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Being in lockdown and not being able to do the things we normally would is hard enough. For many, it’s made worse because they’re doing it away from people they love.

Whether it’s because they’re stuck abroad, having to stay away from vulnerable relatives, or because your housemates have moved home and you can’t, there are loads of people who are unexpectedly living in isolation.

We spoke to four young people who are (or were) locked down away from people they care about, to find out their tips.

I made a to-do list to keep me busy

Though not true for everyone, some people out there are finding they have a lot more time on their hands at the moment.

This was definitely true for Sophie, who was until recently stuck in Peru. It should have been the trip of a lifetime before her master's degree started, but she ended up locked down in her hostel, unable to leave.

Being away from family, and her boyfriend (who was due to fly out to meet her just before the lockdowns started) was quite difficult, and Sophie said she simply felt “very far away from them”.

Creating a list of things to do helped distract Sophie from what could have otherwise been a really scary and upsetting situation:

“When there were moments when I was sat there thinking ‘this is horrendous’”, she said “I would just go through the list and find something on there and just go and do it.

“You might not be able to do everything you’d want to do but there always things you can do in your house, or in a hostel in the middle of Peru.”

I made a new routine and make sure to talk to my family

It’s natural to need a bit of time to adjust to the new normal. That can be really hard to do without your usual support group around you. One thing that can really help though, is giving your day structure by creating and sticking to a routine.

This definitely helped Joanne, who studies physics at university. Both her housemates moved home as the lockdown began, so she decided to move in with her boyfriend and his housemates, to avoid being on her own. Her parents are both key workers, so staying at home meant they didn’t have to book time off work to collect her, or take what could have been a risky journey by train.

Joining a new household overnight was a bit odd at first, Joanne said, and with everything else that’s going on in the world, life definitely seemed very different.

For her, having a routine was extremely grounding: “Making sure in the morning that I make the bed, have a shower, open the blinds and get dressed.”

She said: “If I would just leave the bed unmade, no shower, stay in my pyjamas all day, I’d be feeling like a bit of a slob and pretty miserable about myself. Some people wouldn’t feel that way, but that’s how I would feel.”

It’s also really important to talk about all of the things that are worrying you about the current situation.

Joanne said: “Share your frustrations and your concerns rather than bottle them up inside because that’s when you start to feel more depressed and anxious.”

I take a moment to appreciate what I have

It can be easy to focus on everything negative that’s happening at the moment, but taking a second to pause and reflect on the good things can be a breath of fresh air.

Ana is a second year university student in the North West of England. She’s Romanian but her family live in Belgium, and her housemate went home, so she’s by herself. This could be a really difficult situation, but Ana has spent a lot of time trying to focus on the positives.

She said: “Try to appreciate what you have. A roof above your head, a room with a comfy bed and literally the whole world in your hands on the internet.”

I try not to put too much pressure on myself

Lastly, while your Instagram feed might be full of people learning seven new languages, creating gyms at home or baking inordinate amounts of sourdough (seriously, what’s with all the sourdough?), you shouldn’t feel bad if, right now, you just need to rest.

We’re in the middle of a global crisis. That’s hard to fathom as it is, but if you’re having to deal with it alone or away from those you love, needing a minute to process everything by binge watching a series is completely okay.

Daniel is a trainee solicitor in London. His flatmate decided to move in with his girlfriend as the lockdown started, which left Daniel in the flat on his own. His parents have displayed symptoms of Covid-19, so Daniel decided to stay put.

He explained that while finding things to fill time is great, there’s no “great moral obligation on you” to be productive every waking second of the day.

He said: “I think there’s a balance to be struck between not completely descending into giving up but also not feeling like you have to spend every minute of the day doing something magically productive to make it worthwhile.”

In a nutshell, he thinks it’s important not to over commit to a million and one different things while in lockdown, especially if you don’t actually have more free time because you’re still working. This will just eat away at any free time you may have otherwise had.