Fun and interesting things to do when you’re stuck at home
By Manolis
Staying at home all day can be super boring. So here you go, 20 ideas to make staying home a bit easier.
- Read a book that lays on your shelves for ages.
- Watch a film (you better stay away from epidemic related ones…). There are tons of uplifting movies to watch that can also educate us – Open culture offers more than 1,000 movies to watch online for free. You can also find a great variety of excellent movies on Youtube (I watched Mindwalks recently and I highly recommend it!)
- Play some music. If you got an instrument somewhere in your house, just take it out and play.
- Fix your house. I am sure there are plenty of things to be fixed in the house that you’ve always postponed. So, now you have no excuse.
- Re-decorate your space. Be creative! Here are 6 tips to guide you toward inexpensive interior design.
- Practice mindfulness. Spend time with yourself and find out more about yourself. It has never been a better time than now to observe and understand our thought patterns, emotions, actions, and reactions, etc. Stay still and silent and the answers you are looking for will emerge from within. If you enjoy playing solitaire, Solitaired has a deck of cards with mindfulness prompts.
- Watch a concert. Plenty of artists are holding livestream and virtual concerts. Check out this list.
- Write letters to your beloved ones. They will be so happy when they receive an actual letter that it’s not a bill! The only big problem is how to get to the post office… Well, you can send it by courier or just wait for the quarantine to end.
- Contact friends and family members that you haven’t talked to for a long time. It’s the best time to see how they are and reconnect.
- Do nothing. Just be! Just relax and enjoy beautiful moments of inner peace and stillness (I wanted to have this first in the list but it would look extreme to some). If you have nothing important to do for half-hour, or a whole hour, just take this time to do absolutely nothing. If you are a hyperactive person, this will be a huge challenge for you but after you try it for some time you will see that it will be the best free gift you can give to yourself.
- Do things with your kids or your flatmates (if you have any). You can play games, cook together, build things, or just watch a movie.
- Learn a new skill. There are so many online courses out there (free or paid). Here is where you can start: https://www.mooc.org/
- Go on a home safari: Several Zoos and aquariums in the US offer live streams of animals online. Have a look here.
- Learn a new language. You can try an app like Duolingo for free.
- Try some DIY crafts. It can be really fun and at the same time, you save some money by creating it by yourself instead of buying it (at the same time you are also doing good for the environment).
- Cook something exciting. Be creative in the kitchen. Check youtube videos and food blogs and find interesting recipes. If you feel like improvising and it happens to cook something extremely good please share the recipe with the rest of us.
- Paint! Even if you can’t draw a straight line, you won’t need to show your paintings to anyone… Drawing or painting can be fun and very therapeutic.
- Indoor work-outs: (qi gong, yoga etc.). Try youtube videos or mobile apps like ‘Seven’.
- Write. Anything. Just start writing and you never know, you may write a bestseller. Or you can try becoming a blogger.
- Take a virtual tour. You can visit a museum, fly over Italy or explore Venice!
And the list goes on…
If you want more ideas, here is a great list of free, online resources from Home Learning resources for families and schools to virtual tours of museums around the world, online learning platforms and more.
