How to look at our isolation as an opportunity

Today, I want to talk about the obvious subject, our staying home situation but I want to say something different. Don’t look at it as a limitation instead feel this as an opportunity.

I was in the middle of my holidays in Madrid (Spain) when the coronavirus crisis started to get serious in Spain. And in my home city Seville, when the government decided to put the country under lockdown. 

So basically I was ahead when I came back to London, and I mean ahead as I already had time to get used to the idea. 

Using my experience to survive isolation. 

After my first day of isolation in London, once I knew I didn’t have to work and all was left for me to do was staying home, I realized something really weird. The feeling I had was the same as I had when I was backpacking in South America. 

How could it be? I was literally living on the street back then and now I couldn’t even go out of my house. 

But still, the feeling was the same, and as I started to think about it I realized why. 

While I was traveling, I didn´t have any responsibilities, which let me a lot of free time for myself.  

Also, I didn´t have any income then, so I had to look out for my expenses. 

The things I cared about then were; find somewhere to sleep, something to eat, and how to use the rest of my time. 

And now I was basically in the same situation.

Own your time, and use it wisely. 

Honestly, I think my backpacking experience is making the isolation a lot easier. 

In a normal situation, most of our time is busy with our responsibilities, so we only have a limited time to spend in ourselves. And most of our life, we complain about not having enough time to do things we want to do, like reading, exercising, etc…

Well now due to this crisis we have been given the opportunity to manage our own time. 

And not only the free time left after working but all of it. We have to, day after day, fill it up with anything but ourselves. 

So my advice is to use this time wisely. Don’t look at it as a limitation, instead, feel this as an opportunity to do everything you had always wanted to do. Obviously there are limitations, travel, unfortunately, is not an option, but I am sure there is plenty you can do from your home. 

There are a lot of obvious options, like exercise, reading, watching movies or TV series. But there is also a lot more you can do. 

Study about something you have always wanted to know. You can use some of the learning platforms on the internet, or just read about it or watch some TED talks about anything you are interested in. 

Spend time with your family, even if it has to be on a screen. Get in touch with these family members or friends you don’t talk that much. 

Check some work alternatives, find something you can do from home and might give you an income. Or just update your CV.

Use this time to make some good habits. You can start eating healthier (which is cheaper also) or get used to exercising every day. 

Learn how to play an instrument, or learn how to sing. You can find all of this on the internet nowadays. 

Use your imagination to create something wonderful. Now you can write your novel, you can paint, you can dance, you can do anything you want. The only limit is your imagination. 

Finally, you could take the time now to just learn how to be by yourself. Think about who you are and who you want to be. Meditate or just think where do you want your life to go. Normally we have to make rash decisions because we are so busy, but now you can really think what your next step, after all this end, will be. 

I am sure you all can come up with some ideas, if only you sit, relax and think about it for a few minutes. 

Another advice would be not to spend a lot of time watching the news or even talking about it. 

It is amazing how much impact has a TV in our lives. I could feel myself getting anxious by the minute because I spend too much time watching the news.

We obviously need to know what is going on and want to share our anxieties with other people. But talking about it all the time doesn’t do any good for you. 

So try to limit the time you spend worrying about this, because by the end of the day, the only thing you can do to help, is staying home and be safe. 

Hopefully, all of this will end soon, and we will come out as a better version of ourselves. So when we get together we will share our experience and learn from it.