When days blur into one – How to break the quarantine monotony

We are now in quarantine for 5+ weeks. And there is no end in sight. Recently I noticed how days and weeks blur into one long stretch. Then I thought of a way how to break the quarantine monotony.

This is not a complaint. We are blessed to be in a safe and comfortable place with all necessities still being available. And I hope it’s the same for you!

Everyone is home now

It’s just a realisation of how things are different to the time before the quarantine. But at the same time the days we spend in quarantine are pretty much the same. This is at least our observation. We have routines (and it’s a good thing to have some routines and good habits in your life). And I’m used to working from home since I started freelancing and then founded my own company. 

But then it changed: My fiancé is working from home full time (until further notice). We are very happy to have enough space in our home. We work alongside each other or separately if we have meetings and calls.

One long blurry day

But then every day started to look the same. No change of scenery. Not meeting other people. No distinct event to distinguish one day from another. Just an endless stream of meals, work and tasks. What day of the week is today?

Again, not complaining – everything is good and we are happy. But there is a monotony to the days that it’s hard to think of what you did yesterday or the day before. 

Break the quarantine monotony

That’s when I thought of a way to break that stream. Break the blur. Make things more colorful again! And that’s when I thought of themed weeks: A theme or topic for the week. 

You might have been to a themed party before and everyone knows seasonal differences. Why not bring it into your home during this time? Think of a topic, then sprinkle elements of it over your week like seasoning over a meal. 

Themes during quarantine

• Season-based, i. e. Summer BBQ or Festive Winter
• Holiday-based, i. e. NYC trip, Ski Holiday
• Geography-based, i. e. Caribbean, Scandinavian

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What to do during a themed week

Think of the activities you do on a daily or weekly basis. Then consider how you could infuse it with elements of your theme.

• Meals: think of meals and snacks that remind you of the theme. Make an effort and prepare things you only have during that time or in that place.
• Drinks: replace some of your usual drinks with something that reminds you of the theme. Inspire your senses with the taste.
• Decoration: do you have anything that you can decorate to emphasize the theme? Put it on the walls or your furniture. Have some souvenirs from a special place? Bring them out and display them for the week. Put pictures up from that time, replace your screensaver with matching photos.
• Music: listening to music often? Select a suitable playlist.
• Video: watching something to wind down? How about themed movies or a matching TV series? One that plays during that season or in the place of your theme.

Our ideas for the coming weeks

The themes I thought of so far are: Summer, New York and Scandinavia

For our week of summer I thought of the BBQ garden parties I used to have with friends. The cool drinks we enjoyed and the things we saw during that season. 

New York Times is our opportunity to relive the good memories from our holiday. We plan to reach out to friends, sing the same songs, eat the same food we had there. 

Our Scandinavian-week will the time to envision being there again, with all it’s nature, foods and people. 

And if you are really really into Christmas, why not have a Christmas week? Bring out the Christmas decoration! I won’t judge you ? 

Now I’m now looking forward to the coming weeks. And it’ll be fun thinking about the themes, meals, drinks, decoration and so on.

Instill some excitement for the time to come

What theme would you pick to break the quarantine monotony?

Leave a comment below with your theme and what would you do during that week?