Through this tough period of confinement, here are some easy and fun ways to stay occupied and avoid boredom at all costs:
We may not be authorized to practice a sport in groups or meet up to go running or biking, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop practicing! We can still keep our body healthy and it is strongly recommended. What better way to fend off the virus?
Take your running shoes or your bike and go burn off some steam! It’s a first great start to getting your mind off of staying home all day, and especially gets you some fresh air.
As long as you’re alone and (don’t forget!) your authorization paper, you’re good to go! Who ever said confinement meant no physical exercise?
You can even have your own workout session right in your living room if you want! Try to keep things different and active every day and you won’t even remember why you’re in confinement.
Maybe it’s finally time to dust off one of those books off the shelf and get reading! How long has it been since you were supposed to read a book but never got around to it? Now is finally the time!
You might even be surprised at how fast you’re going to finish it and how much you will like it! You’re going to be looking for the next book to read in no time. And time sure does fly by when you’re into a really good book!
How many series have you been putting off watching and now you finally have the time to? All of those great series your friends have been telling you all about, but you never got around to? Or maybe even a new documentary you want to see?
How to spend a great afternoon and relax? Time to wrap yourselves in a great big blanket, sit yourself on the couch, maybe even with a nice cup of tea in hand, and spend the afternoon in front of the TV!
So many amazing series just waiting to be discovered… all hands on deck!
This is probably our least favorite topic, but also one of the most important ones. While some schools may have started the online schooling, not all of them have, so hooray we have an extra week or two of vacation!
But like all normal students, not everyone has been keeping up with all of their classes. Maybe you didn’t pay attention in a particular class or didn’t understand everything the teacher was explaining? Well now is the perfect opportunity to get on board and up to date! Especially since soon we will have to juggle online classes as well… so much fun to come!
Always wanted to learn another foreign language but never had the time? Well now you do! Why not make the most of it? There are plenty of free courses online you can take to learn the basics of any given language such as Spanish, German, Italian… maybe even Chinese or Russian? Apparently more and more people are taking these languages as they are the future of commercial interactions.
So if you want to widen your horizons, why not start now? Duolingo, for example, is a great app you can download and is a very easy way to start learning the basics! You start with new vocabulary words, basic conjugations, how to form a sentence… and the levels keep going. At the end of the confinement you’ll almost be fluent!
Even though we are all stuck in our homes, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a social life or keep contact with our friends and family!
As we live in a world full of internet, everything is possible. We can still hang out with our friends, even hundreds of kilometers apart. Organize a video chat night, have a good laugh about our new living conditions, it’s almost like they are right there with you!
Give a call to your families, make sure everyone is okay and show them you are thinking of them. Every little action counts, and without free movement, keeping each other company from time to time is essential.
Even if we do live in a world full of internet, it isn’t everything! You can have just as much fun playing a board game with a member of your family, or all together after work. Board games are a classic and sure way of having fun as a group and taking our minds off of our problems.
Card games are also very diverting! And so many different games exist, try discovering new ones and learn them as a family. And if you are alone? You can play Solitaire! There is no way of getting bored at home if you really look for ways to stay occupied. There will always be something waiting for you.
Other possibilities to make your day better: put on some lively music in the house or learn to play an instrument. There is no reason for the house to be silent while we are all confined inside together! Maybe you have a piano at home or a dusty guitar you have always wanted to learn how to play. Now is the time to start! It may hurt your ears a little bit at first when you don’t get the notes right, but once you start getting it, you’ll never be able to stop!
And if you don’t have an instrument at home, that’s not a problem! You can even do music with two sticks or pens and do the drums. Though that might drive your parents crazy very quickly if you use them too much.
Have some fun!
Although we are supposed to stay inside and have minimum contact with people, hopefully you possibly have a balcony or a small garden where you can escape to and go outside. Take in the beautiful sunlight while you still can and breathe in the fresh air. Nothing is stopping you from chilling on a chair outside and just bathing in the sun! You may even come back with a tan! Wouldn’t that be a surprise?
10) Learn to cook or bake!
Something else you can do during your spare time is finally learning how to cook real food! As students, our main dishes are based on spaghetti, rice or other carbohydrates, all easy and fast to cook. But maybe we can widen our horizons a little bit and stop being lazy and think healthy? There are certainly a lot of easy dishes we can make, but just never take the time to do them. We don’t have that excuse now, do we?
Baking is also a very good way to have fun! Preparing a nice dessert like crepes with Nutella or jam, a nice cake… And the best part about baking is you can do so much with such few ingredients! Look up a recipe on the internet or look through a book and try new things! I’m sure your families will be delighted to taste whatever you prepare for them…hopefully!
PS: Be careful not to gain too much weight with all of the delicious sweets or dishes at home! We all know how tempting they can be…