How To Stay Busy While Social Distancing

Our world today battles a pandemic, and everyone is practicing self-isolation and social distancing. Are you stuck at home amid the coronavirus lockdown, not knowing what to do with yourself?

Everyone has been urged to stay at home. This directive does not apply if you are among the essential workers. Essential workers can still leave home and go to work.

Are you going super crazy because you’re unable to go out? You cannot do the things that you usually do as a normally busy person.

If so, this may be a good time for reflection. It is a time to catch up on the things you’ve been putting away for a long time. You put them in the back burner because there was no time in your busy schedule to do them. Here are a few tips to keep boredom at bay while you’re socially distancing during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Read books and magazines

Do you have books on your shelf that you never had time to read or to finish before now? I have stacks of subscription for Elle and Cosmopolitan magazines. They arrived monthly in my mail, and I was too busy to even open any of them. Are you like me?

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Do you have a novel or two you bought the last time you went through the airport? You hoped to read them during your flight, but you ended up sleeping throughout the entire flight?

Do you remember those interesting books you downloaded on Amazon Kindle long ago? You never really got around to reading them because you were too busy?

Well, this is the time to settle down and read those dusty, forgotten books on your bookshelf.

With the Amazon Kindle, you can read your eBooks on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. If it’s interesting and you bought it yourself, I bet you’ll enjoy reading it now!

I recently read a powerful self-actualization book to boost my morale and keep me going. It’s rightfully titled, “Self-Actualization: How to Master the Art of Renewing Your Mind through Decluttering Your Life and Tidying Up, to Become a Better You, for Long Term Fulfillment.” It has helped me to re-evaluate certain areas of my life and clean up many of them.

TV/movies during social distancing

Are you like me and have several episodes of your favorite TV shows and movies, “On Demand”? Did you fall asleep each time you tried watching them? Hey, there’s more television to watch today than ever before.

Now is the time to catch up on all of the shows you missed during your hectic schedule. TV Guide also has a list of helpful suggestions. It includes the best TV shows and movies to watch every week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. So sit down, relax, and have fun watching.

Clean out your closet & drawers

This is the time to do some spring cleaning in your home. It’s time to rearrange your underwear drawers. It’s a good time to empty the drawers of your bedside table. Throw away all the little junks that are in there. You know you certainly have no use for them, so fish them out.

Put your jewelry in order and throw away what you no longer wear. Throw away those odd earrings that you can no longer find the second one to match it with. Throw away old creams and makeup that you no longer care for, or use.

Declutter your closet. Remove all the clothes that you haven’t worn in over ten years that have been on hangers, gathering dust.

Good Housekeeping has a valuable checklist of how to make your home sparkling clean using 33 easy spring cleaning tips. At the end of the clean out, you’ll be surprised at all the stuff that you don’t need. These items have been taking up space in your bedroom, closet, and drawers.

The good thing is that you can donate those unwanted items to charity. Someone else who needs them can have them. That way, you have done a good deed!

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Clean out and tidy up your pantry

Are you like me? Have you been neglecting your pantry?

Does your kitchen pantry need some decluttering, tidying, and cleaning? This is the time for you to do so. Sparkles of Life has 6 simple tips to help you clean out your pantry. You can do that while you’re at home social distancing.

Have daily video chats while social distancing

Are you missing your family and friends during this time of social distancing? If you can not be physically close to your family members and your friends, connect with them online.

Use FaceTime or WhatsApp video call. It is important to maintain your relationship by staying connected. If you’re used to partying with your friends, you can use video chatting platforms. This allows you to throw parties and hang out with them.

Other apps and software that you can use to stay in touch include Facebook Messenger. You can also use Google Duo, Skype, and House Party. Choose your favorite one and stay connected today!

Start a journal / coloring books

This time of social distancing is a good time for you to start a journal or work on coloring books. There’s so much going on. You may want to start writing about how you feel.

Write about what’s going on around you. Generally, write on anything you feel comfortable writing about.

You can also write on the positive things that have happened in your life this year—just keep it positively inclined. This is not the time to reflect on the things that didn’t go right. Reflection will deflect the purpose of staying positive at this tense time.

This is also the time to reflect on some of your goals. Consider what you’d like to achieve in the near future. Put your thoughts and plans down in writing in a journal, in your own words.

Here are some simple, plain journals with fun titles and a coloring book that you can use to keep busy during self-isolation:

• Diva 4Eva
• T.G.I.F. – This Grandma Is Fabulous
• Anxiety Management Journal
• Mandala Coloring Book For Adults

Yoga and meditation during social distance

During this period of social isolation, you might be experiencing excessive stress and boredom. One way to help boost your spiritual health is to use meditation. This practice will help you be at peace with yourself.

See also: 15 Ways to Achieve Your Spiritual Health Goals

Your spiritual dimension is your commitment to your value system. When you are in in good spiritual health, you’ll feel at peace with life. 

Try starting your day with yoga and stretching out your muscles. Yoga has the benefits of decreasing stress, promoting quality of sleep, relieving anxiety, and increasing strength.

There is a huge collection of YouTube videos on yoga. You can start with them today and make loneliness during social distancing a thing of the past.

Learn a new hobby

Have you been interested in picking up a certain new hobby but you were always too busy to do so? Have you always wanted to learn how to knit, play an instrument, or bake?

Well, at this time of social distancing and isolation, it should be a good time for you to start. If you’re not sure what hobby to pick, MSN has suggestions. There are 13 new hobbies you can master during the quarantine period. Get busy and stay busy!

Listen to podcasts while social distancing

What better way to spend your time during social distancing than to listen to podcasts. The good thing with podcasts is that you can listen to them on your earphones or speaker. You can listen while you clean out your closet, cook, or during workouts.

The Oprah Magazine compiled a list of the best new podcasts worth listening to in 2020. You may find that useful. Choose an interest area or your favorite podcast speaker and enjoy!

Watch virtual concerts while socially distancing

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Citizen recently held a concert. It was called the ‘One World: Together at home’ concert. It was organised to support healthcare workers who are fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The concert aired on April 18, 2020, on NBC, CBS, ABC, and several international networks. It was also streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Facebook, Instagram, and Apple. You can relax and watch virtual concerts like that.

There are several other virtual concerts that are being organized online. You can watch these concerts to get your spirits high at this time of social distancing. So, how are you spending your time during the quarantine?