Here's how to experience the best of Sydney without leaving your lounge room.
Last year, while our neighbours to the south were enduring months of gruelling lockdown, Sydneysiders were busy enjoying the freedom to dine out, hang out with mates and generally settle into an almost normal way of life. And so it was for the Harbour City for more than a year, save for a few minor surges and the odd smattering of temporarily tightened restrictions. With 2020 in our rearview mirror and vaccinations slowly but surely rolling out nationwide, you could have been forgiven for assuming the worst of this global health emergency was behind us. But then the Delta strain arrived on our shores to give Sydney a nasty case of déjà vu.
As NSW now stares down the barrel of an extended lockdown, it’s easy to feel despondent and frustrated. But one silver lining is that you don’t have to go through this alone. We've picked the brains of our colleagues at Time Out Melbourne to find out how they stayed sane during their epic lockdown last year. So turn that frown upside down with these top tips on how to stay at home like a boss.
Rebecca Russo – Melbourne editor
It’s OK to not exercise or leave the house at all for a bit
A general sense of ennui is what took over me during Melbourne’s second lockdown. It wasn’t great – I struggled to really find the energy or motivation to leave the house and get my daily exercise. So my advice is be gentle with yourself. Don’t try and force yourself to do anything you really don’t want to do. It’s fine to sit inside and read a book all day. It’s fine to sit on TikTok and waste a couple of hours. It’s all fine. You’ve gotta find what works for you.
Cass Knowlton - Editorial Director
Discover a hobby, and you don’t have to be good at it
We have such a culture of monetisation, that anything that isn’t a side hustle that could make you some income isn’t worth doing. But I listened to a podcast from the ABC (the Pineapple Project) that changed the way I felt about hobbies. When you’re a kid you paint or draw or sing or dance or play footy just because you like to, never caring if you’re good at it. And that is really good for you. In lockdown I got back into creative writing, and I set myself a task of writing every day. Some days it’d be 100 words, some days it’d be 1,000 words (very few days, tbh), but every day I just did something I enjoyed, and I found it rewarding. And at the end of it I had a very terrible young adult sci-fi novel that will never make me a cent.
Nicola Dowse – Melbourne Arts Editor
Keep a diary
Sometimes I feel that if you write down how you’re feeling, it takes it out of your head and helps you deal with it. During Melbourne’s big boy lockdown last winter, I documented the world a different way; I took and posted a photo every day of lockdown life. It was understandably pretty banal – there are a lot of photos of walks around my 5km bubble – but committing to this daily task gave me some daily purpose outside of work and left me with a record of the situation (which again, I found helped ground me). You could do the same, or you could keep a written diary, or a sketch diary (drawing something every day), or even a video or TikTok diary (secondary tip: get real into TikTok).
Rushani Epa - Melbourne Food and Drink Editor
Start gardening
When everything felt out of control I sought out ways to regain that control and combine it with something I love: food. What better way to do so than to start your own little garden that will soon produce some tasty little treats? It gives you a nice outlet, a (hopefully delicious) thing to look forward to and something easy on the eyes, too. Live in an apartment? Your balcony or a sunlit spot is your oyster.
Adena Maier – Lifestyle Journalist
Invest in some board games
If you live in a sharehouse, watching Netflix together and commiserating about your lockdown misery over drinks can get a bit old after a while. Invest in some board games to liven up your nights, let your competitive side out and give your brain a workout while you strategise your next move. It’s a great distraction and also helps you retain some of your social skills over the long haul. I recommend Coup, Settlers of Catan and Potion Explosion – but maybe avoid Pandemic.
Jules Healey – Account Manager
Turn your daily exercise into a catch-up with a friend
If you’re lucky enough to have a local buddy, use your exercise time to have a Covid-safe hang out. For added spice, fill those Keep Cups to the brim (I’m not going to suggest you fill them with wine, but I’m also not not suggesting that either) and get walking – it’s kind of like being at a bar but there’s no sitting, service or refills.
Shelley Strauss – Client Service Manager
Bring the club DJs to your living room
The clubs were closed, so to get the weekend wind-down dance that I missed so much, I loved playing DJ sets on my TV. To add to the atmosphere I turned on my LIFX smart lights and hooked up my sound system. You can find incredible DJ sets on YouTube – one of my favourite YouTube channels is Glitterbox for a house/disco vibe, or try Cercle for electronic sets in beautiful locations around the world that make you feel like you're on a holiday. Well, kind of.
Hye-Joo Woo - Group Account Manager
Streaming services are your friend
You now have almost unlimited time to watch two of the most incredible TV series of all time – The Wire and The Sopranos! Contrary to what some might say, it’s OK to binge many episodes in one night, rather than learning a new language or how to make a sourdough loaf. If you want to make your new TV obsession a little more hobbyish, order The Sopranos cookbook and make some ziti to eat while you watch an episode.