Tired of binge-watching Netflix or just bored out of your mind during COVID-19 isolation? We have compiled a list of 20+ awesome things to do at home while social distancing!
Being stuck at home can be beneficial. Why not improve your skills, learn something unexpected, and let your creativity flourish?
Explore destinations with virtual reality (and guide your elderly relatives on the way), make online trips to the store, sign up to an online class, and find new hobbies.
Even if you are home alone during self-quarantine or staying with the fam, the opportunities to do something new, fun, innovative, and productive are endless!
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT HOME
It's finally time to tear down the boundaries of what you can achieve. Take the time to update yourself with an extra set of skills that will give you an advantage when everything gets back to normal.
Improve Yourself
Expand your base of knowledge. Take online courses to hone your skills and improve yourself. Learning new skills is an important way to keep our minds sharp and alert. With sites like Skillshare and Masterclass, you will master new skills in a whiff.
Skillshare will help you explore new skills, deepen existing passions, and will get you lost in creativity. Here you can find classes to help you with productivity, marketing, and web development, and these are just a handful of the classes you will find at Skillshare.
At Masterclass, you learn from the best in the world. Work on your communication skills with former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss. Find your voice and take your comedy to the next level with Steve Martin. Breathe life into your stories and characters with Neil Gaiman. Or why not learn the technique of storytelling from the Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese?
You can also head to YouTube to learn something you can carry with you for the rest of your life. So why not do that instead of binge-watching Friends for the 10th time?
Start that Project
Get excited about new accomplishments, or why not complete something you have already started but not finished? This is an excellent opportunity to pick them up. The beginning of a project is like the calm before the storm; it's something that will get you excited and pushing you to get up in the mornings. Something well needed when you are staying at home for a longer period.
Start that project you've been thinking about. Whether it is a cooking blog, writing a novel, doing that serious cable management behind your computer, or maybe refurbishing your home. No project is too big! Just get started.
Organize your Phone
Keep your phone neat and clutter-free. Most of us use our phones multiple times a day, so why shouldn't our home screen look neat?
There is no right or wrong way to organize your phone apps. You can, for example, do it by color coordination, alphabetically, by utility or category. Find your favorite style and get it to look as aesthetically as you please.
Organizing our phones is a task that is easily overlooked in our daily hectic lives. But now you have the perfect opportunity to delete unnecessary photos, organize albums, sort files and make sure to backup everything.
Declutter & Organize
Do a full-blown cleanout. Now when we are spending more time around the house, you need to face the fact that your home probably is cluttered with things you are unsure why you've kept. You might also realize that things are stored in places that make no sense. Put your stuff in the right places and throw away or donate items you no longer need.
Take the opportunity to do an ultimate closet cleanout, find out what lays hidden in the back of your pantry, and organize files and folders on your computer.
Cleaning is also therapeutic and can help you think about other things. So put on your favorite audiobook or podcast and start cleaning!
ENTERTAINING THINGS TO DO AT HOME
Even though you have run out of fun activities to do at home, know that your very home is like a sandbox, there are always things to do, and only your imagination can stop you.
Enter Virtual Reality
Explore a new world! Modern-day museums let you visit from the comfort and safety of your home by virtual reality.
A fun and educational experience for everyone, but there is more than museums you can visit when you are bored. Visit the Great Wall of China without having to walk all those steps, a crowdless Disney World, the chilling and daring Mount Everest, and for you who want some further social distancing, the Moon.
Or why not take your grandparents on a virtual tour of the Louvre or the Guggenheim Museum?
Shoot Fun at Home Photos for Instagram
Can't leave your home but still have urges to take beautiful photos? Keep boredom at bay by being extra creative. Explore Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram for fun poses and photoshoot ideas.
Bring out whatever props you might have at home to make the picture more interesting and fun. Send family cards to relatives and friends, or ask for feedback in forums and discuss the photo results! Taking creative photos at home is a great way to keep you occupied and to connect with other people while socially distancing.
Listen to Audiobooks or Podcasts
With a lack of things to do except being cooped up inside, what will you do? Why read, of course! Or why not listen to that audiobook or podcast you have been meaning to listen to for months, but never got around to.
Books let you escape for a while into a setting of your choice to ease the nerves, so you know, it's maybe not a good idea to listen to something out of the post-apocalypse genre. Push play and let a captivating fantasy novel take you far far away from reality or cozy up with a hardcover book before bedtime.
Audiobooks are great when you haven't got the time to read traditional books and need to multitask. Listen to an interesting story while you do some boring chores, and everything will go so much faster.
For amazing audiobooks, head over to Audible and deep dive into the thousands of books they offer.
Play Games That Will Make You Enjoy Being Home in Quarantine
There is nothing wrong with a little competition, right? Connect with friends or random people to keep quarantine boredom at bay with competitive and tricky games. If you are itching for human contact while under self-isolation, there are plenty of games for you to play with your friends online.
Head over to Google Play or App Store to find the most popular ones at the moment, or dust of the old Trivial Pursuit you have laying in the attic.
One game I have been playing a lot recently is Brain Test, a game that will get to your nerves and make you smack your four head or groan to the obvious answer. You can find Brain Test on the App Store and Google Play.
Teach Your Pets New Stuff
Teaching your four-legged friends is a challenge and requires patience, something we might lack in our normal day-to-day life. With time and effort your cat or dog can learn all sorts of things, and it will give you so much joy when they proudly show off their new skills.
Besides teaching them cool tricks, having a furry little friend when you are all alone is a big comfort, and all they ask in return is a lot of cuddles or some tasty treats.
Throw a Film Festival
Who says you have to be in the same room when you are having a movie night? In comes Netflix Party, a service from Netflix that allows the user to link up with friends and host a long-distance movie night.
Pause or mute whenever you want to discuss what just happened in the movie, or perhaps when someone in your company needs to get more popcorn.
It's a great and innovative way for people to get together during self-quarantine. This is also the solution to having a movie night with friends and family that lives miles away.
Master Something Unexpected
It's always fun to impress someone with something out of the ordinary, something no one would expect you to know. There is nothing like unnecessary knowledge, and you never know when you actually may need to put those unexpected skills to use.
Why not learn to spit some sick bars? Learn how to beatbox and be the center of attention on all the parties that are to come. Solve a Rubik's Cube under a minute or behind your back, stand on your head, do a barrel roll, or why not a magic trick?
There are so many things out there to master, so go ahead, find something you think sounds exciting and master it!
HEALTHY THINGS TO DO AT HOME
Staying at home gives you a golden opportunity to bring your normal busy life back on a healthier track. It allows you some extra time to dedicate to workout and health. Avoid indulging in those tasty close-by snacks and switch to a more healthy lifestyle.
Get Enough Sleep
Stay safe and snug. Keep your sleep habits and find more ways to relax. It can become overwhelming being inside for prolonged periods, it's hard to avoid, but try to tackle each day as it comes.
Aim to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep. When being sleep-deprived, your body has a harder time fighting infectious diseases.
Staying up a couple of hours later than usual to watch a movie won't harm anyone, but it's still important to keep to your routine, so your sleep cycle does not get disturbed.
Taking a well-deserved power nap during the day is always welcomed, and sometimes even needed. A recommended power nap should ideally be somewhere around 20-30 minutes.
Keep Working Out at Home
No pain, no gain. Avoid becoming a couch potato during a lockdown. With many gyms closing down and you being confined to your home, it's still essential to find new ways to workout. Staying at home for longer periods can pose a challenge for remaining physically active.
It can also harm your mental health, causing stress, unease, and restlessness. The solution is to stay active and take short active breaks during the day. Get your daily steps while doing some spring cleaning around the house. It's a great activity to get your pulse up.
Use a fitness app or exercise with an instructor-led video. Even if you have a small space, no equipment, or very little time, staying fit at home is totally doable – especially when you can have your own personal trainer in your living room via YouTube.
Spend Time in Nature
As the weather gets warmer, and the sun shines brighter, many of us are drawn to the outdoors. If you have the possibility to, enjoy some gardening in your backyard, or read a book on your balcony, take it.
If you can’t, stay calm and bring the outdoors into your home. Set up some greenery and flowers next to a window, roll out some artificial turf, pull up a chair and suddenly you have made your own atrium, almost.
Take every opportunity you can to get some fresh air and that sunny vitamin D we all love.
Stay Connected While Staying Apart
It's crucial for you to be socially active during self-isolation. Even though you can't physically meet one another, it's essential for your health and well-being to communicate and stay connected with friends, loved ones, and neighbors.
Socialize remotely and do something fun like host a virtual dinner party or quiz night via platforms like Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts.
Keep to a Schedule
Do what you usually would do. With many things closing down and being canceled, your regular schedule quickly goes out the window. Self-isolation can easily disrupt your routines, making it easy to pull all-nighters to binge-watch a show only to wake up lunchtime the next day.
Sounds fun, right? Maybe for two days, but to maintain a positive attitude and keep your spirits up, you need to create a consistent schedule for yourself.
Working from home is challenging, but you need to get up at the same time each day, jump out of your pajamas, get dress, and work at a designated workspace. Just like you would do if you were still at the office.
Learn Lifesaving Techniques
If you know the right lifesaving techniques, you can help others, save lives, and be prepared if the worst happens. There are many techniques you can learn. Two of the most valuable ones to know are the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation). It's also good to know your way around an AED (Automated External Defibrillators).
You might already have learned these techniques in school, but it's always a good idea to refresh your knowledge and expand it. There are plenty of free lifesaving courses and techniques to explore online.
CREATIVE THINGS TO DO AT HOME
Do something you never thought about before, or do something you always wanted to do but never had time for.
Find a New Hobby
Get those creative juices flowing and try new things. Challenge yourself to pick up a new hobby, or why not get back into an old one?
Always strive to learn new things and let your creativity flow. If you often use lack of time as an excuse, well, no more excuses!
Pick up painting, get started with Adobe Creative Cloud, master the manual mode on your camera, take music lessons online, or come up with new smoothie bowl recipes to start the day with.
Find something you love doing and let yourself dive headfirst into it.
Decorate Your Home
Spending your days tucked away inside your home sounds peaceful at first, but after a few days, you will understand the term cabin fever for real.
During these challenging times with quarantine and self-isolation, we spend more time than ever in our homes. Make the best of the situation and update and decorate your home to your liking.
Maybe you want to put up some new posters, change the colors of the walls, put in a new floor, or refurbish your entire house or apartment. Things you didn't have time for before are suddenly making sense to do now.
Start a Bullet Journal
A Bullet Journal (BuJo) is the perfect outlet for your creativity and for organizing your entire life.
A BuJo can help you stay more disciplined when working from home and boost your productivity and mindfulness. It can change your life! What's more, all you need to get started with a Bullet Journal is a blank notebook and a pen.
As you can start a Bullet Journal whenever you want, you don't have to wait until January with your plans and goals for the year, begin right now.
Read also: How to Start a Bullet Journal in 8 Easy Steps
MORE THINGS TO DO AT HOME
This is the time to catch up on the things you put off for far too long. People to reconnect with and being there for one another.
Support Your Local Business
Help your local businesses and show your support. Order from your neighborhood restaurant and remember to tip a little extra if you can. They need it, and it shows a little extra appreciation.
Also, why not give your future you a prepaid gift card to one of the local hairdressers or tattoo parlors to be used in the future. You might even be able to put in an order from your local bookstore or toy store to make a curbside delivery.
If you cannot support your local business financially, consider leaving a review online and refer them to others.
Volunteer
We all need a helping hand sometimes, and now more than ever. Explore options to volunteer virtually or make a donation if you can. It doesn't have to be a financial donation, if you have food, and can spare some, you can also donate that to your local food bank.
With many of the soup kitchens closing down, food can be more important than money to some, so if you have more than you need, give a helping hand to someone in need.
A more intuitive way to find people who need help is to download the app Nextdoor, an app that shows people in your surrounding area in need of help or vice versa. In times like these, it can be anything from picking up groceries or medicines for someone in a high-risk group or offer to mow a neighbor's lawn.
Turn Off the News for a While
Don't let the news dominate you. It's easy to get obsessed over every little update and notification about the coronavirus. It's important to stay informed, but being constantly bombarded with updates about the death counts and how the virus is spreading can be overwhelming.
Minimize watching, reading, or listening to news about COVID-19 that causes you to feel more anxious and worried. It's enough to check the news once or twice daily. Or, if you need to check the news, why not get Some Good News with John Krasinski?
These are just a few fun and productive things to do while in coronavirus hibernation. You might find it tedious being cooped up inside for weeks, but this is a chance to be extra creative and improve yourself!
The important thing to remember is to have fun, look after yourself, stay on the bright side of life and keep washing and sanitize those hands.
Do you have more tips on things to do during quarantine? We would love to hear your ideas in a comment!
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