Tips and Resources to Keep On Keeping On During COVID-19 Lockdown

You’re working from home, and so are your kids. Leaving the house except for essentials is frowned upon. But you’ve got to keep on living, right? Even when you’re in lockdown mode thanks to COVID-19. Don’t worry, we’ve got you…from a safe distance of course.

Tips to Keep On Living In COVID-19 Lockdown

Even when you’re practicing social distancing, self-isolating or in full-on quarantine, you can still enjoy your life and be semi-social.

What Are The Essentials?

Yes, in some places you can still leave the house, but only for life-essential reasons. Things like:

• necessary medical appointments
• groceries
• medication
• work, if not already working from home (in some states work has been limited to essential employees only including grocery store employees, gas station attendants, pharmacy employees and medical staff)

****PLEASE BE SURE TO REFER TO OFFICIAL SOURCES AND YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR UP TO DATE GUIDELINES AND STIPULATIONS REGARDING COVID-19****

However, if you don’t need to leave the house, it’s better to stay home. There’s absolutely no need to:

• get a haircut
• spiff up your manicure or pedicure
• visit a bar or restaurant
• get buff at the gym
• go to the beach
• congregate in the park

Before you start your car, hop on a bus or ride the subway, be sure to truly consider the risks that now come with your trip. Coronavirus aka COVID-19 is spreading rapidly around the globe, with a mounting death toll. Every social or public interaction is another chance to pick up the virus or spread it to others.

However, you can live your life with an abundance of caution with joy and purpose!

Try These Activities When You’re Stuck Inside Solo

We love some good social distancing right now. Less germs, right? But all that alone time can get to be a bit, well, lonely.

Try these ideas to be social while staying in your own space:

• Netflix Together: you can watch your favorite movies or binge a show together, with your friends, while still staying separated with a Chrome extension called Google Party!
• Virtual Book Club: you’ve got time on your hands, and so do your friends, so read a book together and then discuss via FaceTime
• Cooking Show: hop on Facebook LIVE during your next cooking session and share it with friends, a la Jennifer Garner.
• Workout Together, Apart: jump on your Peloton and take the same “class,” use your treadmill to run the same distance or do the same YouTube workout video at the same time.

Social Distancing with Kids at Home

Maybe you’re not alone, but only because your kids are also at home since schools are closed. Days 1-3 seemed fine, but now you’re reaching your absolute limit.

Check out these ideas and resources to get you through:

• Daily Schedule: create a loose schedule to organize your days – kids do better with structure!
• Khan Academy Learning Plan: kids from PreK-12 can follow a comprehensive learning schedule from Khan Academy, a free digital learning service.
• Join LiveStreaming Content: gain some sanity and add some fun with daily LiveStreaming educational kids content from professionals!
• Exercise Together: fire up a YouTube kids’ workout, like Frozen yoga from Cosmic Kids, and get moving together.
• Think Outside the Traditional Learning Box: everything can be learning if you let it! Try gardening, baking, sorting, cleaning, reading, watching TV, internet rabbit hole searches, etc. to pass the time and explore their interests.
• Do Science Together: try easy science experiments with your kids for simple educational fun!

You’ve Got Time for Things You Never Had Time For Before

“If only I had the time to…”

Now fill in that blank. What’s something you wish you had time for, but never did because of your busy, modern life?

Due to COVID-19, maybe you’ve got time on your hands. And now you can do the things you never have time for, plus some essential household chores that just need doing.

Add these to your to-do list:

• Start a New (Non-Social) Hobby: embroidery, scrapbooking, a new fitness trend – right now is the best time to try a new hobby!
• Clean Your Closet: really go through all your clothes and be ruthless with your deep cuts, donate things you don’t want or use to a Buy Nothing community to “regift.”
• Read: pick up an actual (or virtual) book and read it.
• Garden: you’ve got some pots or land that are just begging for plants. Weed, till and plant those seeds!
• Deep Clean: it took staying home 24/7 for the dust on the baseboards to drive you crazy. Take action and deep clean your home. Do one room a day to space it out.
• Disconnect: you always say you want to socially distance yourself from the constant stream of social media or news alerts. Good news: now you can – guilt free!

Keep Living Your Life During the COVID-19 Shutdown

You can still do so many things, just in different ways, even when socially distancing yourself from others.

Try these creative ideas;

• Date Night: instead of going to dinner and a movie, watch a new release that’s streaming and enjoy a homecooked meal together.
• Exercise: your gym is a no-go, but you can still bike, hike, run and walk outside, with at least 6 feet of space between you and others. Add in some bodyweight moves for extra strength. Or tune into a YouTube workout video, for free, right from your house!
• Fancy Dining: now is a great time to make like Julia Child and cook. Pick a favorite restaurant recipe and recreate it at home. You could also make up a meal using what’s left in your pantry.

So keep on keeping on, or KOKO during COVID-19. Don’t worry, we’ve got you.

For up to date information and the latest news on Coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and WWW.CORONAVIRUS.GOV.

How are you keeping your sanity during the COVID-19 pandemic? Tell us in the comments