With many of us facing at least another month under some form of restrictive measures that keep us inside our home for the majority of the time, avoiding going stir crazy is going to be difficult. For those of you who’ve been furloughed, your susceptibility to cabin fever increases at least ten-fold.
But fear not, we’ve come up with nine of the best activities for keeping your sanity just that little bit longer before the lockdown restrictions are eventually lifted, and everyone can get on with their lives once more.
- Host a Virtual Trivia Night
Everyone loves trivia. So why not get your friends together (virtually) and host a trivia night? Use video conferencing apps such as Zoom to pit your nearest and dearest against each other. The winner can then become the host for next week, and you can then get the chance to play yourself!
- Complete a Gigantic Puzzle
Jigsaw puzzles are a largely forgotten activity of this era. Not only can they keep your brain active and hone your problem-solving skills, but they can also last for days at a time. We recommend investing in a 3000+ piece set, which should be enough to keep you occupied for at least a week!
- Rediscover Cooking
In the usual swing of things, we tend to base our cooking on time, skipping more elaborate dishes for those that are quick and efficient. With more time on your hands and not much else to do, this is a perfect time to don an apron and rediscover your cookery skills, or develop them if you never had them! Why not buy a few of these recipe books to get you started?
- Exercise Like it’s January
While it may be a far cry from a “new year, new me,” the lockdown presents an excellent opportunity to better yourself physically and mentally by exercising more than usual. There’s a whole host of virtual apps and platforms you can try if you lack inspiration, and wouldn’t it be great to meet up with your friends with a new physique to show off?
- Marie Kondo Your Home
There’s never going to be a better opportunity to declutter than now. Start by methodically de-cluttering and reorganizing room by room. Within two weeks, you could have your home or apartment looking precisely how you’ve always dreamed it. Remember, seeing clutter piled up everywhere damages our mental wellbeing, so getting organized now has a double benefit.
- Go Old School and Pen Some Letters
This can seem a tad unnecessary in the age of FaceTime and Google Hangouts, but writing a letter to friends, or your partner if the crisis has separated you, can be therapeutic. Not only will your recipients appreciate the personal touch, but you will also get a lot of joy out of reconnecting with pen and paper in a world where we type or text almost everything.
- Host a Watch Party
Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO GO are just a few of the streaming services keeping people sane at the moment, but why not take watching TV up a notch by inviting all of your friends to virtually watch along with you. Everyone gets to bring their own snacks and settle in for either a movie or a gripping binge-worthy series of episodes, discussing those infamous fan theories together afterward.
- Learn a Musical Instrument
Have you ever dreamt of rocking out with a guitar, or learning to rock Mozart on the piano? There’s never been a better time to start to learn a musical instrument. No matter your starting abilities, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much you can learn in the space of a few short weeks. Fender (the guitar manufacturer) has even stepped up and offered the world three months of free guitar lessons to the first one million sign-ups. So hurry to avoid missing out!
- Learn a Language
Much like learning a musical instrument, there’s also no time like the present to try your hand at a foreign language. Apps such as DuoLingo are completely free and offer an excellent way to get a grip of at least the basics of a foreign language. Why not buddy up and learn with one of your friends?
So there you have it! Nine ideas that should hopefully keep you busy enough to avoid succumbing to cabin fever. Remember, you may not have time for all nine (especially if you’re still working), so pick and choose which sound appealing to you and disregard those that don’t.
Good luck!
Thanks to Dreamstime Stock Photos for the great images and for donating 5% of each purchase to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund!
