10 Fun Things to do in Quarantine from the Comfort of Your Home

During this time, you can learn how to cook Vegetable Tikka Masala, launch a new Free 3D Modeling Software, plan how to open a Braiding Shop/Nail Spa, select Banquets in Indore for your upcoming wedding, choose Travel Blog Names or make plans Worldwide Travel once the pandemic is over. 

Whether by choice or by decree, you are probably doing your civic duty and self-isolating in your house. Maybe that means you have to work from home, or, in worse cases, it means you are unable to go to work at all.

Either way, the current situation with COVID-19 is serious, and we all need to take it that way. Just because you’re being called to your couch right now, though, doesn’t mean that time needs to be wasted on watching every episode of The Office three times.

Sure, relaxing and distracting yourself with a little binge watching isn’t a bad idea, especially if what’s going on is making you anxious or stressed. But you can also spend this extra time at home focusing on more productive things than Netflix, like self-improvement.

1. Read a book.

How often have you said you wanted to read more, but you didn’t have the time? On the bright side of all of this, you’ve just been granted nothing but time! So set aside a block of it each day to read a book.

If you usually read, say, mystery novels, but you’ve always wanted to read more personal development books or one on a certain topic you’re curious about, try swapping your “easy” reads for something deeper, but still enjoyable. Reading will enrich your life, and we all need that kind of uplifting activity right now.

2. Meditate.

The benefits of dedicating time to meditation or prayer are numerous and have been proven in studies over and over again. To truly do nothing but meditate or pray can seem impossible to fit in between the rush to get out the door the morning, eight busy hours at the office and getting the kids to soccer practice. Now, with no commute and newfound extra time, you can.

Start small by dedicating 15 minutes to not looking at your phone or giving in to any other distraction. This time block can grow bigger each day. Like with any workout program, you can’t jump in to the hardcore hour-long commitment on day one; you have to build up those muscles.

Meditation is one practice that you can really improve on with your extra time and, with the benefits you will see in your life, you might just want to continue when things get back to normal.

3. Chat with a friend :

Call, text, email or video chat with your friends and family. Just because you’re socially distancing doesn’t mean that you can’t connect. Research
4. Listen to (or play) music :

You’ve seen the viral videos of people singing while quarantined, and it turns out they may be onto something: Singing has been shown to improve people’s mental health and sense of belonging.

Not much of a musician? Listening to music can help people in the face of a scary and stressful experience; a study on cancer patients found that music reduced anxiety and pain, while bolstering people’s moods.

5. Become a chef (read: learn to cook) :

One of the biggest things I’m learning about life in quarantine is how much I depend on the people around me. Case in point: I can’t cook at all, so it was cereal and noodles for a few days until I figured out how to make simple salads and scrambled eggs. Learning how to cook is surprisingly fun and relaxing, now that I don't have a choice but to try. If you like cooking, here are some easy recipes for quarantine. 

6. Pick up a new skill (free courses are everywhere) 

Learning something new can be fun, and in many cases, completely free! Platforms like Coursera already offer thousands of free online courses from top universities, but you can always choose to learn something that excites you—even if it is not a work-related skill. 

7. Read a beautiful art magazine :

Magazines are brilliant: little bundles of paper filled with countless ideas and images and writing. They’re places of comfort and safety and distraction, something to turn to when everything feels a little overwhelming and scary. So what better way to distract ourselves from these whackadoodle times than with a selection of amazing art publications that you can get sent right to your door?

8. Hit the gym in your living room :

Doing a daily workout during lockdown has suddenly become a whole lot easier. Classpass, the fitness-class app that previously allowed you to book into sessions in bougie gyms across the world, has just released 2,000 fitness video and audio tutorials for free. 

9. Cook something new

If there was ever an opportunity to spend more time experimenting in the kitchen, this is it – after all, you’re likely to be pretty much stuck there for the foreseeable. We’ve rounded up some ace recipes from culinary superstars, including a Michelin-star chef’s recipe for a crisp omelette, an Italian recipe for chocolate, orange and ricotta cake and tips on how to turn your basic banana bread into a work of delicious genius – all using ingredients that you’re likely to already have in your cupboard.

10. Listen to a free audiobook or short story :

If you’re the kind of person who likes to disappear from reality into an audiobook, you’re in luck. To help those in self-isolation, Audible has just opened up a huge chunk of its collection to readers/listeners for free.