Yesterday, Sunday, I read one of the best articles I've ever read about the lockdown. It was written by astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the International Space Station, and published in The New York Times.
The advice he gives comes from experience and is so simple that it's possible to replicate it in the current situation. This is how I'm going to apply it.
1- Stick to a schedule: When the lockdown started, I stopped setting my alarm. Although I'm still working from home, not having to take the kids to school allowed me to stay in bed a little longer. I still got up early, but each day felt 'lazy' even though I was working. Today, I woke up to my alarm, and I feel more productive. Meal times, leisure time, downtime, and bedtime are also important.
2- See nature: Kelly recommends going out into nature—it's currently allowed in the US—but when he was in space, this wasn't an option. For him, some flowers that were part of an experiment and the sounds of nature helped him enjoy it a little. Yesterday, we cut some cuttings from an indoor plant—a Pothos—and put them in water. I hope they take root so we can do some gardening without leaving home.
3- Make time for a hobby: Maybe it's that crocheting you've never quite gotten around to, or writing, or painting, or baking. It really doesn't matter what you do; the important thing is that you do something that takes you away from the computer, the notifications, the chaos. This weekend we started making thread bracelets with a kit of my daughter's that we hadn't even opened yet. We want to learn different styles.
4- Keep a journal: Kelly says that NASA has been studying the effects of isolation for some time, and that journaling is beneficial—it gives perspective to the situation, and you'll have a record of this time. A journal doesn't have to have a specific format; I'm going to take photos every day and write a few lines about it.
5- Connect with your loved ones: The virtual get-together is already a classic, and it turns out that this connection can help keep our immune system strong. Make time to connect with someone you care about every day. I try to talk to my sister and my father every day, and on Saturday I met up with a group of friends virtually. It's not the same as seeing someone in person, but it certainly helps, especially when we can talk about things other than the pandemic.
6. Listen to the experts: It's normal to consume a lot of information these days. Kelly recommends that all that information be high-quality and from reliable sources. I read several national and international newspapers, as well as the World Health Organization's website.