Every time
India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji comes on screen at 8 PM, our heart skips a
beat. The thought of demonetization still clings us.
This time he came twice on news, once on
Thursday, 19th March 2020 at 8 PM and made
a few announcements:
- COVID-19 Economic Response Taskforce
- To be headed by FM
- Will take measures to boost the economy
- Ensure decisions are implemented
- Don’t cut wages of those working for you
- Avoid panic buying; India has enough supplies
- Avoid stepping out unless essential
- Children under 10 and those aged over 60 years should stay home
- ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday, 22nd March 2020 from 7 AM to 9 PM
- At 5 PM Sunday, express gratitude to those working round the clock
- Avoid routine health checks at hospital, postpone elective surgeries
- Stay away from rumors
- India to undergo lockdown for 21 days till 14th April 2020
- 21 days of Janata Curfew which means 21 days of lockdown across India
From the above
announcements, the major announcement was where he requested Indians to
implement the ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday, 22nd March 2020 from
7 AM to 9 PM.
With this
announcement, he requested 1.3 billion citizens of India to understand
the power of social distancing and thus prevent the spread of COVID-19 in
India.
This was implemented and accepted whole-heartedly by all the Indians and people even clapped as requested by Modi Ji at 5 PM for themselves for abiding by the rules of the curfew and our other citizens who had to work to maintain the functioning of the nation.
Since this experiment of social distancing worked for a day viz. on 22nd March 2020, Modi Ji requested all Indian citizens to follow this curfew for the next 21 days starting 25th March 2020.
This was implemented and accepted whole-heartedly by all the Indians and people even clapped as requested by Modi Ji at 5 PM for themselves for abiding by the rules of the curfew and our other citizens who had to work to maintain the functioning of the nation.
Since this experiment of social distancing worked for a day viz. on 22nd March 2020, Modi Ji requested all Indian citizens to follow this curfew for the next 21 days starting 25th March 2020.
I won’t get into
details of what is COVID-19 and how social distancing will prevent the spread
of the virus, rather I want to focus on –
How to stay productive during the lockdown?
When Janata Curfew was implemented on Sunday, 22nd March 2020 and being a Sunday, the first thought that popped up in every citizen's mind is
– I WILL SLEEP!
Indian citizens survived this curfew! Kudos to us! But now, Modi Ji has told us to follow this curfew for 21 days straight starting today viz. Wednesday, 25th March 2020!
As per studies conducted, staying under the lockdown leads to Panic, Anxiety & Depression. So, we need to spend the hours at home constructively by maintaining our mental equilibrium.
You could either
do a few from the below which interests you or all of them:
- Exercise: Doing any sort of exercise refreshes us and
gives us a good start for the day. E.g. doing 10 pushups or 10 squats or
running on the place. You could encourage all your family members to exercise
together making it a family activity. Exercising could also include doing yoga
or meditation.
- Read newspaper: If the newspaper isn’t available, download news app
like Google News, TOI, etc. Or you could see news on TV or on YouTube. But please keep a limit on time spent on digital device
- Gardening: It is said that gardening helps reduce
stress. If you have multiple plants, this could be converted to a family
activity to increase the bond amongst family members.
- Learn & solve
Sudoku: Games like
Sudoku helps increase brain activity. Newspapers (if available) have a puzzle section that has Sudoku, or you could even download Sudoku apps from your app store. There
are other puzzles in the newspaper which you could learn and solve.
- Learn & solve
Rubik’s cube: Pick up that Rubik's cube you thought you couldn't solve and master the steps to solve Rubik’s cube. One of the links which taught me is - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaltgJGz-dU
- Play brain enhancing games: Games could include playing Chess, download apps on your smartphone. One of the application which I like and suits all the age groups is Lumosity. Download by clicking here
- Clean: Cleaning leads to reduced feelings of
anxiety. Clean your drawer or cupboard. Cleanse the house with the involvement
of all the family members.
- Spend ME time:
- Introspect about your life, your career decisions, and your future
- Read a book or novel and review it on Good Reads application so your friends could know the books you like which could become a conversational starter
- Learn more about your field
- Write. Write on Quora or an article on LinkedIn. Share the knowledge you have. It might help someone
- Watch that TED talk or sitcom or movie you heard your friends/colleagues discuss. Please keep a limit on your screen time
- Pamper yourself by doing self-care
- Draw or color/paint
- Make a start towards learning that new skill for your professional or personal life
- If you were looking out for a job change, update your resume and start sending across your application
- Spend FAMILY time:
- Bring out those cards, board games you had kept in the cupboard
- Play housie/tambola with your family. You could add a twist like the first to get a full housie will get five-star service for the remaining day so it would be fun.
- Play games like Dumb Charades, Chess, Carrom, Jenga, Pictionary
- Learn or contribute to cooking
- Watch a movie with your family
- Plan a trip you had thought this year
- Keep your phones aside for one day and share experiences with your family
- If you have kids at your home, spend as much time with them as possible so they don’t get bored and request to leave the house
- Take a trip down the memory lane by looking at all the old pictures and old videos
- Talk to
friends/relatives: Video
conference with your friends or relatives and see what’s going on in their area. Applications like Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Skype are the best if the count is more than four or else you could stick to WhatsApp
These are just a
few ideas from my end. I would love to get some ideas I missed so I could update
here, and it could benefit others reading as well.
Please follow government orders even if you are against them or don’t trust them. Please don’t step out of your house unless necessary. Stay Safe!
If you feel lonely, please call someone immediately! Don't let the lockdown get you. Stay positive.
"This too shall pass."
Also, as an additional activity, if you could upload photos on WhatsApp or Social Media while doing the above activities, it will inspire your friends to follow.
