Over the past week, I have been engaging in social-distancing measures. I am in high spirits but I also seem to have a bad case of writers block. I am currently working on article on Russian Hybrid Warfare, but I’ve decided to put it on hold.
The COVID-19 crisis has created a situation I never expected to experience. It’s quite startling to see a how vulnerable our way of life is. In this regard, I could write about a number of subjects related to the virus, but I’m yet to find inspiration and I would like to minimise the risk of personally spreading misinformation. I don’t have the expertise to properly grasp the reality of this situation.
I’m not sure whether I have anything substantial to add to the conversation around social distancing, however I would like to take this opportunity to kick start my writing again. I am also not giving any advice of what you should do. Please consult official sources for more information on social distancing.
I’d like to talk about my experience of Isolation and how I’m dealing with having a serious amount of downtime.
Boredom
I think “idleness” will be a huge challenge for me. I have the tendency to get “stuck in a rut”. I lose momentum and then it becomes a chore to get back into an appropriate mindset. In the past, I would use my free-time to blow off steam. I could spend time with my friends and visit new places. That’s obviously not possible now. It’s not easy to stay motivated when the days start to bleed into each other.
When it comes to boredom, I like to keep busy. I keep things structured and I try not to dwell. My schedule includes exercise, dieting, and writing (at least trying to). I mentioned that I have another piece in the works, Russian Hybrid Warfare. It can be difficult to engage with a topic when your mind is else where. Over the past couple of years, I’ve learnt to not be angry with myself when I can’t focus on a specific topic.
The best advice that I can give is that it’s ok to feel frustrated, upset, and angry right now. Most people didn’t see this coming.
Information Overload
I think it can be very easy to get swept up in the media coverage of everything. One issue that the press tends to recirculate information quite frequently and important new information can get lost in the old. Over the past few days, I have put a lot of effort into curating my push notifications.
In any other period, we wouldn’t worry too much about all the information getting pushed on our phones, but the reality of being overwhelmed is all too apparent.
Official Sources of Information
Getting good information is a priority for me. Not only is it important for you to be informed in order to act accordingly, it’s also important to combat the false information that tends crop up in trying times.
The two main sources that I use are the World Health Organisation WhatsApp Bot and the NHS Website.
Both sources offer different types of information and I advise that you regularly consult both of them. As for political coverage, the BBC’s live newsfeed is very good at keeping me up to date with the latest policy changes. If you’d like more detailed information, the main newspapers livestream the PM’s daily briefings on YouTube.
Downtime
I’m playing a lot of Xbox at the moment. I’m a big fan of Rocket League. If you’ve got the game, hit me up – my username is Rob08362.
Politiking 