Lock Down Tips for Kiwis

Hey Team

I thought I would share some ideas, tips – things to consider for the Lockdown here in New Zealand. – Many of these we’ve touched on the pages on facebook but I thought I’d put it all in one place. Please feel free to add more ideas to the comments section wherever you see this. we are not experts just normal people trying to help.

There is a lot of noise on the internet at the moment, from memes to people that are scared and sharing both useful and useless information, if you do find this helpful we’d appreciate if you share it with your friends as its a bit tough to cut through the noise at the moment.

First of all, the first thing is to acknowledge all recommendations and rules from the Government – Stay home, if you HAVE to go out for a medical emergency or Food, Stay at least 2 meters away from anyone else that isn’t in your bubble etc. Be safe, Be smart and will change the curve.

So some general things for everyone,

This is gona be tough but it only works if we all get on board. People are scared and that’s fair enough everyone is going to handle this differently. This is the first time our generations have ever had anything like this asked of them. its not going to be that hard.

I saw a thing saying ” act like you have it and you’re trying not to give it to anyone else” that kinda makes sense – alternatively act like everyone else has it and you don’t want it – might be a good way to explain it to your kids if they don’t really get what is happening

Find joy laughs and positivity where-ever you can, laugh at things, make light of things. tell jokes and watch funny movies. mindset through this is going to be everything and there is a time to get serious but walking around the house stressed and in a huff all the time isn’t going to do anyone any good.

Key among most everyone if you’re on your own or with others, is that Talking to people is going to make the world of difference, we all jumped on this Houseparty App which is basically group video chat with games. But more importantly is that just talking to people in general is going to do everyone the world of good, maybe you just fire a friend a message and see how they are doing or call a friend or just start a group video chat out of the blue. I don’t think I’ve ever had this many random calls or deep and meaningful conversations in such a short space of time as I have had this week and I tell you what, its fucking awesome.

Keep Busy

Idle minds are going to be one of the biggest things to deal with, especially if you’re used to having your mind kept busy and challenged all the time and have now found yourself on the couch twiddling your thumbs.

But there are so many things you can do, YouTube has a massive amount of learning content, you could learn a language or a skill really anything you wanted. It’s also a good time to do those jobs you’ve been putting off like seeing whats actually alive in the back of the pantry or organizing your clothes and donating what you don’t wear anymore.

Entertainment is obviously a big one, again from the YouTube or netflix – so many options at your finger tips – I did another post the other day with some of my favorite YouTubers so go check that one out if you’re looking for some new things to watch.

Challenges, there are heaps of them. from push ups to growing beards and a host of others, if thats your cup of tea, get into it – I’m doing the #movid19 we posted about a few days back and I’m already over it but we’re going to be tying it into a good cause so i’m gona stick with it.

and my personal favourite – video games – there are more than a few to choose from and as far as I know mightyape are still shipping but most things are digital download these days anyway so if its on your phone or your console or a PC like a proper gamer – hit us up on the techcave as we have a discord going and heaps of people are playing all sorts of games so its a good way to find people to play with

Food

Given that supermarkets are pretty much the only place you’re going to be able to get food from, some planning is a good idea – Firstly, plan to buy for a week or more if you can, don’t go crazy and empty shelves – partly it’l give you something to look forward to next week but also it’l mean you’re limiting your contact with people outside your bubble, which is the whole point of this exercise.

So while you’re planning, maybe check out some cooking videos on youtube, google some recipes. It might be shit but it might be awesome and it will give you a little something to do while you’re bored, and who knows you might find a new hobby in cooking.

But don’t over do it. Chances are you’re a lot less active at the moment than you usually are, my intake has taken a massive cut which is fine, cause I’m not out at the gym everyday trying to lift heavy shit so I don’t need all that intake. You don’t want to waste food so get creative with leftovers, maybe meal prep? if you’re not much for cooking.

OF course practice safe and sanitary cooking, washing your hands ( but that should be obvious now)

If you need some inspiration – check out our show Mean Eats, it’s possibly the worst cooking show on YouTube, but hey at least you can’t be any worse than us? These Pizzas that dave makes I’ve made a bunch of times since and have since started adding my own flair to – but its something to do and pass some time and pretty hard to get wrong – and you get Pizza!

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A post shared by The Empire Media Group (@theempire_nz) on Mar 23, 2020 at 2:51am PDT

Alcohol

This is going to be a personal one, I put the message out to our group chat that I was putting this together and the boozeist of our group said ” Tips for Day Drinking! ”

I said I don’t think I will encourage anyone to be drinking right now, if you’re the kind of person who uses alcohol as a tool to mask emotions, that’s a short term fix and this is a long term problem. I get taking the edge off is nice, I might indludge myself in the Dalmore that’s sitting in the booze cupboard.

But being wasted isn’t going to do you much good.

So all I will say is know yourself and what you are like if you have a few because whatever happens you’re locked in with those in your house for the next month. Just stay within your safe limits.

Personal Hygiene

Do not live in the same track-pants for the whole lock down. Get up and shower and make food like normal. don’t bathe in your own filth cause ” no one is going to see you” showers will make you feel fresh. Brush your teeth, shave your balls if you’ve never done it before, its awesome.

Just don’t let things slip in this department, even if you’re living alone – your neighbors might complain.

Exercise

This is a pretty straight forward one, every fucking instagrammer is posting home work out routines ( we’re no better, check Kelvin’s one below) – but really it is a good thing to get into the habit of – your normal day is going to be quite different and if you’re an office worked who never exercises or a big strong fella, keeping moving, keeping blood flowing and stopping muscle atrophy is going to be important – so stay active.

You can go out and walk, walk the dog walk your husband whatever it is – Just remember the bubble rule, and limiting contact where possible – even if you’re not interested in walking, going out in the fresh air and getting the blood moving again will be good for your endorphins and make the lock in go that little bit easier

If this one isn’t the one for you, there are plenty more out there 🙂

Mental Health

Ok so this is a big one and we’re going to get more into this over the next few days – But your mental health right now is possibly one of the biggest things to tackle in your bubble for the lock down. Some people are really good at managing their own and many have no idea why they just called their wife something horrible. or worse. This is something we’re going to be visiting as often as possible and keeping a conversation going about. But basically.

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As I say this is going to be an on going conversation but in short, think of others and what they need, if you need help its ok to ask, it’s totally ok to not be OK right now. We are all in this together and we can help together and heal together – and have a good outcome at the other end.

Coping with flatmates

For some of you, you’ll be living with flatmates that you might not get on the best with, or family that you don’t normally spend this much time with

Personal space is important, your own room might be your only escape – have the discussion that if you’re in your room and your door is closed that means you want some alone time and not to be bothered. whatever you decide is best for you, have that conversation with people and ask what their wishes are and stick to it – the last thing someone whos having a hard time is, is someone in the house making things worse. Maybe you’re just the kind of person who likes to be out and about and very social which is going to be harder now as your bubble is your social circle for the next few weeks – avoid arguments at all costs, maybe don’t play that game of monopoly if someone in your house is not great at losing. Assume everyone is a bit fragile at the moment and treat them as you would like to be treated. if you’re living with someone who very easily triggers you – just say something like ” Hey this is going to be tough, I’m gona want some alone time so if I’m in my designated area for being left alone please respect that” – or just meet someone in the middle and work out a good level of civil communication so that relevant information like ” dinners up” or ” showers free” is all that’s needed.

chances are you’ve never spent this much time to this close to the people in your bubble. You might learn some stuff, you might have some really good yarns about things you might be learning about for the first time. that could be really awesome. But this will bring out the worst in some people so being mindful of that is going to be really important.

If you do find yourself in an argument, give it some time. maybe an hour maybe at the next day – just sit down and say ” hey that was crazy, I was feeling this because of that thing that happened and That’s how I got to where I was at with it” – be calm, don’t over react and just try. if that attempt blows up – give it a little longer next time.

Like it or not, you’re in this situation for a bit and its going to be so much better to at least get to a civil place as appose to living in a tense environment while all this is going on.

A footnote from Steven

So when you feel you’re getting into argument just say “yes that’s right, your totally correct” rather than than fuck you!

Coping on Your own – Thanks to Shane doing it on his own.

Mine would be

Create a normal routine like you’d have if you were going to work.

Get up same time everyday so you’re body clock is the same

Exercise in the morning to wake yourself up and get your body moving, rather then moving from the bed to the couch to watch tv.

Shower and dress like you have things to do. It’s a mindset thing and will make you feel better. Shave do you hair etc so you look and feel good.

Have a list of things to do each day that aren’t Netflix and keep busy.

Keep in contact with friends and family via phone and messages.

Know that this will pass eventually and things will return to normal.

Mindset is going to be everything for this lock down – Stay safe, stay smart, Stay happy – we really need everyone to get on board with this and help each other through it – Hopefully some of this has helped and we will be updating with more posts like this and other fun stuff too so come back soon!

Untill then, if you’re looking for some entertainment, check out our YouTube channel – hours of good stuff on there!

We’ve got Vlogs

Car Reviews

Tech and Gaming reviews

And lots more

Take care of each other <3

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