Editor’s blog: Routine vs escapism

I am now well into the second week of my 14-day self-isolation, and while this blog started out as a daily update the relative chaos of working in a home with a teenager, a pre-teen and a four-year old means it has become more of an snapshot when I find time to catch my breath.

One unsettling consequence of this lockdown is that the usual variation between week days and weekends has mostly evaporated. With no social commitments it is easy to find yourself slipping back into work almost without realising it. If Michael Gove is right and the current stay at home restrictions are set to last for an indefinite “significant period” I for one am going to have to get better at finding a balance at the weekend as well as every other day of the week.

Reports back from the local high street reflect a range of attitudes from careful observance of the 2m rule to a complete lack of respect shown towards fellow shoppers and in-store staff

My partner’s seven days of self-isolation has now ended so he has been able to shop for food supplies, but while some local shops seem to have good queuing systems in place, others appear to be less organised. His reports back from the local high street reflect a range of attitudes from careful observance of the 2m rule to a complete lack of respect shown towards fellow shoppers and in-store staff.

Once back from the fray, I helped him unpack the groceries, taking care to wipe disinfectant over the packaging and wash all the fresh food - such extreme cleanliness is unheard of in our household.

Quite frankly I have been grateful to avoid the angry shopping scenes and to hunker down at home. But I have still found that my mood swings between calm acceptance of the new reality to high anxiety over an uncertain future. At times I’ve reached coronavirus news saturation point – almost everything you read, watch or listen to makes some sort of reference to it.

Here are some things I have found helpful on a personal level over the past few days:

• 30 minutes of morning exercise – I will admit I have only started this very recently and I have not joined the ranks of Joe Wicks fans (yet) but it is amazing how much better I feel after trying a short yoga session on YouTube followed by a few minutes skipping in my back garden
• Apps for stir-crazy kids – so far I’ve downloaded the birdnet app for identifying birdsong, the Google Arts & Culture app for virtual tours of museums, Simply Piano app to motivate my 11 year old with music practice. I will not lie, my sons also spent many weekend hours playing Fortnite, but I consoled myself that this is their way of staying in touch with friends
• Feel-good movies – my usual staple of Scandi crime dramas just won’t cut it these days, I need nostalgia and it has been fun to introduce classics to the kids such as Some Like It Hot, The Producers and Airplane – silly comedy is a genre we can all appreciate right now.

All of which probably puts me somewhere on the spectrum between finding a purposeful routine and indulging in complete escapism.

Chloe McCulloch, Building editor
Share your stories of adapting to covid-19 restrictions, email:chloe.mcculloch@building.co.uk

Blogs so far: Day one, Day two, Day three, Day four, Days five and six, Days seven and eight