As I am sure we are all finding in this interesting and unprecedented moment in history that finally having the time to learn how to play the piano or read all those books piled high on your shelf does not mean you will actually employ all this time doing so. Why would I clean out the fridge of all the unnecessary, virtually empty condiments like I keep saying I need to do when I can just as easily put that off until tomorrow? There are YouTube videos to be watched about how to fold a fitted sheet and circles that need to be walked between the fridge and the couch, there are crafts to be made like hedgehogs from toilet paper rolls and cups of tea that need to be drank. When you know tomorrow will be just as empty in required tasks as today, it is far too appealing to assign your future self certain jobs. It feels like planning for the future. But constantly putting off these little tasks is a great way to watch them not get done.

Naturally you don’t want to go mad and spend the entirety of one day completing everything imaginable. That’s not even a good idea in normal times, unless you’re on a crazy motivation high. Exhausting yourself doesn’t do well to pass the time either. Instead, do tasks but allow yourself to take time doing them. For example, London as of late has had the good fortune of nice weather. I’ve decided to take advantage of the sun and spring warmth by utilizing the green space in our apartment complex it do pleasure reading, class readings, or simply to sit and have lunch. If I want to pause for a moment to enjoy the birds chirping or the acoustic guitar being played a few flats overhead, I can. It’s not often we have the time to enjoy a moment. More often than not we only have until the next stop on the subway (or Tube or Metro or whatever you call it) to finish that chapter of the book we love, or it’s only the next twenty minutes before another meeting for us to finish and send that email. Perhaps we only have Saturday morning to do a load of laundry and the vacuuming, or Wednesday lunch to organize our thoughts on an assignment. Isn’t it nice, then, to have the time to spend not just doing these things, but even stopping in the middle to take a breath, to send a nice message to a friend, to close your eyes and listen to a breeze rustling some leaves.

view from the back garden in our apartment complex

Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. Spend my day allowing myself to pause and enjoy the time we’ve been given. There are too many people out there who aren’t able to do so, who are still out there risking their health to protect everyone and keep things running. If you have the ability to enjoy these days of isolation, try to do so. We don’t always have this luxury, and even now not everyone does.

One of the things I’ve chosen to do is bake and cook. Based on how much flour has been absent from the grocery stores I suspect I am not alone in this too. While it’s not as easy as I had thought to find recipes while in the UK which use measuring cups instead of weight (my scale is still in NY…) I have managed to make do and produce banana bread and fruit scones to some rather tasty success. I have tried to balance the eating of these baked goods with some exercise.

While Easter this year was a bit different from normal, that didn’t mean yummy food couldn’t be had! It was actually quite nice to spend an afternoon roasting up some ham with a honey-mustard-orange glaze. During normal times I don’t always have the ability to spend an afternoon cooking like this. If I’m at work or in class I often come home too tired and want something which cooks up quicker, or I’ve spent the day doing other odds and ends and don't leave enough time to roast something by dinnertime. Would be nice to maintain certain habits like this after the lockdown. Good food can make a real difference.

Other than baking, cooking, reading, and enjoying the sunshine, I’ve allowed myself some nonsensical down time as well. On Easter Monday I woke up without much desire to anything of consequence, and it was nice to be able to give myself leave to have a lazy day. What is difficult is falling into a bad habit of continuous lazy days. I’ve noticed that if I watch a YouTube video or tv show in the morning, I am infinitely more likely to spend the rest of my day being unproductive. Music is fine, especially some nice classical jazz with my morning coffee, but watching a video seems to set me off down an idle path. In all honesty, I think this is a good thing to know. I’m sure this applies even during non global pandemic situations, and so now I’ve learned something about myself, something which I will be able to apply to my life after all this.

Something else I hope to be able to keep up is my more open minded approach to my drawing. Since I’ve had the time to spend on drawing and redrawing the images for my current project, I’ve noticed how much I enjoy being able to take the time doing so. If I don’t think a page works quite right, I’m able to try it again without time constraints due to a busy schedule. It’s nice to be able to admit if something doesn’t work and allow yourself to have another go at it. I’ve also allowed myself to stop drawing if I don’t feel I’m getting anywhere one day and pick it up again tomorrow. Being less precious with my drawings and not viewing each one as the final or believing it must be absolutely perfect on a first go is a huge relief. I know at the moment I have all this time to draft and redraft, but it’s an approach I’d like to maintain moving forward.

the first draft for one page of my current book

the second draft where I was able to add a bit more detail and a more interesting and dynamic perspective

So we all are in odd times, but not necessarily empty ones. We are able to fill our days with little moments, whether those be productive ones or simply ones to sit and appreciate a cup of coffee and an open window. And maybe after this we will find the world and our days just a tiny bit brighter.

socially distant does not mean life stops