As many have noted, introverts have a leg up when it comes to social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
While an extrovert is emotionally refuelled by spending time with others, introverts thrive and feel recharged by time alone. Staying indoors on the weekends or sticking to solo plans comes naturally to the introverts among us.
This makes introverts perfectly suited to share some advice to those struggling with self-isolation and staying home for the foreseeable future. Below, weâve rounded up 12 tried-and-true tips from introverts who feel at home, at home.
1. Get serious about your hobbies and interests.
âWhile, of course, a Friday night at home is not that big a deal for introverts who relish them, these are different times, for sure. Speaking generally, I am pushing past my aversion to the telephone and FaceTime in order to avoid getting too isolated, which can lead to depression for anyone, even introverts. But when it comes to that at-home Friday night, Iâm enjoying this newfound time to get really serious about the novel Iâve been writing. One of my very favourite things to do these days is getting into bed early with my laptop (and maybe a glass of wine or cup of tea) and write. It feels so indulgent, and making progress feels great.â â Sophia Dembling from Texas. Dembling is the author of âThe Introvertâs Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy Worldâ
2. Embrace a pants-less existence.
âInstead of going out, I like to stay at home, on the couch, elbow-deep in popcorn, braless and pants-less while watching âThe Officeâ for the tenth time.â â Jamie from New York City
3. Get imaginative. Like, play-Tetris-with-your-furniture imaginative.
âI live in Beijing, and after 43 days at home with my extroverted boyfriend, life couldnât be funnier. We played Tetris with our furniture and moved the dinner table and two chairs onto our impossibly small balcony just because we refused to spend the day stuck inside. We squeezed onto the balcony with our books and computers, doing what we love. And to keep active, sometimes weâd go into the living room to play soccer (since itâs empty now). Anything is possible with some imagination! Re-arrange the furniture and make space for creativity. Your balcony and your home can be what you make them to be!â â Marlene Martins from Beijing
4. Remind yourself that youâre a world of your own.
âBeing a introvert is about self-love. The average person is programmed to go outside for enjoyment and pleasure, so youâll first need to reprogram a little: When you look at time indoors as an introvert, you see an opportunity to recharge, read, clean, binge-watch documentaries and work on creative projects like painting. After spending enough time indoors working on yourself and your space, youâll actually begin to enjoy staying in more than going out for fun.â â Christopher âThe Fall Backupâ Dwayne from Georgia
5. Play board games.
âNeed something to challenge, take your mind off the lockdown and provide you with lots of fun? Try some old-fashioned board games. Since the beginning of the lockdown, Iâve already been busy (re-)discovering Monopoly, a Wikipedia trivia game and Cluedo. Obviously, this works best if youâre in isolation with at least one other person. But even if youâre not, there are ways of making it work. Think Solitaire â bonus points if you use real cards. Though if you canât live without electronics or donât have any games in the house, online games can still do the trick. Plus, you can play these with your friends without anyone needing to leave their homes.â â Nele Giese from Germany
6. Stick to a schedule
âI prefer to stick to a schedule and use my time for self-care. My mornings begin with yoga and my nights end with writing. In between, I take advantage of the time to learn instruments and practice music, try home workouts, and recently stream video games. If youâre struggling with finding the motivation for a new activity, begin with doing it for at least five minutes..â â TĂĄra Gray from Alaska
7. Go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole.
âIâm an only child, so growing up, I had to find ways to stay entertained! I love going down rabbit holes on Wikipedia and learning new things, to see where my curiosity leads me.â â Shriya Nevatia from San Francisco
âWhen you look at time indoors as an introvert, you see an opportunity to recharge, read, clean, binge-watch documentaries and work on creative projects like painting.â
8. Test out a new skin care routine.
âIâve tried to take advantage of this time by learning about skin care and makeup on YouTube and using up samples. Iâve collected a lot of Sephora samples over the past few years, but day to day, I usually stick to my routine, so when I have a lot of downtime, I try those samples and see if I like them.â â Nevatia
âI take the extra steps, like using serums for my acne and putting on clay masks. I also exfoliate. I get to pay attention more to my problem areas. When youâre busy with school, work and life, you donât really get to reflect on your health and how that usually reflects on your skin. Itâs fun to do skin care because I get to know my self more and appreciate myself more.â â Alie Felizardo
9. Remember that social distancing doesnât mean being antisocial.
âBeing an introvert does not mean you have to be antisocial. I still talk to my friends on a daily basis, but I just like being on my own and having my own space. The happiness people get from being around others I can get by just being by myself, and itâs awesome. So one thing to do is stay in touch with everyone. Find something that you love to do that can include your friends. I play my PlayStation with my friends and we can talk and play for hours.â â Brian Griffin from Pennsylvania
âI pretty much just chill with my dog and drink wine (so clichĂ©). But Iâd also like to include a warning: Quarantine life doesnât mean an introvert has to become even more introverted. Iâve committed myself to at least one to two group video chats per week with friends where we âwine and whine.ââ â Jemma Wilson from Paso Robles, California
10. Start journalling.
âI journal anytime I can get a peaceful, uninterrupted half hour or a few hours. Since starting Morning Pages (Julia Cameronâs method of journaling three pages of longhand stream of consciousness), I have come to see journalling as a time to hang out with and know myself better. The magic is in the process.
First, it enables a âbrain drain,â giving you a place to put those top-of-mind thoughts and worries instead of leaving them unacknowledged. It rids you of blockage and allows you to get at the inner voice that is truly you. Second, writing allows you to clarify and articulate your ideas, your thoughts, and even your own life story. As Ingrid Bengis famously expressed, âwords are a form of action, capable of influencing change.â
So, where to start? Use a pen (the slayer of perfectionism) to write three pages in stream of consciousness: âI am writing Morning Pages. Iâm not sure what Iâm supposed to write, but here I go. Iâm sitting in bed right now after another day in quarantine ⊠Finding it hard to concentrate lately with corona, but hereâs why I love journalingâŠââ â Annemarie Allen from Alaska
11. Get your life organised.
âI organise. Itâs relaxing and very versatile because you get to decide how big of a task you want to make it. Donât want to spend any more than 30 minutes? Go through a drawer. Want to spend a few hours? Go through your closet. I donât organise just to get organised, I also do it to familiarise myself with my belongings. Organising a bookshelf might lead to hours of browsing through old books. Thereâs something wholesome about that. To add to the experience, put on some music or a podcast, depending on what mood youâre going for. I like putting on âspa music.â Iâm serious.â â Lana Blakely from Stockholm
âAs an introvert programmer/entrepreneur, I like to tie up all of the âloose endsâ in my life when I get a chance to myself. I like the fresh feeling when I wake up and know that I donât have tons of backlogged tasks that obstruct me from starting a new venture. Iâll organise my files, back up data, catch up on bookmarked web articles, get my finances and budget sorted and understand my retirement plans and investments. Sometimes itâs not immediately apparent what âneeds to be done,â so I will take long walks, removing any distraction (no listening to podcasts), so that I can just ruminate on loose ends in my life and reprioritise as needed. â Patrick Shyu, who lives in the Silicon Valley in California
12. Learn choreography at home.
âIâve been having a lot of fun learning choreographies from dancing studios on YouTube. Theyâre fun and challenging. Iâve recently been practicing âONâ by BTS. I think it involves just the right amount of movement and I also really enjoy the rhythm. Others I love are âSay Soâ by Doja Cat and âRoxanneâ by Arizona Zervas.â â Aya from Morocco
âOne thing that always brightens my day is dancing. Thatâs why I recently started doing dance challenges on Tik Tok. Like a lot of introverts, itâs easy for me to get in my head and start overthinking if I focus only on cerebral activities, like reading. Dancing gets me into my body. Learning short, easy routines to share on social media is a fun and satisfying challenge!â â Michaela Chung from Ottawa, Canada. Chung is the author of âThe Irresistible Introvertâ and creator of introvertspring.com.
Responses have been edited for clarity and style.