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Traveloka SG

03 Apr 2020 - 6 min read

Tips to surviving the MCO with your partner

Let’s face it. We love our partner, we’d die for them, but put us together for a long period of time, and we might be starring in our own Marriage Story once this movement control order (MCO) period is over. Despite what the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry advised, women don’t have to adopt a “Doraemon-like” tone to speak to their partner. We talked to real-life couples who shared their tips on how to enjoy the MCO period together. After all, when will you ever spend time with each other as much as now?

Help each other out

“My husband is out daily from 9.00am to 4.00pm. His team is working closely with the Sarawak State Disaster Management and thus, needed physically at their HQ. Don't worry, I supply him with a full-on PPE when he goes out and get him to adhere to my Health and Safety 101 the second he reaches our door. If I were given a choice, I'd waterjet him in the car park’s car wash before he takes the lift to our floor. 😅

4.00pm onward is time for us to wind down, cook and have a meal together. Then, we’ll work on assembling the PPEs for medical staff in the hospitals. It's an ongoing effort until we are all in the clear. Here we were last weekend constructing face shields! Thankfully, while working apart and at times together, we have yet to get on each other's nerves.”

— Nadia Masrol and Hazwan Razak

Star in your own YouTube video

“What we're most excited about every day is brainstorming our YouTube content that we upload weekly. It could be challenging as we have limited resources during this MCO period, but that made us even more creative in creating content by using whatever items we have at home. Our latest video is a "Wasabi Challenge" where we ask each other questions and whoever answers it wrongly is punished by eating wasabi on crackers.

Our weekly schedules are quite full but we still managed to find time to exercise during the weekend. Since this MCO period, we've tried the "500 calories workout in 45 minutes" challenge that we'd normally never do. It feels good to break a sweat once in a while!”

Check out the couple’s YouTube channels here and here.

— Izzati Mazlan and Isaac Osman

Perfect time for spring cleaning

“When we heard the news about a possible lockdown while we were based in Jakarta, we immediately got on a flight back home to Lisbon. We prefer to be quarantined in a place we find most comfortable, and nothing is better than being in our little home sweet home! Although some may find it difficult to be stuck together 24/7, I actually really enjoy it! This means I get to spend more time with my husband, despite him working most of the day. But it’s having the company that makes all the difference.

We also take this as an opportunity to spring clean our home! Getting rid of all the unnecessary things around the house, giving away unworn clothes to charity and getting the house squeaky clean. We put on some music to get ourselves into cleaning mode, and it’s amazing how therapeutic cleaning can actually be!”

— Alisya Soraya Aminuddin and Gonçalo David Lage

Sing your favorite song

“Cooped up at home, we decided to sing a song that would inspire others to be kinder and more positive in these trying times. Our song of choice: Imagine by The Beatles. Also, we like playing silly online games on Instagram. TikTok hasn't gotten to us... Yet.”

Check out their cute video here!

— Hon Sophia Balod and Carlos Lorenzo

Challenge yourself

“What we’re most excited about every day is trying out new recipes and keeping up with our challenges. We have two challenges that we’re currently doing — “Drink Up” where we have to drink at least three liters of water a day and “Fill Up Your Plank Bank” where we do planks and time it each day. We’ve been very consistent with it so far!

We’re homebodies, so this MCO is actually a blessing in disguise. It allows us to spend more time with each other. Other than the economy taking its toll on us during this MCO, we really don’t mind being quarantined together at home.”

— Anbreen Aziz and Azim Yazeed

Cook meals together

“Most of the time, we have been staying at home. It’s not very easy for us, but we try to make it enjoyable. To stay sane during the quarantine, we’d do activities together like running, playing basketball, and cooking. Doing sports with my husband is quite fun as we rarely exercise together before! We also eat lunch together now, which never happened before the quarantine, except during the weekend.

So, there are some positive things that we actually like during this quarantine. However, we stay in different rooms during the day. My husband works from the home office and since he often has Skype calls, I’ll stay in the living room. Staying in different rooms is somehow a good thing for us, as we still need to concentrate during the day.”

— Ethenia Novianty Windaningrum and Mikkel Brænder Aastrup

Play console games together

“Here's a photo of us doing what keeps us sane during the quarantine. We both have been playing a game called Animal Crossing. It's a game where you build a life on an island and recruit animal friends to join your town. We can visit each other on the island too. I've been playing the game so much I accidentally hit him while we were sleeping because I was trying to catch a butterfly in my dream!”

— Adelia Razak and Afiq Faidhy

Exchange memes

“It’s normal for everyone these days to be glued to their phones. As for me and my husband, apart from sharing unique online stories or articles, we also exchange funny posts especially memes to kill our boredom and to maintain happiness. You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine 😉.”

— Maizatul Nadiah Sa'adon and Luqman Mohd Yusop

Some separation is healthy

“We’re both working from home and our schedule is quite full. At first, we thought we could spend extra time together, but nope! So, we decided that separating our own workstation is better for our comfort and productivity — my husband at the kitchen bar and I’m at the dining table. We also made a point to only talk during meal times and breaks so we can focus on our tasks. It might sound boring to some, but it’s what’s been keeping us sane being indoors 24/7!”

— Nabila Md Naim and Azizul Abd Talib

Different couples have different ways to tackle being quarantined together. Find what works for you and stick with it. Most importantly, stay safe and stay healthy!

Looking for ideas on what you can do with your loved ones during this MCO? Check out our other articles here:

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