Stay At Home Q&A: Eve Bennett

While we enjoy spending time within the four walls of our home, we asked creators how they are keeping themselves entertained and why you should stay at home. Eve Bennett chats to us…

How are you spending your time while social distancing?

Eve: I’ve really been trying to take the time to do the things that I enjoy doing but can’t really justify in my busy day-to-day life – playing The Sims, for example, which has always been a guilty pleasure, or trying to learn some new pieces on the piano. While it’s rubbish not being able to see my friends, I have been grateful to have a lot more free time to spend on hobbies that often fall by the wayside when I’m rushing about normally.

I’ve also been catching up on series that I’ve been meaning to watch for months and revisiting feel good movies that I haven’t watched for a while. I am also spending a lot of time on FaceTime to my friends – even though we can’t go out and party together we’ve gotten inventive and made pub quizzes and drinking games to keep us entertained!

What is your go-to activity when you need to switch off from the world?

Eve: I find playing piano very therapeutic – I’m pretty awful at it but the process of reading the sheet music and then getting the fingering right helps me to focus and takes my thoughts away from all of my worries and doubts. I can lose hours at a time trying to master one section of a piece. The bonus with this is that, when you do manage to learn something, it sounds beautiful and you can play it for your family too.

I swear I BLINK and it’s 4pm these days what am I even doing with my time

— eve (@evebennettx) April 17, 2020

Do you have any tips for staying positive and healthy at home?

Eve: I would definitely recommend getting out of the house once a day and making use of your ability to exercise outside your home to do this – if you don’t leave for too long you’ll start to notice your mentality get worse, fresh air really does do wonders for both our mental and physical health.

I would also recommend trying to get as much fruit and veg into your diet as you can – while it can be tempting to eat nothing but carbs (and we should definitely indulge that temptation from time to time), I’ve found that trying to incorporate healthier foods into my diet has really made a huge difference to the way I think and my energy levels.

Can you recommend something we can do to relax at home?

Eve: I would recommend Brooklyn 99 or One Day at a Time – they’re both super funny sitcoms that are easy to binge watch and they broach lots of important societal issues too.

Only bright side of this lockdown is that I’m saving all the money I would usually spend on coffees and nights out to go travel the world when this is all over 😄😄😄

— eve (@evebennettx) April 6, 2020

Why is it so important to follow the government guidance?

Eve: We have to do all we can to flatten the curve – the sooner we do this the sooner life can begin to go back to normal. If you flout the rules you’re not only putting yourself at risk, but also your friends, family and the most vulnerable in society. It really is a group effort that we all need to stick to.

What advice would you give to anyone who might be struggling at the moment?

Eve: I would say first and foremost that it is completely understandable to be having a hard time at the moment – I know I am and I know countless others who are finding this difficult too. The best thing to do is to take it no more than one day at a time. Listen to what your body wants and spend your days doing things that make you happy. Try to avoid excessive news coverage and spending too much time on social media, and keep in touch with those you care most about.

What content of yours can people enjoy during this time?

Eve: I’m trying to upload more realistic videos on how to use your time well during this period and look after your mental health. If you want a laugh though, I would recommend my “say it or shot it” video.