Things To Do Whilst Stuck At Home

OK, so you’re stuck at home (or at work with nothing to do) because of this whole Coronavirus COVID-19 scare. Maybe you’re an introvert and social distancing is what you’ve been training for your whole life, or maybe you’re an extrovert and you’re already stir crazy 30 minutes into this.

Don’t fear! We have you covered. Here are some suggestions — some serious, some silly — of things to do while you’re stuck at home.

1.      Start a journal, blog or diary about anything you want to write about, even if it’s just for your eyes only.

2.      learn something new like  a different instrument

3.      Pick a website at random and see how many times you can find the word “cancelled,” or something similar.

4.      Download one of the many free classic movie apps on your phone or tablet and watch a movie you’ve never seen.

5.      Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time and reconnect. If needed, make apologies or offer forgiveness if that’s why you haven’t spoken.

6.      Write a haiku or a limerick. Read it aloud in your best Shakespearean accent.

7.      Read a magazine cover to cover.

8.       Learn some new phrases in a foreign language — like “Hast du Toilettenpapier?” in German (“Do you have any toilet paper?”).

9.      Pull out an old photo album (physical or digital) and flip through some memories.

10.  Listen to an audio book. You can download lots for free, or borrow for free from libraries,

11.  Write letters (actual letters or cards) to one or more people in the service industry, like the person who is still out there collecting your bags of trash.

12.  Learn calligraphy.

13.  Teach yourself how to write — or toss a ball or anything else — with your non-dominant hand.

14.  Play a long board game with the people “stuck” at home with you.

15.  Tell a story as a family. One person starts with a phrase or sentence, the next continues with an added phrase/sentence, and so on. Continue until a logical place to end. Make it a funny or scary story, or whatever your group enjoys.

16.  Watch a TV show on mute. Create your own dialogue.

17.  Sort out that junk drawer. Or drawers.

18.  Organize your socks; see if you can finally find mates for them all.

19.  Make sock puppets out of the non-matched socks, or ball toys for your pets.

20.  Clean your pet’s aquarium or bed.

21.  Bake a cake or some cookies.

22.  Watch a movie that has been recommended to you.

23.    Draw something, anything.

24.    Colour in a colouring book.

25.    Take a relaxing shower or bath.

26.    Set new goals for the month or year.

27.    Dust.

28.    Exercise.

29.    Do some of those DIY projects you’ve been putting off.

30.    Clean ceiling fan blades. Trust me, they’re gross and they need it.

31.  Clean out the pan under the fridge and dust the coils on the back. See note on the ceiling fan blades.

32.  Watch a YouTube video to learn how to do something unusual.

33.  Hold a pillow over your face and scream. Now, remove pillow and take a deep breath. Repeat as necessary.

34.  Have more than one kind of whole coffee beans? Try making a new blend by mixing and grinding beans together. Keep track of what you do, just in case you really like it. Or hate it.

35.  Find out what local businesses are still open and support them as best you can.

36.  Call your neighbours — especially the elderly, those with small children or who have special health needs — and see if they’re OK.

37.  Scroll through Netflix or whatever you have, and mark things you want to see later.

38.  Go back and pick one of those at random and watch it.

39.  Make popcorn and watch “Home Alone.”

40.  Try a new hair colour.

41.  Look up what movies are scheduled to come out later, in theaters or on streaming services, and read the book.

42.   Dance.

43.  Put ice or heat on whatever you hurt dancing.

44.  Close your eyes and take a virtual tour of a place you remember from your childhood that’s important to you, like your grandmother’s house. Take your time and try to remember details.

45.   Learn how to make an origami animal.

46.  Take a nap.

47.  Make a new board game with an old cardboard box or some paper. Make markers, cards or other pieces. Grab some dice from another game or make a spinner. Make up the rules as you go.

48.  62  Make a hat or boat, sword and shield, or something else with old copies of a newspaper

49.  Call someone at random and tell them you care about them.

50.  Have a scavenger hunt in your home.

51.  Rearrange the spices or other items in your kitchen cabinets.

52.  Memorize a poem, the UK prime ministers in order, some Bible verses or your spouse’s birthday.

53.  Clean your screens — televisions, phones, tablets, computers, etc., as well as your window screens.

54.    Balance your books

55.    Get lots of rest and stay positive!