(The picture on this post is misleading, but I like the picture. My ideas are not to swim in a pool.)
I think a lot of people are bored right now, which is understandable--if you're a regular person who cares about flattening the curve and isn't an essential worker, you've been inside for weeks. Personally, I'm a delivery driver, so I've been a bit busier than most people right around now; I've been driving around my town delivering food for DoorDash, with my mask and hand sanitizer in tow, but I still get bored around the house.
So, I thought I would put together this little list of a few things to do while bored in quarantine. Feel free to comment and add your own little activities that you've been doing during this time!
1. Learn a New Skill
This sounds stupid, I know. But with all of this free time on our hands, why not take some of it to learn a little skill that you've always thought you were too busy to learn before? For me, that skill is French braiding my own hair: I am 21 years old and have never been able to French braid my own hair, which I think has been detrimental to my ability to go more than three days without washing my hair. The grease is much more noticeable when you can't French braid your own hair.
So, learn a new skill! It doesn't have to be a huge new, stressful thing--it can just be something small, that you've always been too busy to try out. Because honestly...you don't have that excuse now.
2. Create Something
So many generic ideas! But being creative is a great and productive use of this downtime. Personally, I obviously like to write, so I started on a new side project to bring something different into my creative lens than simply the books I've been working on for months. This blog has also been a great creative outlet for me, as I try to figure out what kinds of posts I can think of and what kind of things I want to write about. But obviously, not everyone likes to write. My little sister has been the best example of creative expression during this time: last week, she made a scavenger hunt for my family to do together. A few days ago, she painted a new design on a pair of her sneakers, and they look amazing.
There are so many options for creative expression, and finding new ways to be creative. Writing a new book or poem; painting or drawing; making videos; writing for a blog; making or learning a TikTok dance; essentially anything that helps you become more creative and express yourself outside of your usual outlet.
3. Physical Activity
This one is a little tougher, but it can definitely be done. This isn't some 'don't gain the quarantine weight!' thing; it's just a health thing. You don't have to be running marathons or squatting 300 pounds every day. By 'physical activity,' I just mean, moving your body every day. During these past few weeks, I've found that I feel a lot better throughout the rest of the day, even if I'm stuck inside, when I've done some sort of workout in the morning. I'm writing an entire post about the different home workouts that I like to do, but the simple way of putting it is this: doing some sort of physical activity for at least thirty minutes to an hour every day can help make your life feel a little bit more normal, and give you more energy throughout the rest of your day.
4. Reading Something New
I'm in college. I don't ever have time to read for fun. And I'm going to assume that a lot of people don't have that type of time either. This is a great time to read for leisure. I don't have a lot else to say about this one, so I thought I would offer a few suggestions of what to read during this time.
> The Whistler by John Grisham
> Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
> Emancipated by M.G. Reyes
> And, because I'm a raging narcissist, Dear Sydney and/or Forbidden by myself :)
I hope this list wasn't too generic and that it gave you some new ideas of things to keep yourself occupied right now!
Comments