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Rules on self-isolation have seen recent changes, with guidelines dropping to 5 days self-isolation in England, 6 days in Northern Ireland and 7 days in Scotland (if you record two negative lateral flow tests that is). Whatever the duration it seems like quarantine will remain in our lives for the time being.
If you are self-isolating you may be dreading the the idea of time indoors on your own. Don’t think of it like that! Take a positive spin on things instead. We all have busy lives, studying, working, socialising and we sometimes forget to pause and take the time to look after ourselves. So, grab your isolation by the horns and use this time for some much-needed TLC.
We have listed some of our favourite ways to add some well needed self-care to your self-isolation.
Home spa day:
I’m talking to all of you here, get a quick next delivery of hair masks, face masks, eyes masks, nail cream, soothing moisturiser, some cucumber for your eyes – whatever you fancy! Take a long shower and then set up your room with some candles, some music or a podcast, open up your blinds and windows to let the sunshine in – do whatever makes your feel relaxed! You’ll be surprised how long you can be in the spa zone for, so make it a day of absolute relaxation.
Disney +:
Although encouraging loads of screen time isn’t our top priority, the selection of movies and series on Disney+ is not one to miss. Marvel fan? They have got you covered with Mulan, Black Widow, The Avengers, you name it. Even from old school classics like Mrs Doubtfire and The Parent Trap, to action movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, there is something for everyone, and who doesn’t enjoy a movie marathon?!
PS if your phone contract is with O2, you can get up to 6 months free, alternatively it costs £7.99 a month (that’s cheaper than a trip to the cinema and trust us it’s worth it).
Puzzles:
Hear us out here, you may have read this elsewhere, but puzzles are great! You are not fixed to a screen; you can set them up anywhere, you can come and go whenever you please, and studies have shown that doing jigsaw puzzles can improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning.
So, with all these reasons to invest, we recommend you purchase a puzzle board (to have it all in one place), and test yourself with a 1000-piece puzzle to really trigger your problem solving skills and stimulate your brain.
*We love to see what you get up to in our Novel Student buildings, so if you are tackling a puzzle today, tag us in your story @novelstudent.
Organise your year:
Organising can be a bit of a burden task, like updating a CV for example. But with some time to kill, now is your opportunity!
Plan out what you are doing for the year, or what you want to do. Alongside this you can plan your budgets and work out if you can afford it.
*There are lots of yearly planners out there, whether you want a large wall planner to jot on now and then, an excel sheet securely saved on your laptop or a diary type planner then that is up to you!
See the world… yep that’s right, from your bedroom:
A change of scenery can be much needed after a few days in quarantine. Whilst you can’t leave your room there are a number of virtual tours now on offer in attractions across the globe.
From the British Museum in London to the San Diego Zoo in America, a number of popular tourist destinations across the world now provide virtual yours.
So, enjoy some of the world’s most visited tourist spots, from the comfort of your bed. Bonus fun to confuse your friends when you respond with ‘The Louvre was great’, when they ask how your self-isolation is great.
Overall, we get it, isolation isn’t ideal but if you do some of the above time will fly and you will be flying out of your four walls with a positive mindset!
If you are a resident at Novel Student, we urge you to let us know if you are self-isolating, so we can assist and support you in anyway needs be.
Since the writing of this article government guidelines on self-isolation may have changed. To find out the current rules follow the links here:
Students in our properties in: