Okay, so we all agree quarantine sounded great at first, right? We don’t have to leave our houses, we can stay in our pajamas all day, sleep as much as we want, eat whatever we want whenever we want, what more could a tired college student ask for? Days one and two were great: we were spending so much time with our families and pets that we missed so dearly, catching up on missed sleep, eating something other than Kraft mac-n-cheese cups. But then day three hit, and we starting asking “wait, exactly how long do we have to do this again?” Now we can all definitively agree that quarantine sucks. We’re bored all the time and our productivity has shot way down. But as there isn’t exactly an end in sight for this boredom mania, here are some activities that you can do to keep yourself sane.
- Journaling
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You’re probably thinking “if I’m not doing anything, then what do I have to write down?” Everything! Write down what you ate for breakfast, how many hours of sleep you got, what you watched on Netflix that night or early the next morning. Write down how frustrated or bored you feel. Write down how much you miss your friends or the things that have been canceled that you’re really disappointed about. Not only will this provide some entertainment and establish a routine, but it’ll also do wonders for your mental health.
- Cooking
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So maybe you can’t go to the grocery store, but that just makes this one even more fun. Find whatever you have around your house, and just start throwing it together. Those snacks that have been in your pantry forever? Get them out and make it a meal. Or maybe you’re lucky enough to have a food supply, and you can start cooking some actual recipes that you can use later, too. Whichever boat you’re in, this activity not only develops a very useful skill, but it also provides good food.
- Movies
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Maybe you aren’t a film geek, but you’ve always wanted to be. Now’s your chance. In today’s age, there are a plethora of streaming platforms that provide thousands and thousands of movies. Go through your list of things you’ve always meant to watch but haven’t yet. Ask all of your friends for their top movie recommendations. This one extends to TV shows, too! Now’s a great time to catch up on that show you never actually finished.
- Reading
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I don’t know about you, but I have dozens upon dozens of books in my house that I haven’t actually read. If you’re with me on this one, now’s your chance! That book you bought four years ago and won’t get rid of because you keep telling yourself you’ll read it one day? Today is that day. Even if you get ten pages into it and decide that you don’t like it, now you know that you can get rid of it. And if you don’t own a bunch of books, check out what you can get online through sites like Audible or your local library.
- Cleaning
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After you’ve cleared your bookshelf of books you’ve recently discovered you don’t like, it’s time to move on to your closet. It’s a task we’ve probably all been dreading for a while now, but really, there’s no time like the present. Prime yourself with a few (or many) episodes of Marie Kondo, then start working. This project can take a couple of days (or weeks, if you’re a bit of a hoarder like me), so it’ll definitely fill up some time. Added bonus: once this quarantine is over, you’ll have a bunch of stuff to donate to people who’ve been financially impacted!