O.K., here's my chance to learn.
I've had this back injury before, so if I bother to remember, I know what to expect and how to cope with it. It could be a practice session for coping with something more serious.
Here are some parameters, positive and negative:
-The McKenzie exercises can reduce the pain significantly.
-Standing and not bending is virtually pain free.
-Sitting in a stiff chair with a forward tilting seat is pain free, and does not reaggravate the bulging disc. (Albeit it isn't very comfortable for long.)
-Sitting in a soft chair is very comfortable...until I try to get up...youch! Very bad.
-Sitting in the car is off limits. (I had to ask my wife to go to the grocery, usually my job.)
-Picking things up off the floor is not an option, but we have reaching tools from my wife's surgical recovery, and Hazel is pretty good at picking up things on command. If you don't mind a little bit of dog saliva it's fun for both of us.

So, shop work and cooking (standing) is possible. But that bottom freezer really needs to go. With one arm on the counter I can manage the dishwasher.
15 minute sessions at the computer or harpsichord are possible.
Watching TV is not so comfortable without my soft slouch chair.
Clearing brush in the woods is not for now.

I'm embarrassed to admit how fragile my mood can be. Pain and negative memories seem to go hand-in-hand. I'm really good at feeling lonely and sorry for myself! This has less to do with actual pain (which I can mostly control) than with the feeling that I'm hedged in by the possibility of pain.
I walk around a lot, not sure what to do.
Maybe this:
A simple Here/Now walking/breathing meditation. Walk slowly. Think "Here" as you breathe in and "Now" as you breathe out....(Thich Nhat Hanh "The Long Road Turns to Joy" p. 38)