Olympia Valance reveals goal setting is helping her get through self-isolation
After returning home to Australia, Olympia Valance has been forced into self-isolation, and while the lockdown is delaying her reunion with boyfriend and AFL star Thomas Bellchambers, the actress is keeping busy.
Fiona Byrne
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Actress Olympia Valance has spoken of being alone but surrounded by love as she completes her mandatory 14 day isolation after returning from the US.
Valance was in California filming Holey Moley for Channel 7 when production was halted and the cast sent home to Australia because of the COVID-19 crisis.
She said cleaning the home, bingeing on Harry Potter and watching her boyfriend, Thomas Bellchambers, playing footy for Essendon on TV were among the activities helping her pass the time.
She said the most difficult part of the lockdown was: “not being able to see or touch my family and friends.”
“Prior to coming home, I had been working over in America for a few weeks and I was already desperate to see everyone – it’s delayed all of my much needed reunions,” Valance said.
“I would like to say I’ve been nothing but productive (while in isolation) but at the moment it’s really just heavy doses of Seinfeld and Harry Potter. They’re taking it in turns and sharing screen time very amicably.
“My apartment is also very clean. Like 10 professional cleaners scrubbing for 10 hours type of clean. If your hands are already dry (from washing them), you might as well just add a little Spray and Wipe action to the hygiene party.”
She said she was determined to set small achievable goals, even if they were tongue-in-cheek to add purpose to each day.
“There are eight Harry Potter movies. They are around two and a half hours each. Two of these a day will give you five hours of content for four days straight. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself; one per day is still a really solid effort,” she joked.
“And for that you deserve a trip to the pantry.
“I’d also suggest thinking about the things that you put off. It’s technically Autumn but I think we can still Spring clean. Clearing clutter seems to also provide inner peace.
“There’s no better time to practice self care. It’s an overused term, but people are being gifted uninterrupted time to spend with themselves.
“Face masks, stupidly long skin care routines … take a bath.
“Tackle the pile of books you requested for Christmas but haven’t even opened yet. Slowing down is incredibly healthy for us in the long run.”
Valance urged people to take self-isolation, social distancing and quarantine seriously and to think of others.
“Life is short. Two weeks is not a long time. And it’s not a big ask either. This will pass and life will resume and once we’re on the other side, we all want to be able to honestly say that we played our tiny part in aiding the process,” she said.
“It can often feel overwhelming to take on something for the benefit of our community or the world, but this is so very achievable.
“Stay home. Stay put. And stay safe. If not for yourself, then for everyone else. And if not for everyone else, think about the most vulnerable person that you care about and do it just for them. “
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