Tuesday, March 24, 2020

A Dummies Guide to Quarantine life

The current novel Corona Virus situation has probably the worst impact on our day to day lives: the lock downs, the curfews, reports of people getting sick and deaths numbers increasing every hour alarmingly is us being a part of history that we did not choose.


What we can choose however, is how we react to this. The sooner we accept this situation and start seeing the positive side, it is for our better. It's temporary & I am thankful that we have family with us, or at least the means to connect with them via video chat and share our positive thoughts with them. We can choose to be responsible citizens who are logical informed thinkers and maintain caution. 

 This is a great opportunity to showcase our moral responsibility, support our elders and kids  who need our help and support. It’s time to build their confidence and de-stress them and ourselves too! there are a lot of things to do to contribute to our family, friends and society right now.

I did a lot of research for the below to get what I needed and will post some additional good apps and links for these as I find more.

1.      Music - If you love music this is the best for you, find your soulful channel of music or music videos that take you to your happy place. yes, it does exist. you just need to invest some time for this :-) 
      
          Some good generic music stations are Pandora, Spotify, for Indian music I like the playlists and radio offered by Gaana ( Radio )& Jiosaavn.

                      
2.     Pets - They help a lot with soothing you and getting you out of your anxious state of mind, if you have one great, if not - you can foster ! 
      
          Do reach out to your nearest local rescue shelters here and be prepared for your 4 legged soulmate! 
3.     Yoga - A lot has been said about this positively, and I tend to agree. For non-believers (me initially 😃) it was nothing but some weird exercises, but as I started learning more about the asanas and the breathing tips, it helped me with my daily lifestyle. You don’t need to start as an expert. Day 1  might be just you are getting introduced to what it is all about and be the learner who can do practically nothing and see your progress, it brightens your mood and energy levels. 

       I have been pretty impressed by Shilpa Shetty Yoga and Daily Yoga App 

          
4.     Exercise - some of my friends would undoubtedly put this ahead of all other activities, I certainly don't, :-) I do exercise in a very mild to moderate manner, walk - get your steps - in your backyard, front yard. if not just walk around in your house, one room to another. do some simple warm-ups to starts with, all you need is a wall and may be a chair for support and steadily increase your capacity and core strength. I will post some good apps and links for these shortly. combine with exercise and its a lot of fun


             
5.     Dance - No need for you to be a dancer to try your hands on this, you can just shake your leg on music and see how it uplifts you, if you have a partner great, if not that's fine too.  
      
          Search on Google to get your tailored dance tutorials of your like classical, contemporary, jazz, zumba,salsa .... 
                                     
6.     Social Media - This is a complicated one, it’s good to be a part of a group - family, friends, like minded acquaintances, strangers. but be sure where to draw the line when it starts to impact you negatively. that's when you need a social media detox (yes there is a group for that as well!) It’s a good way to be informed and aware of how your friends and family are doing and call them or video chat with them for some good times. In these times of social distancing i have personally felt connected when we did group video chats with friends and family. it was fun to see what everyone was doing and catching up with old school / college friends. 

     Facebook, Snapchat, What's App, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok are some of my favs. Follow some influencers of your interest on these platforms just to get a birds eye view or just have fun! If its too much get into the detox mode.. Watch your screen time with these... time flies away when you are on social media.. I have been a victim of this often! Learn about the various platforms here..


7.     Movies & Documentaries- these are my all-time go-to means for entertainment, I am a movie addict and can binge watch for hrs., in current times my recommendation is to choose a genre which is enforcing the happy times, family watches, positively impacting movies and documentaries. Rest assured - there will be times in future to get to those mind-boggling and disturbing movies and dramas!! Watch the old classics and Rom-coms (I love them!!!) 

       Get a trial subscription for a channel if you want to just try. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney have some really good stuff streaming right now. Free movie suscription  http://mx1.in/Shemaroo activate your subscription 

                                             Top 10 feel good movies are below

8.     Read - it can be any book, an eBook or any online material like the news ( be careful what sources you have ..) my suggestions if you want to be aware of what’s going on just believe in what the WHO and CDC have to say. 

       Pick genre of book which uplifts your spirits, go for your classics or the adventure ones. If you are not an avid reader the below video is JUST FOR YOU!!


      Amazon canceled the subscription of books and audio stories for children and students of all ages as long as schools are closed, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.
   

       All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet using the following link https://stories.audible.com/start-listen.

9.     De-Clutter - How about de-cluttering and organizing not just your closet, your kitchen or your shoes but also your thoughts.

      Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is a good book and a series worth investing 
       
10. Art & Creative - invest your time in some good creative passion of yours that you could not get to, here is your golden time to set your foot into it. Think of innovation and document what you can do to help the community and society in current times, how you can be influencing to  your immediate family, friends and then to a greater audience if you want to. Create a website. it’s easy.  Paint your favorite scenery, bring out the crayons or download an app for coloring. write a poem if you can, shayari is always welcome! people love to hear all about some comedy try recording your very own stand up comedy that you always  wanted to try! Just revisit your resume on Linkedin and try to polish your roles and responsibilities, often times they need a nudge - don't they!  

       Or 
     
      Grab your glass of wine & just start to paint your masterpiece .

       Find your hobby or passion and start on it. How about you choose an activity per day and record your progress of how you feel in your journal or online blog. Something you will look back and be proud to share or revisit later... isn't that a great creative idea??

11. Sing - This certainly may not be for everyone, but who does not love to sing in their bathrooms. Just enjoy singing in tune OR even out of tune ( make sure you are alone!). You will feel good and that's what matters. Find some apps and websites that offer to fine-tune your voice, so you feel good and enjoy your musical creations.There are options to do duets as well if you feel confident and comfortable.

           Smule is a good app worth exploring.

12. Blog / Vlog - why not! This is the best time to try your skills. Whether it is for fun or educational just give it a try, blog about 1 min a day to start with, very similar to a journal. If you are not comfortable online, start a diary or your journal as a private one. Pen down all you feel but make it a rule to add 5 positive points for 1 not so positive thought that you record and elaborate more on your positive thoughts. Publish to the world when you feel apt.. or just be a hidden treasure..

                                        A list of top 10 blogging tools is here
              
13. Games - Board games are popular in the west and I cannot emphasis enough the power of these games to increase your intelligence and analytical skills. I am not personally into these. online or board games on a regular game but if not now when? Indulge yourself. learn a few new board games, online games and just don’t look back... there are games for single users and groups choose accordingly and get started.

       Games for iphone  & games for android, games for your Desktop PC,  
                                              Board games can be found here



14. Cooking & Baking - not everyone is a cook, but what if you ever wanted to try your hands on something as easy as a salad / omelette or may be bake a cake, a brownie, make some pasta, tacos. with the limited ingredients what can you make - how about take that as a challenge and there are apps / websites that tell you exactly what you can make easily with those ingredients. There are a lot of online resources for how to recipes with step by step instructions and simple and easy ones as cake in a cup.

       I personally would like to recommend my cooking blog (😊), but I also follow Hebbars , my hubby blindly used to follow Turban Tadka but now is a huge fan of Ranveer Brar's unique storytelling. For International & quick recipes I go to Rachel Ray. 
   
15. Photography - if you have a phone with a camera great, else take out that camera of yours you always wanted to try the different modes on ( except the auto mode!) there are some great tips on photography and within the confinement of your room find abstraction, objects and some inspirations that make your pics look unique and different .

      For beginners I enjoyed going through this blog. this has a lot if useful info.
           
16. Play an Instrument - If you know one. maybe challenge yourself with something you have not tried before. if you don't know how to play one, that's ok, now is the perfect time to learn online about notes and an instrument of your choice and can start an online learning tutorial.

     Khan Academy or YouTube is one of the best sources for a lot of learning.
            
17. Rest & sleep - it’s perfectly fine to rest, sleep for a good 8-12 or even more hours to start with, with the super busy life schedule we had in our past let’s take this time to unwind and give our brains and body the much-needed rest. You have no idea how rejuvenating this can be! try it!!!
           Try the deep sleep music to get a good night sleep.. it really helps


                         

18. Garden & plants – start your very own indoor mini garden, or an outdoor garden, work with what you have and build upon it, learn about what it takes to grow your own herbs, flowers, well even produce, there are some very simple gardening tips to grow the simple things in your kitchen. 

       See this video to learn more tips and tricks for indoor gardening 
            

19. Training, Courses & Certifications - were you looking to do some good courses and never had the time. a lot of universities are offering free online classes. just do it! get certified or get trained on a business class, some security training, cooking sessions, some DIY's on plumbing, how to blog, create your website etc. etc. the list is endless...

       Free Harvard Courses , ivy league courses can be found online.
           

20. Believe in Yourself & Think Positive - This is what everyone should be doing, we will get through this and come out as better humans. we all have our little ways to contribute. let's smile and take it one day at a time. whether you are alone, or with your family- SPEND this time wisely to build positive energy. This is once in a lifetime opportunity that we have, let’s spend it effectively and make every moment count.

Please remember, as some people are adjusting for remote work, there are front line workers still going to the hospitals and essential workplaces. 

Media is at its best (worst perhaps) to show and tell things as they are, 

As someone has rightly said: “Honesty without tact & compassion is BRUTAL” and I truly believe in "This too shall pass."

      We as social creatures were so used to being together, meeting people, sharing our lives that it is kind of a setback for us, not just as adults but young adults, teenagers and kids in our houses all are trying to understand what's going on. How we react to these times is going to define our kids as well - Let’s not forget that! Working from home for people who are not used to it have their own challenges, I plan to blog on how to effectively work from home since I have huge experience in the IT services industry & strategy consulting and have been working from home primarily for the last couple of years.


Some kids activities and things to do for kids are also listed below, I received these as a whats app forward, so cannot credit the author but a big shout out to whoever compiled this list below.


 Online resources:
- BrainPop
- Curiosity Stream
- Tynker
- Outschool
- Udemy
- iReady
- Beast Academy (Math)
- Khan Academy
- Creative Bug
- Discovery Education

 YouTube Channels:
- Crash Course Kids
- Science Channel
- SciShow Kids
- National  Geographic Kids
- Free School
- Geography Focus
- TheBrainScoop
- SciShow
- Kids Learning Tube
- Geeek Gurl Diaries
- Mike Likes Science
- Science Max
- SoulPancake
Some resources to help with kids at home: 

Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and

Pretend to travel the world. Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums. 


This is the awesome free curriculum that we use. Everything from preschool activities
 to 12th grade is here!


List of thinking games by grade: https://allinonehomeschool.com/thinking/

More awesome free learning websites that we like to use

·        https://www.starfall.com/h/

·        https://www.abcya.com/

·        https://www.funbrain.com/

·        https://www.splashlearn.com/


·        https://pbskids.org/




·        http://www.mathgametime.com/




·        https://www.switchzoo.com/

·        https://www.seussville.com/

·        https://www.turtlediary.com/  




For Indian community Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle have made their entire catalog free for 30 days to help with social distancing. Their books can be read on their mobile apps. Enjoy!


More to come...!!!


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