Coronavirus and self-isolation: So, what are we going to do all day?

We always thought we wanted unlimited leisure time, empty hours that we could fill with books we were dying to read, passions and hobbies and some relaxed navel-gazing. We were going to write that novel or screenplay, somehow talk to that shy guy we see only in the apartment lift, learn to play the guitar or the right way to breathe – if we only had the time. When suddenly a voice from above said, ‘Here is time and more time and, well, more time,’ and now we are, at home, free and utterly clueless about what to do. We should have been careful what we wished for!

With coronavirus upon us and a new game called ‘self-isolate’ all the rage, that expected buzz from solitude has gone missing. We realise we are not mentally equipped to navel-gaze with a gun to our head. Meditation happens when we steal a few moments from our hectic schedules, not when we are bang in the middle of a vacant day.

From thinking up excuses to bunk work we are now given a blank check by our bosses to NOT come in. ‘Work from home’ is the new mantra – leaving us stranded on an island without gossip, coffee breaks or even dressing up for office. Family members are our new colleagues, and being the chief people we fled from on a daily basis, WFH leads to vast misunderstandings for all parties.

Kids are locked in with us and domestic help is locked out. All our happy notions of family bonding time – which, incidentally, we always planned outside the house, during vacations or dining out – are overturned by the newly discovered truth that friends, and only friends, really get you.

Empty moments are piling up like empty calories. No gym, no walks – we are larger versions of ourselves. The human tendency to hoard during crises makes dieting laughable; staring down a deadly virus in the eye needs all your strength.

Couples may kill time the only way they know and give rise to a whole new generation of Coronials. Bad marriages are surely going to get worse. Domestic violence and child abuse cases, it is feared, will rise. COVID-19 gives abusive partners and parents unlimited alone time with their victims, not to mention the handy frustration they can tap into to fly into a temper. So, for many, protecting themselves from death by a virus, ironically, means facing other threats to their lives.

Apart from the necessary family restructurings, there is also the matter of you yourself. How boring even twiddling thumbs becomes when told to twiddle thumbs all day long. How monotonous even Netflix seems when that’s all we’ve got. The days and nights grow longer, with less and less to do.

We loved indoors when we were outdoors, knowing that either area was just a door click away. Now cooped up, we have to learn to make small talk with ourselves. We can no longer blame our company for being boring anymore as we are our own company.