How To Make The Most Of Your Time Alone During Self-Isolation

If you’re wondering how to make the most of your time alone during these unanticipated and prolonged periods of self-isolation, your concerns are valid. Figuring out how to make the most of your time alone is crucial, as idle time can be troubling. 

Even before the novel coronavirus forced us to spend a lot of time alone, many people who lived alone were already wondering how they should be spending their time alone. 

Have you ever wondered to yourself, What is the secret to being happy alone? Or asked yourself, How can I spend time alone and not feel lonely? Or, What are some productive things I can do to make the most of my time alone?

These types of questions were probably already floating around in your mind, especially if you live alone or spend plenty of time alone due to being self-employed. However, the self-isolation, mandatory quarantine, and social distancing due to coronavirus have likely brought these questions and concerns about being alone to the forefront of your mind.

Most busy professionals crave alone time. That’s why it’s ironic that so many people are now complaining about having too much alone time. You see, busy professionals have always said they need ‘me’ time or alone time to feel sane. However, what people are currently experiencing is an excess of alone time, which can be very mentally challenging.

Extra Alone Time is a Gift

Many people believe that this excessive alone time and mandatory social distancing is bad for our mental health. People are saying that all of this solitude could cause severe anxiety, depression, and lead to unhealthy habits. However, knowing how to make the most of your time alone, and accomplishing things during this time instead of wasting it, could keep you from feeling depressed or anxious.

Literary genius Anthony Burgess famously said, “To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world” for a reason. Alone time is a gift, especially if you use this time wisely.

Let’s review some ways that you could make the most of your time alone.

Don’t Let Yourself Get Bored, Lazy, or Stuck in ‘Vacation Mode’

If you’ve been laid off work, don’t think of your current circumstances as a ‘staycation’. Don’t decide that you’re now in vacation mode. 

Avoid doing things like sleeping all day, binge-watching Netflix all afternoon, or sitting around bored and mindlessly scrolling through social media. These types of unproductive behaviors will only make you feel depressed and will result in self-loathing. 

Even if you’re currently getting some financial assistance from the government, you still shouldn’t consider yourself to be on vacation.

The wrong mindset is, Awesome, I can sleep until noon and then veg out on the couch all day! While the right mindset is, What can I do to make the most of this extra time I’ve been given, and spend this time alone productively?

What you need is a checklist of productive tasks or projects. Whenever you feel bored at home, pick up your checklist, and do one of the things on the list. You’ll need more than one checklist because you need to categorize your goals, and then make checklists of action items that will help you achieve those goals.

Set Goals: Write Down Your Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Many of you have a lot of extra time right now. That’s why your first agenda should be to put pen to paper, and write down a list of goals. Have a separate list for short-term and long-term goals. 

Your short-term goals can include small household projects and tasks that you need to get done. Many of the things on this list will be things that will only take a few hours to do. For example, one of your short-term goals might be to fill up a few bags of clothing to donate, or to finish reading your book.

Whenever you’re feeling bored or lazy at home alone, or you realize you’ve binge-watched way too many episodes of something on Netflix, pick up the list. Turn off the TV, and do something on that list. Why? Because that list you’ve created will be full of productive tasks and success-oriented projects that will make you feel good after completion. 

Completing a Netflix series, on the other hand, doesn’t make you feel very good about yourself after. You’ll only feel like you’ve wasted a bunch of time that could have been spent doing something meaningful or productive.

Your long-term goals might include things like finally starting to write your business plan for a business idea you’ve had for ages. Or, learning a new skill. Keep this list close by during your self-isolation. Pick it up and decide what you could do to work towards those long term goals. Draft the outline of your business plan. Research online courses you could take to learn a new skill. Use this time alone for self-improvement.

Make The Most of Your Time Alone by Committing to Self-Improvement

If you make the most of your time in self-isolation with a commitment to self-improvement practices, it’s very unlikely you’ll fall into a depression. Self-improvement makes us feel re-energized, confident, and gives us a sense of accomplishment. 

So, how can you use this excess of alone time to improve yourself? For starters, turn off the TV and read a book instead.

Knowledge is power, and by reading informative and inspiring books, you’re spending your time alone much more wisely than someone binge-watching Netflix is.

Not sure which books you should be reading? Stick to books that have an underlying theme of success secrets, self-improvement tips, or self-help. My book Unlock It is a book about achieving success, wealth, and secrets of discovering what you’re capable of. This book will help you figure out how to unlock your full potential, and transform your life. You can get a free copy of Unlock It here.

Once you’ve bought some books to read that will help you on your path to self-improvement, set up a reading nook or a routine of some sort. Some people like to read in a comfortable chair, with classical music on in the background, and a calming essential oil in their diffuser. Other people like to read in the bath with candles and snacks. Get into a reading routine that works for you.

Self-Improvement Can Be Achieved From Home in Many Ways

Aside from reading impactful books, what else can you do to commit to self-improvement from home? Think about your goals. You might have fitness goals, which is another form of self-improvement. You could make the most of your time at home by doing home workouts. 

In fact, if you’re going to watch anything on TV, watching a home workout tutorial is much better than watching movies. YouTube has plenty of home workout videos that you can do from home. You don’t need access to a gym to meet your fitness goals. Doing home workouts each day will have you seeing results in no time. And you have plenty of time on your hands to cook, so make sure to cook healthy meals at home.

Another thing easily found on YouTube is meal prep tutorials and healthy cooking tutorials. You can make the most of your time at home by learning to cook healthier meals. Eating better will definitely help you achieve your goals. And, eating healthier often results in better mental clarity, too.

What other forms of self-improvement can be done from home?

Learn a High-Income Skill From Home

One of the smartest forms of self-improvement that you can do from home is learning a new skill. If you use this extra time to learn a valuable, in-demand, high-income skill, you’re very wise. 

The reason why it’s incredibly wise to use your time alone to learn a high-income skill is that learning a valuable skill could change your life. If you’re not exactly thrilled with your current income, know that learning a high-income skill could lead to you doubling or even tripling your income. 

Some people who learn a high-income skill end up earning six-figure or even seven-figure incomes afterward. Other people use their high-income skill to start a side hustle or remote job from home, earning an extra three, five, or ten thousand dollars per month on the side.

The best part is, there are many high-income skills that can be learned from your laptop via short online courses or online training programs. 

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