Over recent weeks, the world has had to contend with the destructive and novel Coronavirus. Every day, we see a constant uptick in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths – and it is easy to feel powerless as a result. But that’s just the thing, you’re not powerless! Just by staying at home, social distancing, and self-quarantining, you can make a significant difference in this fight. As long as everyone follows these, we can save lives and get back to normalcy faster. That doesn’t mean it will necessarily feel easy, though. All this isolation is a huge change, and it can leave people bored, lonely, and depressed, which is why it’s important to have something to do even when you’re stuck at home. At a loss for what that should be? Here are some things you can do at home during this Covid-19 pandemic.
1. Think Positive
Nowadays, news sources and social media are a constant flurry of bad news and scary facts and figures. It is essential stuff, and you should absolutely be keeping yourself up to date, but it’s also important that you don’t over engage with it either to protect your mental health. Instead, after you find yourself all caught up, take a break for a while and engage with something more positive. Even just seeking out some encouraging news or watching videos of cute animals will go a long way to keeping you significantly healthier and happier.
2. Perfect Time to Connect with Family & Friends
It’s called ‘social distancing,’ but it doesn’t have to mean your social life takes a dive. In our modern world, there are tons of ways you can still stay connected with friends and family even when you aren’t physically together. After all, our phones and the internet exist for a reason. Make good use of them. Give your friends and family a call and have a nice, long chat. Play some games with your friends. Use an app to watch Netflix together. Host a Zoom or Skype dance party. Get creative with it! There’s no reason to feel isolated from loved ones just because you can’t physically be together right now. This is also a prime time to buy them a personalized gift to cheer them up, as it will help them feel good and distracted from the current situation.
3. Learn a New Skill
Being forced to stay at home means you’ll probably have a lot more time on your hands than you’re used to, so why not put it to use by learning a new skill? Whether you decide to learn a new instrument, break out your coding book, or finally try your hand at baking, you’ll feel accomplished and infinitely less bored than if you just sat around for weeks or months. Plus, you’ll walk out of quarantine an even better, more well-rounded you.
4. Listen to a New Podcast
Do you find yourself a little late to the game and constantly encouraged to give podcasts a shot? Well, there’s no better time to do it than right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in true crime drama, history, horror, politics, or something else entirely. There’s a podcast out there you’ll love. For those who appreciate hearing random life stories, give the It’s Your Sister podcast a try!
5. Get Some Fresh Air
Social distancing and staying at home don’t have to mean being stuck inside for weeks on end. You can – and should – try to get outside when possible! The fresh air will do you good both physically and mentally, and it will go far in helping you avoid the inevitable stir-crazy feeling. This is obviously easier if you have a yard or garden at your home, but you might still be able to make something work if you don’t depending on your town or state’s mandates.
6. Do Something Fun
If you’ve been active on social media at all since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, you’ve probably witnessed a lot of pressuring about productivity and using your lockdown time wisely. While that’s a perfectly nice goal, “getting stuff done” isn’t the end-all, be all. Besides, if there was ever a time to be gentle with yourself, a worldwide pandemic is probably it. So, be sure to find something fun to do. Watch tv, play video games, do a jigsaw puzzle – whatever calls to you. And if you’re a fan of music, don’t forget to check out some of the online concerts or tutorials various musicians are putting on to entertain fans. Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen, The Dropkick Murphys, and Billie Eilish are just a few to drop in on.
7. Start Your Spring Cleaning
Staying at home for extended periods of time can really bring your attention to the mess around you. If this has proven to be true for you, maybe it’s time to give your place a proper tidying up. An easy way to do this is in incremental steps rather than all at once, so pick a small section to tidy, clean it up, and move onto the next one on another day. This will keep you moving but not overly bored. For the cleaning types out there, feel free to completely disregard and tidy to your heart’s content.
8. Engage with Social Media
Social media can be extremely taxing right now, but it doesn’t have to be. Social media can be used to connect with others, find more positive news, and find remote entertainment opportunities, so don’t write it off right away. Be choosy and mindful with what you consume, but feel free to give social media avenues another go. While you’re at it, help others do the same. Right now, technology is extremely important, and we should do our part to help older people and others who might struggle navigating it. So, guide them to reliable sources and appropriate info, help them use Facebook and Twitter, and find them online spaces where they can form close communities. You’ll feel better for doing it and they will, too.
9. Do Something Kind
If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that we are more connected than we realize. Embrace this connection and do something for someone else today. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking or a huge gesture. Just picking up groceries for higher-risk neighbors, donating to those in need, or helping others navigate online spaces as we mentioned can mean all the difference in the world to someone right now. Remember – we’re all in this together. Act like it.
10. Prioritize Self-Care
As we’ve said, this pandemic is incredibly taxing. It has wide-reaching consequences financially, socially, physically, and also mentally. If you’re feeling more drained than usual, that’s okay. That’s normal in these not-so-normal circumstances. Be compassionate towards yourself and prioritize self-care, however that looks for you. Eat delicious, nourishing foods, exercise, meditate, journal, disconnect, reconnect. Whatever you need to take care of yourself, do it. You are worth the effort. With that, that is officially all ten of our top recommendations of things to do during this pandemic. We hope that it can be of some help to those who are struggling in these uncertain times. More than anything though, we hope all is well and that all of you are staying healthy and happy. These are rocky times, but we will get through this all one step at a time. Hang in there. Things will get better. In the meantime, all of us here at Urban Designer are sending our best wishes to you and your families. Stay smart and stay safe, everyone.
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