We’re all stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and the question we must ask ourselves at this point is: How will we spend our time?

In this short episode, I argue on the merits of using this time to catch up with our favorite hobbies.

New Format: In this episode, I’m trying a slightly different tack with regards to the style of the content, and I’d appreciate feedback on it. Do you like the new style? Typically, I outline what I want to say, sit down and talk about it, hitting each point i want to make. I have several sections, including my facts, quotes, and in the past I’ve done challenges. This episode is somewhat more free-form. I’ve thought of it as something of a podcast essay. Let me know what you think either with the Feedback form or by sending an email to dovid@ClevelandCreativeOutlet.com. Thanks!

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Transcript:

Welcome to What Makes You Happy, the show that explores our hobbies and pastimes and how they delight us. This is episode number #24 (actually 23 – oops) and today we’re discussing hobbies and quarantine.

I’m going to try a slightly different episode today, giving you an entirely new kind of content from this podcast. I’m trying to put more effort into the project, and I value your feedback. If you can, I’d really appreciate any input you have, even if you just want to tell me how much you love the sound of my voice. Send all messages to info@ClevelandCreativeOutlet.com.

With the state of the global pandemic that is COVID-19, more commonly known as coronavirus, it behooves us to follow the advice of the professionals and practice social distancing, and quarantining where necessary in an effort to flatten the growth curve of the infected population to reduce strain on our hospitals and save lives. But that raises the question: when we’re stuck at home, and many of us are in the position where we must do so without work to keep us occupied, how will we fill our time?

It would be so easy to spend the next few weeks reverting back to our college years and subsist on a steady diet of ramen and YouTube, but I am here to be the voice of reason and urge you to try more. There has got to be a hobby, some long lost pastime that you put down long ago and have yet to pick back up. As long as you can practice appropriate social distancing, now is the perfect time to reconnect with a previous interest. For some of you, that’s reading a good book, while for others it’s hiking local trails.

I’ll say this once so I don’t have to repeat myself over and over again, but do follow your local laws. If you have to stay indoors, stay indoors. Here in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine et al have given us a “Stay at Home” order, that is, work from home if you can, all others stay at home anyway. You can go grocery shopping, and you can go for walks, bike rides, or to a park, but that’s about it. If it’s not an emergency, try not to come into contact with other people. I don’t think that’s terrible advice. The point is, follow the law. Great, it’s out of my system now. Onward.

I think that people in general are often choosing to see this whole situation as the worst thing that could ever happen to them. And I can see why! Schools are closed, the economy is going to take a major hit, people aren’t getting paychecks. And when people do find the positive in our current situation, it’s an anecdote. A bit of good news to cheer you up. Personally, I try my hardest to see the best in the situation I’m in. Perhaps we should all be trying to see the good in our predicament. For one, we’re spending more time with our children, instead of simply sending them off to a school all day. Sure it’s a break in their routines, but a little extra bonding time with Mom and Dad? I count that as a win. For another, we’re all cooking for ourselves more. In a country where being overweight is considered normal, that’s a huge win! Count your blessings, is what I’m saying. Be thankful for the mysterious ways of the Universe, you’ll be much happier for it. Obviously, there are people hurting very badly, but keeping a positive outlook is I think, vital to our resilience.

Of course we also have a bit more time for our hobbies. Even if you’re working from home and usually have a 15 minute commute every day – most of us have more – that’s an extra 30 minutes daily we can spend on what we love to do. Hobbies!

So let’s talk about a few things you can do specifically to fill your time. Number 1 – Clean House!

We had Christina Hidek on the show a while back. If you don’t remember who she is, go back and listen to that episode, episode #17. She was a really fun guest and a hoot to listen to. Christina is a cleaning specialist. And since we’re coming up on spring time, it’s the perfect time to beat our rugs and throw out old unwanted stuff we’ve accumulated over the wintertime. Clearing out your home can really open up a huge amount of space you didn’t know you had, and it makes your environment feel so much better. Christina recommends you start with your bedroom because you start and end your day there! I couldn’t agree more! I did that very thing just yesterday, and it’s so nice to see the floor again. I cleaned the windows, vacuumed the rug, changed the sheets, put away all the unfolded laundry and purged some old ratty clothes that need to be tossed or donated. It’s amazing.

Number 2 on our list of ways to fill your newfound time is – Go for a bike ride!

Since the weather is warming up, now is the perfect time to pump up your tires, grease your chain and stretch your legs. Being cooped up in quarantine, with nothing but the solitude of social distancing to keep you company is bound to give anybody cabin fever. It’s important to get some fresh air, move your body and get a change of scenery. Check those boxes – tick, tick, tick because biking is the perfect activity for the current milieu. On a bike you can hit the local trails, tour the neighborhood, even wave to your neighbors as you pass by. I always say it’s impossible to not smile while riding a bike, and while that may be a stretch, especially if you’re grinding your way up a 15% grade for a couple miles in a row, the fact remains that you will feel better after the ride than you do before it.

My choice for filling your quarantine time Number 3 is to – Learn a new skill.

Life is a busy place, and the harder tasks sometimes get bumped down the line to make room for easier, more immediate challenges. Well, you now have the opportunity to finally sit down and bang out that new skill you’ve been meaning to master. For me, that’s morse code. It’s a hard skill that takes time and effort that I just didn’t have to work on it. I doubt I’ll be fluent by the time the quarantine breaks, but I’ll have made serious progress at least. For you it might be something more practical like learning a new language or practicing meditation. Maybe you want to get back into playing your instrument. Whatever that skill that seems out of reach simply because of time, you now have the time, and the time is now. Study up!

For Number 4, I’m addressing the need for some fun and games – Have a Virtual Game Night.

No that’s not a video game, I mean host a game night, virtually. Call all your friends up and invite them to a Skype session tonight. Set up an extra account with a camera pointing at your game board. Play a game together over Skype. Tell everyone to pour themselves a drink while they’re at it. The choice of game almost doesn’t matter. I assume you’re feeling a bit lonely at home with no one to talk to and all weekend events closed for the time being. Great news! All your friends are miserable too, and they have nowhere to go. From what I can tell, everyone is desperate for someone to talk to – but who talks on the phone anymore? Set up game night, and play a silly game. Chutes and Ladders comes to mind. Just don’t play monopoly, you want to keep the friends you have. At least until after quarantine.

And lastly, Number 5, play with your hobby of course!

This whole podcast is all about the intersection between hobbies and happiness. And the current crisis is the perfect proving ground for that point – now is the time to spend time doing what you love. It would be so easy to become depressed and disheartened, so it’s especially important to keep yourself grounded and enjoy your circumstances as best you can.

Personally, I’m doing a little bit of everything. I’m like a kid in a candy store, it’s hard to focus on just one thing. I’m riding my bike, I’m talking on ham radio with folks all over, playing video games, making videos, drawing, you name it. Honestly, I’m kind of having a great time except for being stuck, generally. I’ve even been working on a super special project that I’m going to be announcing very soon, but I want to keep it under wraps for now. I’ll say this – it has a visual element. That’s it! Not saying another word. You can’t get it out of me. But when I can announce it, I’ll be sure to do so here in this space so you know all about it.

Hosted By: Dovid E.Z. Stern [Ph. (216) 526-6641, Em. dovid@clevelandcreativeoutlet.com, URL www.clevelandcreativeoutlet.com]

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