How to Quarantine Right!


Corona virus apart from being a global pandemic has made social distancing a compulsion for all of us. Hence, bound to stay home and spend time in quarantine.

After being quarantined for nearly two weeks, today it occurred to me that why not take this quarantine as a blessing in disguise and instead of aimlessly wasting time make the most of it. First of all we need to take this work-from-home arrangement seriously, as this will be the new normal in days to come. So here’s how you can make most of the quarantine instead of sulking through it (with prayer of course that Allah Almighty protect us). 

First Thing First

‘Safety first’ so please ensure all the precautionary measures which are; stay home, stay indoors, wash your hands (but please use water sensibly), stay hydrated, eat healthy food.  Take good care of your family specially old persons and children as they are apparently more vulnerable to fall prey to Corona virus. While we are at it, be mindful of the anxiety & depression that pandemics bring along. Do keep yourself updated but don’t get hooked to the news too much. Knowing more than you should is never a good idea. Don’t check latest updates on new cases or deaths etc. they add to anxiety and eventually lead towards severe depression. 

Social Distancing

Intimacy is good and all but for greater good of mankind maintain social distance (Minimum 1 meter as per WHO advisory) for sometime and don’t let this affect relationships. Use alternate means of communication like call, text, WhatsApp etc etc. Bright side: this social distancing is a detox opportunity. You can take a leave from unwanted people in life and shed all the negativity away. 

Quarantine is Not a Holiday! 

Having said that, please do not give quarantine a weekend vibe. Else you’ll be bored to death sooner than later. Have to strictly follow a schedule to ensure you don’t lose shit while quarantined at home. Weekends or holidays are sacred because:

a) They don’t occur daily (we wait, hence we celebrate them)

b) They don’t put any restrictions (social distancing, stay home etc)

c) We actually look forward to them because they break routine

d) they have an end-date which makes them special.

Since we don’t have an end-date so make plans on “till it lasts” basis. Treat this time as a make-shift-arrangement for limited time. Set milestones and see how many of you achieve before it actually ends.

Observe Normal Routine 

As mentioned above, don’t treat this time as holiday. Keep you daily routine, make a calendar maybe and perform activities according to allocated time. Like wake-up at your usual time, have breakfast properly, dress up (yes you heard me), designate an area as office for work-from-home and maintain office decorum while you are at work. Start right on time and stay there till your usual office time. Try to finish long pending assignments, work on tasks that you usually miss out in office due to gossips etc.

You can take short breaks for tea, lunch and snacks etc. but don’t leave office until its time. Most important is to do exercise (may be few push-ups or pull-ups or squats or anything else) to keep you physically & mentally in shape. Try this and you’ll feel the difference.   

Brush Up Skills

With everything at a standstill its obvious that your workload is slashed. Instead of wasting this time surfing internet for no gain use this time to brush up some skills or learn some new ones. As mentioned above, post quarantine office arrangement will be different. This pandemic would eat many jobs and at the same time create many new roles. There are hundreds of online courses available for free. Just sign-up and start (all you need to sacrifice is Wifi). 

Read Books

They say ‘a reader lives thousand lives before he dies‘. So why not? You have all the time in the world. Read as many books as you can. Internet is full of free literature on almost every topic in every language. This is the time to develop reading habit in your children and younger siblings as well.  

Take up a hobby

We are so consumed by daily routines and surrounded by material needs that having an hobby seems like a thing of the past. Now that we’ve got sometime so why not revive that. May be take up a new hobby or continue the one we had. Hobby is not only a time pass but also gives you inner happiness which we need the most in times like these. Some of the classic hobbies that we can have while staying indoors:

      • Home-Gardening (Everyone loves to have colorful flowers or indoor plants in their households, how about organic vegetables and daily needed condiments etc. you can easily grow them in plastic bowls
      • Cooking / Baking (Recently I’ve noticed everyone on my Twitter or Instagram is baking or cooking something, I don’t know if its a hobby or stress-reliever or revenge 😛)
      • Home-cleaning (Many people have this ritual of annual home cleaning, a little early this year may be)
      • Seasons / Drama / Vlogs / Podcasts (Catch up on everything you missed due to busy schedule)
      • Gaming (Let alone PUBG or Dotta, people are hooked to Ludo Star all day)

Spend Time with Family

Need i say anything in this regard? Spending time with family is indeed a blessing. Create lifetime memories even in times of global pandemic. While we all are vulnerable to anxiety & depression. Families support each & every member hence best remedy for mental health (exceptions are there). Catch up on each other’s lives, your children and younger siblings need your presence to be sure everything will be alright. Tell them all the fun stories you always wanted. There are many things that you cannot teach just let them observe and learn, so now is the time. Shape their personalities by positive reinforcement.     

Perform religious rituals (Daily prayers for Muslims) in congregation so they learn it by heart, know importance of daily prayers and make it a point to kneel before the Almighty whenever in trouble.  

Come out a better human being

Tough times teach you lifelong lessons. Practice good behavior at home with a resolve to come out a better human being who adds value to the society. Don’t judge anyone, be content with what you have and be thankful for it. Help others regardless of any ifs & buts. Spending time in isolation must teach us significance of society and everyone in our social circle.

While we are literally enjoying in our households there are many who’ve lost source of income due to lock-down. I’d request each and everyone to do something for them in your capacity. (here’s a practical approach, we will be able to locate and serve the underprivileged uniformly everywhere).

I hope scientists would come up with a vaccine pretty soon, till then stay home, stay safe, wash your hands and maintain social distancing. Happy Quarantining!!!

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