Let’s face it, quarantine is a boring time for all of us. We can’t hang out with friends anymore, go out to eat, go to the movies — we can’t do anything that would involve being within six feet of another human being. So while we’re all trapped inside, here’s a list of things you can do to make quarantine a little less boring to deal with.
- Zoom your friends
Since you can’t hang out with your friends in person anymore, Zoom is a great way to keep in touch with everyone, especially if there’s someone in the friend group that doesn’t have an iPhone. Zoom gives free 40 minute group meetings that are easy to restart, and it allows you to share your phone screen to everyone in the group if you want. Have some fun by taking turns going through your guys’ google search histories on a call — it’s hilarious.
- Find new music
Now that school and sports aren’t taking up all of your time, use this time to finally get into new artists that you’ve always wanted to listen to. I’m sure you have at least 20 notes in your phone full of artists you’ve never had the chance to listen to, so start working your way through those artists. Also, while you’re at it, upgrade to Spotify Premium. It’s worth it, and it’s way better than Apple Music.
- Go for a drive
Gas prices are at an all time low, so why not take advantage of that? Now that you have your updated music, and hopefully Spotify Premium, take some time to relax and get away from your house for a little bit. If you have a dog, take them too and give your good boy/girl a chance to stick their tongue out of the window again.
- Learn how to cook
Since all sit down restaurants are closed, take this time to try and make your own meals. Not only is it cheaper to make your own food, but it’s many times healthier too. Try looking up recipes online and try whatever peaks your interest. If anything, it’s probably good to learn how to cook now before you get to college.
- Go outside
Whether it be for a walk, run, bike ride or just sitting on your porch, simply leaving the house will help ease pent up stress from the quarantine. It’s beneficial for everyone to get more vitamin D — especially since we’ve been deprived of it from the winter— so go outside and experience how good it feels to finally feel the heat of the sun again. Obviously it has to be nice out in order to do this, but luckily it’s nearing the summertime again, so nice weather is on the way.
- Start working out (if you’re not already)
Don’t let quarantine force you to lay in bed all day everyday; it’s not good for you and it’ll mess up your sleep schedule even more than it probably already is. If you don’t already have a workout routine, YouTube has a lot of options for you to choose from, including many options for those of you who don’t have workout equipment at home. Keep yourself honest and give yourself a goal to reach; you’ll find that if you keep a workout routine up, it becomes almost addicting to work out. Start making it a habit now before you get old and sad.
- Try something new
Whether it be learning a new instrument or trying out new hairstyles, get yourself into something you’ve always been interested in but never had the time to do. Motivating yourself to do new things keeps life interesting; so play a new game, learn a new language, redecorate your room, try out new skincare products — just do anything that you’ve always wanted to try.
- Buy something
Since everyone’s stuck at home, maybe finally buy some things you’ve always been excited about to bring you at least a little bit of joy during this time. If you’ve been saving up for a laptop, now’s the perfect time to buy one since all of school is online now. Also, support the local businesses around you. Many small businesses are being negatively affected by the pandemic and need help from people like us to keep an income for their family. Many of us are more fortunate than others in this situation, so if you can, be sure to help others in need during this stressful time.
- Relax for once
Now that all of school is online and many of us have lost our jobs to the pandemic, use this time to finally take a break from all the stress school and work brings to us. Allow yourself to think about something else for a change, even if it’s hard to do.
- Focus on your mental health
With troubling and unknown times ahead of us, it’s very stressful for everybody — especially with the addition of being secluded from all the people in your life. For many of us, therapy is either no longer an option or is all online, which is hurting a lot of us by forcing us to keep everything bubbled inside. When depression takes over, it’s often close to impossible to do as little as get out of bed in the morning.
Use this time to force yourself into doing some of the things above, even if it feels impossible to do. Focus on making little victories, and celebrating them. Even if all you do is force yourself to wake up at an earlier time than usual, be proud of that. Little victories create greater victories in the end, so don’t focus on how far away the end is but focus on the little things you can do right now to get you closer.
When you start feeling anxious or start overthinking, call a friend or write what you’re feeling in a notebook. Notebooks are a great way to let pent up feelings out, and over time it can be fun to read through what you’ve written in the past and see how much you’ve changed. Be easy on yourself, and make mental health your number one priority during these times. You can do it.
