindle Unlimited. Why do I love these so much? BOOKS!
Lots of libraries now have their favorite apps for e-reading as they call it. Mine is through Simply E. For those of us with a library card, there are a TON of books to choose from. You’d be surprised what is on there. I’m currently doing a little research on the old Greek Muses, so I’m reading a book called “Hesiod’s Thogony,” by Stephen Scully. It’s about an old book written by Hesiod back around 700 – 730 BC. The Thogony is actually a poem written about the origins and genealogies of the Greek Gods. Just a little bit of light reading during this self-isolation.
Kindle Unlimited is part of Amazon. Their explanation is succinct so I will use it:
Kindle Unlimited is a new service that allows you to read as much as you want, choosing from over 1 million titles and thousands of audiobooks. Freely explore new authors, books, and genres from mysteries and romance to sci-fi and more. You can read on any device. It’s available for $9.99 a month and you can cancel anytime. Try it free for 30 days.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1002872331#faq
I have been a member since 2015 and I still love it. I pay $9.99 a month and it’s money well spent. I tend to finish a book a day because I love reading. One of the great things about Kindle Unlimited is that unlike the library e-reader, you don’t have to wait for something to get ‘checked in’ to download it. You get 10 titles at one time downloaded to your kindle or iPad or whatever you use to read electronically. Sometimes the hottest book of the moment is on unlimited, but usually not. However, there are some great gems. I am on a mystery kick and currently reading “Murder and Majong” by Annabel Chase. I love a good cozy mystery series and especially love if there’s some sort of witchy or supernatural bent to it. As you can tell, since I’ve been a loyal customer for 5 years now that if you’re a reader it is money well spent. If you purchase this, you might end up liking the self-isolation and keep it going well after this ends.
Getting Your Creativity On
There are tons of classes going on right now – on specific websites dedicated to learning and those that aren’t. You can take watercolor or lettering classes on Instagram if you follow people who are doing that for everyone at home right now. If you’re in self-isolation, you might as well learn something, am I right?
Brit + Co is offering free classes through 3/31/20 with the code: SELFCARE. I’ve ‘bought’ two: A Watercolor bundle and “Digital Fashion Illustration: Sketching Street Style To Runway With Danielle Meder.” I am looking forward to learning from them. I like that they are a business started by a woman, and that they’re giving free classes during this hard time.
Creative Live always has free classes through their “on air” series, but they are also offering their health and wellness classes for free while we’re all doing the self-isolation thang. As you will be able to tell from the title, these are great classes on all things creative. I’ve taken a few of the free classes and those go into great depth on the subjects, so it’s not like you’re getting a teaser class where you have to sign up for the regular class to actually learn something.
Skillshare is similar to Creative Live, but they’re offering two free months when you sign up as a premium member. They’re not doing anything specific for the quarantine time, it seems that’s their usual discount. I’ve never taken a class from them, but I’ve thought about it. I know a lot of the watercolor artists I follow on Instagram teach classes through there.
Staying Healthy
Anyone else gaining the COVID-19 15? It’s ok, you don’t need to raise your hand. We all are. I’ve been taking workout classes from my work bootcamp instructor during the week. It’s a great way to get a workout for yourself and help keep people employed. If you want to join in on my boot camp instructor’s workouts – she’s doing group training and individual training remotely.
Since I’ve been participating in the whole self-isolation thing for a while now, I get a wee bit panicky when I have to leave my cute little apartment to go to the grocery store or pharmacy. Getting Whole Foods or Peapod to deliver to me is next to impossible so I’m thankful I had signed up for Bistro MD before this hit. I chose this food delivery service because I’m hoping it will help me lose weight. Currently struggling on that front, but it’s nice I don’t have to worry about actually cooking or getting chicken at this time. Why that was sold out I’ll never know.
These are a few ideas of mine to help combat the gloomies. Anyone else have good ones? Leave them in the comments below so we can help each other out! Hang in there guys!
