Being bored during a pandemic when people are forced to stay inside their homes to prevent community transmission is like a ticking time bomb. For one, boredom leads to a condition called cabin fever, which causes a range of negative emotions due to being locked for a long time in a place both literally and figuratively.
Meanwhile, other people develop eating disorders, which keeps busy those treatment centers for binge-eating disorder and other similar conditions.
Whether you’re fighting an eating disorder, cabin fever, or plain boredom due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you should take an active stance and fight back. Here are five simple hacks that you can apply to keep boredom away without eating an apple a day:
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Begin a hobby.
It’s critical to keep yourself busy when faced with the fact of being locked down inside your house and having limited time to go out for your basic needs. Whether you’re not much of a hobbyist, the idea is to do something that interests you and you can do for a long time. It can be an art project, a YouTube channel, or anything that would become a worthwhile hobby as you combat boredom during a pandemic crisis. You can go as simple or as crazy as you possibly want, just as long as it is done according to relevant safety precautions.
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Binge-watch movies and TV series or catch up on your long-delayed reading list.
If you’ve been putting off reading that best-selling book you’ve bought years ago but can’t seem to find time to finish even one chapter, a pandemic is a perfect time to finally indulge yourself. You can also download or watch movies on YouTube or online streaming sites such as Netflix or Viu. There are plenty of excellent-quality documentaries and series available on these digital content platforms, so finding excellent content to binge-watch should be easy.
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Stay physically active.
It’s all too easy to plunge into abysmal boredom or worse, depression, when you’re constantly waking up with hardly anywhere to go and anything to do. If you want to keep your sanity intact throughout a pandemic, you must keep your blood flowing by doing routine exercises and other physical activities. You can jog or walk around your yard, meditate in your living room or lawn, or run a few miles daily on your treadmill. Being physically active need not be exhaustive or complex; as long as you’re sweating, flexing your muscles, and doing cardio exercises regularly, then you’re good to go.
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Keep constant communication with family and friends.
People who deliberately distance themselves both digitally and physically during a pandemic are highly prone to experience boredom and depression. This should not be the case at all. Instead of shutting out all or most forms of contact with family, friends, and colleagues, you should actively pursue constant communication with them. By doing so, you can keep your mind occupied with your daily chats or video calls with the people close to you, thus leaving you with no time for sulking or feeling miserable about the situation.
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Pamper yourself and find things to comfort you.
One of the best tricks to make sure that you don’t fall victim to the evils of boredom during a pandemic is to try pampering yourself and looking for ways to give you comfort. This could be in the form of indulging in your favorite meal or dessert, investing in a massage chair, or listening to meditative music. There’s no hard and fast rule about this except that you should always follow safety precautions when pampering yourself.
With these five simple hacks, you can easily fight off boredom and actually become productive during a pandemic.