Ideas to Counter Isolation Fatigue

Got the isolation blues? To ease the fatigue so prevalent during these pandemic times, to get the better of boredom, you might try a change of perspective or a change of pace. Here are some suggestions.

First and foremost, step outside. In your neighborhood or the next town over, there are plenty of unique and quirky opportunities to move more and spark your imagination. It’s one of the wonderful charms of where we live and work, in Upstate New York.

A walk in the woods can be good for body and soul, anytime, at any age. Here’s a view from rural Oswego County, courtesy of the author.

Walk or bike the Empire Trail. You can follow along from border to border but during this pandemic, it’s easy to stay local and keep your exploring close to home with common sense. The Camillus-to-Onondaga Lake section just opened officially this past October.

Tweak your timeline and step out at night, looking for clear skies away from city lights. Count the constellations or follow the moon as it waxes and wanes, the planets as they wander the night. Give yourself a guided tour of the night skies with an app such as SkyView, Google Sky or Star Tracker.

Back to the day shift, birdwatch, in your backyard or with the help of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. So hang that birdfeeder high enough to be out of reach of the neighborhood cats and get watching. Chickadees and nuthatches are plentiful (and hungry!) now.

Water—possibly our greatest asset—blesses us abundantly in Central New York. Walk along almost any beach around Lake Ontario and watch the wave action on this “inland sea.” That’s one great lake with a capital “G”! Then there are all those little lakes… Green Lakes, so deep; Onondaga and its eagles; Oneida! Any or all of the Finger Lakes to explore.

Don’t forget the snow! We get so much of it we might as well enjoy it. Find your favorite way to mix it up with our bounty of flakes: make a snowman (or several), stage a snowball fight, teach a kid to wing it with snow angels. Mayhem galore or simply enjoy hot cocoa with mini marshmallows afterward.

In short, move more but still stay safe. Get out, have fun! As always, mask up and keep social distance—that’s easy.