Lockdown pastimes

I explored Netflix - a wide variety of things to watch

In the first few weeks I struggled with books so just read magazines instead. Then I started to read a few old favourites as they were familiar and didn’t take much concentration. I am now back to my normal choices though trying to do a bit of mix and matching.

We did end up watching a few films in the afternoons especially when the rain set in. The tv doesn’t normally go on in the daytime.

We are currently in voluntary lock down. I haven’t been out so not sure how it’s going.

Lots of good posts here already especially Dorsetcupcake. Jigsaw addict here, usually only allowed over christmastime. Find a decent large board even cardboard so work can be moved off a table at shortnotice. A decent light important too. Youtube was my salvation when I had to give up artgroup. I try to keep paints on the go with greeting cards. Plenty of supplies in shops now open or online such as blank coloured cards (red/green eg) glitter and metallic paint. I find walking without a purpose hard but will have podcasts of radio stuff with earphone and that helps. Not a good knitter but getting better as have done some rugs out of plain knit squares. I happily play online bridge with real people (BBO site) and getting better at Soduko.

Anything non screen based?

Sorry, I read that too late.
Audio books?
Painting - Bob Ross programmes are being repeated on BBC4

I was on a Zoom meeting this morning with a group I belong to and they were struggling to find another mutually convenient time - some seemed to be so busy! There were a few of us, however, who were more readily available .
I wanted to ask the others what kept them so busy.

I do keep quite busy with crafts etc but don't have a full diary at the moment.

If you do fancy learning a craft, language, at all, there are some excellent YouTube videos online.
A friend does crosswords online

Futurelearn courses as already suggested by NotTooOld :

www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/what-to-learn-during-lockdown

J have found a couple of games on my iPad, word calm and connect. Which I am enjoying.
Still love to read though.

I have also seen my love of reading diminish.

My eyes seem tired but mainly it is concentration that has gone.

I did have Covid back in March so thought that was the cause but here others also not reading.......

is it some weird side effect of simply knowing it is going on?
I am surrounded by holidaymakers who are behaving as if all was well. they don't wear masks or socially distance.
It gets quite surreal.

To have a haircut I sit outside in my garden both myself and the hairdresser wearing PPE and the holiday makers are streaming past apparently in another reality!

Another suggestion for a pastime would be making handsewn patchwork. Could be a momento of this strange experience or not!

Decoupage is lovely.
Amazon sell plain wooden boxes, tissue boxes, jewellery boxes etc.
Paint them and decorate and finish with modpodge.
So calming.
Good gifts too.

Google Futurelearn. They are a branch of the Open University and offer totally free on-line short courses. No qualifications or previous experience is necessary, you work at your own speed, and the choice of courses is extremely varied. I'm currently doing one on modern sculpture and last year I did one on fashions of the royal family and another on humanism. Lots to choose from. Highly recommended.

Mahjong....lm completely hooked !

Another one here glad to see I was not alone in being unable to concentrate on books. Magazine were okay though, especially craft ones, so I am taking up a couple of offers for cheap subscriptions to get me through the winter.

I make rag rugs. You can get a pulling tool for well under £20 inc delivery, and then cut all your unwanted old clothes, and fabrics into rough squares and hook them into a sheet of hessian. Low cost and great way to use up fabric and pass the time in front of the radio or TV. I can't concentate to read for too long at a time so it's a good way to pass the time productively.

I have started making Christmas cards and knitting, both help with concentration.

During the last lockdown I cross stitched 2 Christmas stockings then got my sewing machine out to make them up. While the machine was out I made some face masks but subsequently prefer the throw away type.
My daughter and her husband are foster carers and the last little girl they had was due to start introductions to her new Mummy and Daddy as we went into lockdown. They have babies and each time a child goes (usually between 12-18 mnths but due to lockdown this little one was 22 mnths) the hundreds of photos they take from the day they get them, which is usually about 2-3 days old, they give to me with an album to create their life journey up to adoption. This is quite time consuming so kept me busy for a while.
I also like to do jigsaws, I usually do 1000 pce ones, I'm not very good at them so they can take a while.
If we have another lockdown I intend to resume my family tree which I started a couple of years ago, but they are so time consuming. As it will be more winter than summer at least I won't want to be in the garden .

JenniferEccles

And if all else fails go out for a nice long walk.

Exercise has been found to even help those with depression and it’s lovely to come home really tired and with the knowledge that it has been so good for our health.

I know it’s a wrench to leave a lovely warm home when it’s cold out but it is worth the effort.

Anyway I am sure another nationwide lockdown would absolutely be the very last resort.

The PM yesterday said that it would be completely devastating to the recovery of the economy, and how on earth could another furlough scheme be afforded?

Did that regularly ! 5miles plus every day.

Sadgrandma

How about writing your life story for your grandchildren. It doesn't have to be professional but they would probably love to read about the things you did as a child, your friends, pets, what you were good at at school ect. and how you met their granddad. Perhaps add some photos too.

I might do that. A relative recently died and I read her life story. The first part up to and including the Second World War was utterly fascinating.

And if all else fails go out for a nice long walk.

Exercise has been found to even help those with depression and it’s lovely to come home really tired and with the knowledge that it has been so good for our health.

I know it’s a wrench to leave a lovely warm home when it’s cold out but it is worth the effort.

Anyway I am sure another nationwide lockdown would absolutely be the very last resort.

The PM yesterday said that it would be completely devastating to the recovery of the economy, and how on earth could another furlough scheme be afforded?

So relieved to read the comments about going off reading during lockdown, thought it was just me. Found plenty to occupy myself though with gardening, a Coursera course on wellbeing and happiness, fitness videos on YouTube, digitalising my photos and making videos from them using Moviemaker app, walking, and getting stuck back into my family tree including visits to Dales and moorland to see where one branch came from, visiting churchyards and lately museums. Now I’ve come full circle, stopped the grass-hopping and started to read again because I want historical background to write a book about those ancestors.

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Lockdown projects!

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I'm lucky in that I love knitting and card making and have a mountain of projects on the go!
Hands up to the lack of reading. It's something I've read about elsewhere to. I have always been an avid reader. I have a pile of books that I have bought in lockdown and before that remain untouched. I've managed 1.5 kindle novels.
I genuinely think the affects of the current situation go deeper than we think and sometimes we are so used to this strange world we are not consciously aware of them.
I remember at the start of lockdown tv in particular seemed so strange with zoom interviews and social distancing. Now it's perfectly normal! I also remember watching programmes made pre covid and it almost being alarming that people weren't social distancing! I also have series that I was watching pre lockdown that I havent finished despite loving them! When I stop to examine why certain things dont give the same pleasure I have a few theories. I also remember early on watching a film made a while ago and feeling a tinge of sadness about how different and care free things were and who would have imagined the current situation.?
Everyone is affected differently. Poor concentration/lack of motivation can be an indicator of anxiety or depression. People are affected by this pandemic in a myriad of ways. I do wonder,if certainly in my case,a reminder of how things were whether in books or films/ tv is at the moment something I dont want to think about more than in short bursts?
So what to do?
I think compiling a family history either written or combined with photos/scrapbooking is a lovely thing to do. Many times childeren/grandchilderen have questions they wished they had asked older relatives. You don't have to have climbed mountains or travelled to Timbuktu. Often it's the little details,early memories, school friends,what your school was like,first job etc. You can buy books online to fill in.
About five years ago my daughter and I decided to be more crafty! We wanted to be more creative but were not quite sure how. I think today we are lucky in that there is an endless supply of information and inspiration.
We may curse it but Amazon is brilliant if search craft kits. You can find many starter kits for every skill level. Painting by numbers? Felt work? Decoupage? There are endless online blogs and articles to inspire. Amazon also often sells very good craft books second hand.
Paper craft can also be very relaxing. Has anyone seen the paper hedgehogs? They are very simple to do and it's a very relaxing process .
Card making can also be very relaxing. You can be as artistic or as basic as want. I cant draw a straight line but love the little books you buy where build up a picture.
Salt dough? Flower pressing?
There are so many craft suppliers.Amazon, ebay,hobbycraft. The Works and Poundland also have a good selection. The end result doesnt have to be perfect it's the process that is fun!
Maybe finding out about the history of your local area would be interesting? I hope you will find something to inspire you. Oh,Pinterest is also good. I also found the most useful aspect of Facebook, which I only joined 6 months ago,are the special interest groups where can share projects and ideas. Very sociable to if we were to be locked down. I will upload a few of my lockdown projects. Not perfect but kept me occupied and gave a sense of achievement.

I second writing your life story. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare and I would love to have my grandparents’ accounts of their lives; so much is a mystery.
My sister has been doing bits of redecorating, nothing too massive, just a freshen up, if you have the energy (I haven’t!)

I am/was able to read avidly. I find books take me into another world. What I can't do is sleep so books have been my solace. I have enjoyed going through my address book and making contact with long-lost friends and relatives either by phone, letter or email. I send pms to a few GN friends and one in particular I correspond with a couple of times a week .We often write about trivia (what we are cooking for dinner or a visit to the tip) but I love it and it keeps me in touch with real people.

It's been lovely reading all your comments, I'm glad it's not just me who seems to have lost the motivation to read, iv read books all my life, love reading but this past year cant seem to concentrate or want to read,. I think company is the most important thing I miss when we were in lockdown

How about writing your life story for your grandchildren. It doesn't have to be professional but they would probably love to read about the things you did as a child, your friends, pets, what you were good at at school ect. and how you met their granddad. Perhaps add some photos too.

This difficulty in concentrating on reading is odd. I’ve always been an avid reader of all sorts of books, but I found I couldn’t concentrate on reading when I was going through my divorce, and then again in lockdown. It’s comforting to know others have had the same problem.