How To Survive In Isolation (A Guide)

There are many people in this world who are not only sheltered but also isolated. Some choose isolation as a choice, and others have it imposed on them by family, society, and other people. The problem with this is the vast majority of isolated people do not know how to live a healthy lifestyle in this state. People in isolation are more likely to be sedentary, have mental disorders, and even physical aliments, mostly from self-neglect. So how to help?
We do not have experience with all types of people, so this advice may come across as one-size fits all and may not be applicable to your individual situation. This advice also assumes you're not being heavily controlled by another party, like a parent or a religious cult.
Inevitably, one has to learn how to practice self-discipline, because no one will do it for you if you're isolated. To do this:
~ You have to set a few specific goals you want. They should be clear and simple.
~ You should be able to measure your progress using a type of diary to compare your past results to the future results you want.
~ Your goals should be easily achievable, yet challenging. This is important because if your goals don't challenge you, you will feel stagnant and stuck. If they're too challenging, they will stress you out.
~ Your goals should be relevant to how you want to plan out your life. Otherwise, you may easily lose interest in them.
~ Your goals should have a start and finish time, for better time management skills. If you can complete your goals in a timely manner by yourself, you will be able to complete anything in a timely manner as well.
If you are having trouble completing your goals by yourself, you can try heavily simplifying them to your liking and understanding. And making them easier to do.
With the ability to set goals, you will be able to create an everyday routine for yourself. For example, you should ideally sleep a certain number of hours and start sleeping on the same nightly hour and wake up on the same day hour. The reason why sleep is important is because it helps rejuvenate your body so that you can be physically and mentally efficient the next day. If you have issues with sleep such as insomnia or a problem like mania where you stay up all night without getting tired, you can invest in herbal and/or pharmaceutical sedatives temporarily to get your body used to a consistent sleep schedule.
You can also set schedules for things like work and hobbies. In terms of work, you should stick to it for a fixed amount of time as much as possible, even when you don't feel like it. We would do the same for hobbies, although there is more leniency and flexibility in that area, unless you take them seriously just as much as work. If you have difficulties with procrastination in any of those areas, you should consider either performing immediately any tasks that take less than two minutes or commit to working on tasks that take longer for just two minutes.
A reward system for achieving goals is necessary for building self-discipline. You can set up small rewards for achieving small goals and big rewards for achieving big ones. Like your goals, rewards should align with your objectives. You can also gradually reduce external rewards once your desired habits feel more automatic and natural. In the same vein, you must also practice the ability to delay gratification, so that you don't just jump into any pleasurable activity to distract from your goals and duties. You can start small by waiting 5 seconds before, for example, eating a satisfying but unhealthy food choice, and then gradually increase that delay time for other pleasurable activities. You should start with the ones you have no trouble delaying before moving on to things you can't resist. By doing this, you build resilience against pleasurable distractions.
For other distractions where pleasure is not involved, you may have to create a dedicated workspace free from clutter and distractions. To identify this, you should have the self-awareness to know if something around your room is deliberately distracting you or not. Them try to remove it from your sight or at least your awareness. Or you can keep reminding yourself that the work is more important than the potential distractions around you if you can't do anything about them, even if you don't feel like doing so. A distraction free environment makes it easier to stay focused and disciplined.
Self-discipline is a skill that requires constant refinement throughout your life. You should keep a journal to track your progress and challenges, regularly review and adjust your goals and strategies, and be kind to yourself when you make a mistake while being strict, and use it as a learning opportunity. Be kind to yourself, but don't let yourself go too much. Be strict with yourself, but don't be too hard on yourself.
As for exercise, you will need it, obviously for its health benefits and not just because you'll look good. If you have been sedentary your whole life, you can start with the most low-intensity exercises like walking and yoga for the first few weeks. Then, if your body feels ready, you can start jogging and cycling before eventually moving on to strength training and vigorous activity. You will also have to warm up before every exercise and cool down too, to prepare yourself. You should also be able to listen to your body when exercise hurts for you, and stop doing it. You will have to treat your workouts like important appointments and take some accountability for yourself. All this will take weeks, maybe even months and years. There are many resources on the Internet for starting an exercise routine.
All this information is needed so that you don't deteriorate in isolation like so many end up doing. And for concern for your health. Do not take this as a condescension but as a piece of advice. We care about you.