By Munraj Chawla

Distractions in Self Isolation

EDIT: As I watch Boris announce a lockdown for the country, I feel even more depressed by the current state of affairs, not least because I was looking forward to going for a walk to the shops tomorrow. 

If you’re anything like…. anyone else forced to live in this mental situation, you’ve probably gotten over the fun of Zoom calls and working from home and have now begun to feel a little more claustrophobic. And while Netflix is a great distraction, it can leave you feeling like you’re wasting your hours away after a while. 

So I’ve compiled a list of some known and some lesser known online resources below, for you to try and find fresh ways to distract yourself from the impending apocalypse: 

1 ) Silk – http://weavesilk.com/

A lesser known one for sure. It’s great for anyone visually inclined, letting you paint in symmetry with pretty calming background music too. I even made a mandala for my Zoom virtual background on it. 

2) WORM – https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ 

Quite honestly the best web serial ever written. It totals roughly 1,680,000 words; roughly 26 typical novels in length (or 10-11 very thick novels). I won’t give any spoilers here but I read this during lunch breaks when I was teaching in Japan and I would hate having to teach after lunch, knowing that instead I could be in the world Wildbow had crafted.  

3) A Dark Room – http://adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com/

If you’re looking for a slower paced distraction to keep you going during those ridiculously long ‘virtual meetings that could have been emails,’ look no further. An epic storyline will unlock and expand the longer you keep this text-based game open, either actively or in the background. Don’t forget to stoke the fire though. 

4) Codecademy – https://www.codecademy.com/

Feel like being a more productive procrastinator? Having grown up with a dad who worked as a software programmer, robotic engineer thingy – I have no idea what his actual job title was – I’ve at times distracted myself from self isolation (and during my dissertation period when I was at uni) by learning how to code. It’s fun and kind of like learning a new language. 

5) Duolingo/Memrise – https://www.duolingo.com/  https://www.memrise.com/ 

Wow what an awesome segue by me. One thing I’m trying to do in the next few weeks is to get my Punjabi better, as well as refresh my Japanese ability. Maybe learning Spanish, or refreshing that GCSE French of yours could be the answer to your distraction needs? 

6) Draw A Stick Man – https://www.drawastickman.com/

This is one of the best things out there on the internet: an interactive game where you draw the hero and all he/she/they need, taking them on through episodes of adventure. Who needs Netflix, right? 

Hopefully a couple of these are new to you. Even if not, with most of us working from home for quite a lengthy foreseeable future, don’t forget to take breaks and not let work worm its way into your personal life. Most people look negatively on distractions from work but it’s the small things that captivate you for hours that make staring at a screen for hours bearable. A meme is great, but short lived. Look for those things that have you realising three hours later how much time you’ve ‘wasted.’

Also work and earn money. But, you know, when you really have to. 

Song of the SCAB: Fredo – Netflix & Chill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MfQyBx_uZY