COVID-19 Quarantine: Things to do to Keep you Convinced for Home-Isolation
13th March. No sooner had I stepped in
my home than the phone started buzzing with notifications, one after another. Several screenshots were doing rounds in multiple WhatsApp groups, even though we were yet to receive a formal notification of the announcement. Not but what, shortly an email
communicated the immediate locking down of the IIT campus in Kharagpur. That was a
week ago. And that was just the beginning.
COVID-19 was already on a rampage in first world countries by then. Italy was going bleak day by day and was in lockdown. Sooner rather than later, India put a check on the inflowing travelers from China, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Korea, and the UK. A mandatory 14 days self-quarantine was on order. But the gravity of the situation had yet to dawn upon us. It was week 1 and only 3 people were known to have been infected. I still had my weekend travel plans (to Bishnupur) in mind. Then week 2 happened and the numbers increased in the twinkling of an eye. The government announced that the country is in Stage 2 of contamination. Going into Stage 3 can potentially be avoided by social distancing. Public gatherings are a big no-no now, in India (although not in full-effect owing to the public itself). Schools and colleges have been shut in most Indian states.
Traveling is also on a clean break for the time being. Even if your wanderlust urges you to step out, it is best not to do so. The best-laid plan, for now, is to home isolate yourself. It is not that difficult though. You could still nourish your traveling mind by engaging yourself in fun activities. It is more like revisiting the childhood summer-hols minus the holidaying. And in doing so, not only you get connected to your roots but also participate in a greater good. Despite the pandemic and travel bans, the hymn of the traveling soul comes out ahead.
***
When I saw Resident Evil, even Contagion, I had nightmares of the dead
and the associated outbreak and vulnerabilities. It is as if the ordeals are
coming off now. Italy is devastated. So is Spain and Iran. The virus is on a
killing spree and it is wreaking havoc from the very inside. And it is on us,
to not take the situation lightly and follow the social-distancing strictly. We
could avoid the outbreak scenario only by delimiting ourselves.
***
Work on your Instagram
The world of Instagram is known to all and sundry. With
the adequate time in our pouches at the moment, perhaps, refreshing old
memories is fairly a decent notion. Going
over the past journeys’ snaps, you will bump into a good few ones. Surprisingly,
the once disregarded ones will appear catchy this time. Instagram is just the
place for micro-blogging, to let your heart out, impromptu. The original, the
better. Even better, ask your audience and follow the response. Not only do you
work your pictures out, but also supplement the same with a touch of Tailwind
before you hit on publish. Using a tool like Tailwind, pursuing audiences at an
optimized mode becomes easy, even if you’re not around.
Have you ever thought of writing it down?
Journalising your trip details is the best way to reminisce
about your travel excitements. Penning down your know-hows and happy experiences will
get the better off you in the future when you flip through the pages. Online
platforms like Tripoto, India Mike renders the apt pages for your thoughts. Also, you can document your memories and hang onto them in Blogger (I prefer it) or
Wordpress.
You connect to the World while you share. The whole
of the World is distancing themselves, some even away from their families. And so
are we. A bit of armchair travel, for now, could save you and the others as well.
And as we fight the pandemic behind, let your travel writings be the vicarious journey
for the other.
Do you collect souvenirs? I bet you do.
So forth the type of trips you had been to, I bet you
have the souvenirs to recollect. From colourful postcards to coins and stamps,
to vibrant showpieces, all tokens, and witness to your successful outings. Whatever
the souvenirs are, if anything, play with it. If it is a photograph, give it a
retouch in Lightroom. More so, give yourself a fair chance, bring back the
artist in you. Back in time, we all took up pastels and somehow gave up when
the wand did not choose us. How about giving the art a call now? Have a shot at
sketching, you sure do have pencils somewhere out there. (Now, now, do not go out to buy it!)
Many people, me inclusive, collect coins and
stamps. Write up the "what’s what" in connection to them. Coins and stamps echo
the antiquity, relevant to the associated places. Look up the internet and you
are bound to get fascinating details, persuading you all the more to visit the state.
 |  |
Philately and numismatics are two of my favourite hobbies. What could be more exciting than going through the details linked to them?
Why not give your culinary self a whirl?
Cookout the favourites, now are the
time. However, resources are limited. Online groceries has reduced the
numbers per product, since the spike in buying usual staples. Now is the dare
for your self-proclaimed title of Sous Chef, cooking good and minimal, under
these adversities. Cooking trials often turn out fruitful, and the reward is nothing
less than pure self-satisfaction.
Plan well ahead. You have time aplenty.
A long trip always calls for good planning
beforehand. On a personal note, I had intended many trips till May which I don’t
see happening in the near future. I can only pin my hopes on refining the
itinerary I so planned. Rest assured, while planning the itinerary, your mind
would play you a montage of photos that you see on the internet. The virtual
imageries are enough to quench your wanderlust for now.
 |
| I had intended many trips till May which I don’t see happening in the near future. So, spending the quality time with the cooking trials, and the reward is nothing less than pure self-satisfaction. |
Unleash the bookworm in you.
Making an itinerary is not just defined by the
internet, but the vibrant pages of books as well. As a Bengali, Satyajit Ray is
my perennial favourite. I owe my penchant for travel to him; odds are, most of
the Bengalis do. Speaking of which, unleash the bibliophile in you and travel
the world through the penned words of well-known authors. Articles in the pioneering
travel monthlies (namely NatGeo Traveller, Lonely Planet, etc) are also your bag here.
Decorate your accessories to travel.
Your
travel accessories, each one of them, had been your “sole-mates” (not soulmates) so long. It is time to give them
a makeover too. Indeed, for all those trips together, it took two to tango, you
and all your unique accessories. It is
about time, a thanksgiving rather, that you vent out the acknowledgment you were holding back this
long. One of my friends, Suchi Ta, transformed her backpack into a map of the places she
visited. Kudos to her line of thought! I just loved it!
And, if you are, by this time, a blogger
then you are blessed with a platform of your own already.
First and foremost, spread awareness regarding COVID-19.
World Health Organization (WHO) is doing its utmost to spread the awareness, so are the Nation statesmen. As responsible citizens, we need to understand and abide by the instructions. We are fighting against a virus that has no antidote yet. So all we could do is follow the protocol "Prevention is Better than Cure". We need to understand that India, given the large population, is at stake here. The virus must not spread or else it will be doomsday. Isolation is thus a bare necessity now, lest the outbreak.
Read the WHO Guidelines.
Find the Myths here.
Read the WHO Guidelines.
Find the Myths here.
 |
| WHO guidelines to avoid #COVID-19 |
 |  |
A word of thanks.
Adopt a travel-for-each-other approach. If you had stayed
in a hotel or resort earlier, now is the time to leave them a heartfelt note of thanks.
Blog a review, so that it could boost up their franchises once the pandemic is
done for. Even better personally mail them and express your sincere gratitude
during these hard times.
Finish off the drafts that are pending for so long.
If you are having a list of titles hanging in there
in the draft section of your blog, you already have the piece chalked up. A slight
honing, and you can hit publish. Challenge yourself
to a self-blogging challenge, befittingly the perfect pastime to while away the
prolonged lockdown. If not daily, make sure that you make use of March
felicitously.
Also Read: 6 Reasons Why You Should be Participating in a Travel Blogger's Club 7-Day Challenge
Also Read: 6 Reasons Why You Should be Participating in a Travel Blogger's Club 7-Day Challenge
Connect to grow.
Connecting on social media is an apt way to de-socialize
on the streets. As travel bloggers, the keynote lies in socializing. Well, it
is quite evident that the only way out now is going against the flow. However,
networking over Facebook, LinkedIn, Mix, Pinterest will not only bring the link
juice to your blog, but they are also the pertinent place to grow your connection.
Indulge in more productive sharing amongst your niche.
Also Read: This is how Facebook helped me to Surge Traffic for my Blog
Also Read: This is how Facebook helped me to Surge Traffic for my Blog
Work on SEO improvement.
Google ranking keeps on changing based on SERP
analysis. Work on your keywords and backlinks as well. As of now, it is apprehended
that backlinking is the proteins to your blog. Use tools like Google trends
to understand working keywords.
Brush up the old posts.
Did it ever occur to you, that the
first set of posts no longer matches your contemporary writing style? Yes, you
experimented with your style, and you evolved. And your past posts now need
significant brush-up. So what are you waiting for?
Today, zeroeth hour onwards, India is going into
nation-wide full-fledged lockdown for 21 days. Let us take it as a hibernation period. Keep
yourself busy. Do the necessary groceries beforehand, not more than what you
need. Let us be supportive of each other by physically distancing ourselves. Let
us be the responsible citizen to work out these difficult times, above and
beyond what the Nation calls for.
 |  |
12 comments
I am focusing on my social presence with the additional free time I now have, I feel it is very useful. Great tips.
ReplyDeleteNice tips. They are really so many activities to do at home. All we need is a phone,strong wifi connection and Netflix subscription. ��
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas on current issue of the world.
ReplyDeleteLove the fact that your list is so productive. I wish people would do what you suggested rather than finding reasons to stay out or go out.
ReplyDeleteI've been cooking and organizing more whilst being in quarantine. These are great recommendations for those who don't what to do at home.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I love the thought of decorating your travel gear in anticipation of when the world settles down, and growing your cooking repertoire, and getting back into my love of reading!
ReplyDeleteYup. Totally looking forward to the days when this lockdown will be gone.
DeleteSuch an amazing ideas while we're staying at home. This is definitely a great step to know what to do on a times like this.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't a lockdown yet here in Japan, but we might get one soon. I did take some time off and just kept to myself indoors. I got a lot of writing, editing, reading, and working on my self during these times.
ReplyDeleteSince our quarantine started, I am focusing on my health and my startup and in all honesty I am happy i am making use of my time wisely.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips and suggestions while we are all going through isolation from the world.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips for keeping sane right now. I am going to read more this weekend I am an inner bookworm afterall.
ReplyDelete